From Singapore to Hong Kong to America — Three Perspectives on Freedom of Expression

Growing up in Singapore, I knew that even though we had a democratic, multi-party government, the real power laid with the <a href="https://www.pap.org.sg/our-party/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">People’s Action Party (PAP)</a> — the conservative, center-right party founded by the nation’s revered late prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. To non-Singaporeans, it may seem strange that for the last 55 years, the PAP has legitimately beat eleven opposition parties and maintained its stronghold in the nation’s parliament. While most Singaporeans support the PAP, there have always been whispers that the party’s authoritarian stance on internal security, political dissent, public demonstrations, and press freedom (Singapore comes in at 160 out of 180 countries in <a href="https://rsf.org/en/singapore" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">the world press freedom index in 202</a>1) is the reason for its hegemony. Despite these whispers, the majority of Singaporeans accept the curtailing of their freedom of speech because censorship was present at our country’s birth, and its existence is tangential with social stability and steady economic progress. <a href="https://medium.com/counterarts/from-singapore-to-hong-kong-to-america-three-perspectives-on-freedom-of-expression-aa5a56f400c8">Visit Now</a>