Stories about Singapore from December, 2005
Singapore: Symbols
Yawning Bread tells the stories behind Singapore's national symbols, including the much-maligned merlion and the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid.
Singapore: Freedom is Not Free
Oppositionist politician Goh Meng Seng on his blog Singapore Alternatives writes about the price of freedom: “Freedom is not free. And most importantly, freedom has the element of free ridership in it. Everyone may want it, but all waiting for someone to get it for them.”
Singapore, South Korea: Iconoclasm
Jeff Ooi asks why Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew are so often cited as models: isn't South Korea, with its larger population and greater challenges, more admirable?
Singapore: Drug Laws
Little Boy from the Heartlands asks if Singapore's stringent drug laws should be changed.
China, Singapore: Singapore in China
rwillmsen has some thoughts about the Singapore-ization of Chinese cities: the scrubbing of character in favor of controlled sterility.
Philippines, Singapore: Blog Race
theory.isthereason follows the race between Singapore's sexy celeblogger Xiaxue and not-as-sexy Mr. Brown for the title of Best Asian Blog: “While such blog awards help us recognize the most popular bloggers on the Internet, these sort of awards technically perpetuate the popularity of the select bloggers.” Commenting on the same...
Singapore: Mr. Wang on Marriage
Mr. Wang picks apart the reasons why younger Singaporeans say they don't want to get married.
Singapore: Too Small for Democracy?
Yawning Bread grapples with the idea that Singapore's population can only afford one viable political party.
Singapore: Condolences
Mr. Brown shares his own condolences and links to posts eulogizing fellow Singapore blogger Sondra of Idle Days, who recently passed away from a rare blood disorder.
Singapore: Bloggers Beware
James Gomez warns: “Expect Singapore bloggers to be the target of new legislation or rules that will govern electronic communication during the next general election.”
Singapore, Australia: Another Take on Nguyen Van's Execution
Imagethief in Beijing has another take on Nguyen Van Tuong's execution in Singapore and why his fellow Australians could not stop it. “They thought of it as retribution, or punishment. This is wrong. Drug-offense executions in Singapore are, first and foremost, public communication.”
Australia, Philippines, Singapore: Execution Lessons
Chemical Generation Singapore extracts some lessons for foreign governments like Australia, whose Nguyen Tuong Van went to the gallows last week, and the Philippines, whose Flor Contemplacion was executed in 1995, in dealing with trying to save a citizen from Singapore's death penalty: “There are surely ways where a criminal...
Singapore, Malaysia: Assessing Explusion
Rajan Rishyakaran reflects on Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia, which resulted in the city-state's independence. He concludes it was a loss to Malaysia: “Should Malaysia kept Singapore, Singapore probably wouldn’t be as developed, however Malaysia with Singapore probably would be democratic.”
Singapore: Poor Little Rich Girl
Dutch Diary describes how Singapore is like a misunderstood child.
Singapore: Execution Eve
As convicted Australian drug smuggler Nguyen Van Tuong enters his last hours before his hanging, Singapore bloggers continue to write about his situation. Says Xeno Boy: It's all about face. Chemical Generation Singapore is sad that a promising discussion about the death penalty was cut short by self-censorship. From a...
