SINGAPORE, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Singapore has the advantage of having a Mandarin-speaking community and Mandarin has to be the common language of Chinese Singaporeans, Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Tuesday.

    Speaking at the launch of the 30th Speak Mandarin Campaign, Lee said that Mandarin has to be the common language of Chinese Singaporeans, regardless of their dialect groups.

    He said that the value of a language is its usefulness, and with Mandarin, people can speak to 1.3 billion Chinese from all provinces in China.

    "The trend is clear," Lee said, "in two generations, Mandarin will become our mother tongue."

    He said the choice of English has enabled Singapore to grow fast, and with China's growing economy, Singaporean parents and students no longer complain of the burden of learning Chinese.

    He said that Singapore's advantage has been having "a Mandarin-speaking community", and the Speak Mandarin Campaign and the bilingual education policy have resulted in a growing number of young Singaporeans speaking Mandarin.

    "We need some 300 Singaporean graduates each year who have Chinese language and culture at a high level, to interact with their China counterparts. The flow of new migrants from China as our citizens and permanent residents will help in this process," he added.

    Singapore launched the first Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979, when the government closed down all dialect programs on radio and TV to promote Mandarin among Chinese Singaporeans speaking different dialects.