Tan argued, "Regardless of our nationalities, we are all part of the Chinese community. China wants to promote a one country, two systems approach, yet itself operates a single-party system. Overseas Chinese can't expect much enlightenment from there. Some governments in Southeast Asia have exploited the notion of 'Asian values' to resist the trends to universal human rights, freedom and democracy.
「不論國籍，我們都是華人社會的一部份，中國想推動一國兩制，但現在還是一黨統治，民主法治仍有待努力。