Singapore’s envoy to the UK stood by the country’s social norms after criticism in the British media. 

Straits Times reported that the city-state’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Foo Chi Hsia pointed out that her country’s values “differ from today’s Western norms” after The Economist published a January article describing Singapore’s definition of the family as “Victorian.” 

The article was spurred by the case of a gay Singaporean man who fathered a child through surrogacy in the US, but was not allowed to adopt his son under Singaporean law. The four-year-old remains an American citizen, and because of the ruling, not yet eligible for Singaporean citizenship. 

“The Economist may think Singapore is quaint and old-fashioned, but time will tell if a cautious approach to social change is wiser,” Foo Chi Hsia said, according to Straits Times.