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Weiye Loh

"Asian Values": a credible alternative to a universal conception of human rig... - 0 views

ibamedialaw.wordpress.com/...sal-conception-of-human-rights

Human Rights UDHR Freedom of Speech Asian Value

shared by Weiye Loh on 08 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Singapore has not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but as a member state of the United Nations is bound to respect “fundamental human rights”. But who decides these rights? Many commentators will argue that they are those enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, in which Freedom of Expression is guaranteed by Article 19.
  • The United Nations Human Rights Committee has stressed that freedom of expression ensures the free political debate essential to democracy[ii] and has expressed concern that overbearing government controls of the media are incompatible with Freedom of Expression.
  • The Singapore government’s view is different. They have long asserted that human rights principles and conceptions are dominated by Western perceptions and argue for an “Asian Values” interpretation of human rights. This has been characterised as the assertion of the primacy of duty to the community over individual rights and the expectation of trust in authority and dominance of the state leaders.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The “Asian Values” hypothesis is equally suspect. The UDHR recognises the universal applicability of human rights and any nation party to this treaty is not permitted to restrict rights purely on cultural, religious or political grounds.
  • “Asian governments are justified in restricting civil and political rights in some circumstances in favour of social stability and economic growth. Civil and political rights are immaterial when people are destitute and society is unstable.  Accordingly, as luxuries to be enjoyed once there is social order, civil and political liberties must be temporarily suspended so as to not inhibit the government’s delivery of economic and social necessities and so as to not threaten or destroy future development plans.” Whilst this argument may have been slightly more palatable if Singapore’s citizens were, in fact destitute, the reality is that Singapore is ranked as one of the world’s wealthiest countries and boasts a high life expectancy. Thus in Singapore’s case, arguments made in favour of a “liberty trade-off” are rendered completely untenable.
  • these cultural and religious justifications for violating rights are as unacceptable as Singapore’s purported assertion of an “Asian Values” conception of human rights. Even though the Singapore government’s language is more subtle, their arguments amount to same basic tenet: the purported justification of the denial of fundamental human rights, by reference to cultural, religious or political specific norms. Speaking recently in New York, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon warned against such an interpretation of human rights:
  • “Yes, we recognize that social attitudes run deep.  Yes, social change often comes only with time.  Yet, let there be no confusion: where there is tension between cultural attitudes and universal human rights, universal human rights must carry the day. ” The universal and fundamental nature of human rights is the founding principle on which the United Nations was built: the right to freedom of expression must be guaranteed, “Asian Values” notwithstanding.
Weiye Loh

Asia Times Online :: Southeast Asia news and business from Indonesia, Philippines, Thai... - 0 views

www.atimes.com/...MC25Ae02.html

Media Politics Singapore

shared by Weiye Loh on 24 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • rather than being forced to wait for parliament to meet to air their dissent, now opposition parties are able to post pre-emptively their criticisms online, shifting the time and space of Singapore's political debate
  • Singapore's People's Action Party (PAP)-dominated politics are increasingly being contested online and over social media like blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Pushed by the perceived pro-PAP bias of the mainstream media, Singapore's opposition parties are using various new media to communicate with voters and express dissenting views. Alternative news websites, including The Online Citizen and Temasek Review, have won strong followings by presenting more opposition views in their news mix.
  • Despite its democratic veneer, Singapore rates poorly in global press freedom rankings due to a deeply entrenched culture of self-censorship and a pro-state bias in the mainstream media. Reporters Without Borders, a France-based press freedom advocacy group, recently ranked Singapore 136th in its global press freedom rankings, scoring below repressive countries like Iraq and Zimbabwe. The country's main media publishing house, Singapore Press Holdings, is owned by the state and its board of directors is made up largely of PAP members or other government-linked executives. Senior newspaper editors, including at the Straits Times, must be vetted and approved by the PAP-led government.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • The local papers have a long record of publicly endorsing the PAP-led government's position, according to Tan Tarn How, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and himself a former journalist. In his research paper "Singapore's print media policy - a national success?" published last year he quoted Leslie Fong, a former editor of the Straits Times, saying that the press "should resist the temptation to arrogate itself the role of a watchdog, or permanent critic, of the government of the day".
  • With regularly briefed and supportive editors, there is no need for pre-publication censorship, according to Tan. When the editors are perceived to get things "wrong", the government frequently takes to task, either publicly or privately, the newspaper's editors or individual journalists, he said.
  • The country's main newspaper, the Straits Times, has consistently stood by its editorial decision-making. Editor Han Fook Kwang said last year: "Our circulation is 380,000 and we have a readership of 1.4 million - these are people who buy the paper every day. We're aware people say we're a government mouthpiece or that we are biased but the test is if our readers believe in the paper and continue to buy it."
Weiye Loh

TODAYonline | Singapore | Straits Times, Zaobao challenge Low's remarks - 0 views

www.todayonline.com/...-Zaobao-challenge-Lows-remarks

News Journalism Singapore Politics

shared by Weiye Loh on 30 May 12 - No Cached
  • Weiye Loh on 30 May 12
     
    Speaking to TODAY, PAP Member of Parliament Baey Yam Keng, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Information, Communications and the Arts, reiterated that "no one can control the media and any responsible media would want full editorial independence".
Chong Yi Ting

The tweeter and the phweeter - 8 views

Article Link: http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/Features/Story/A1Story20090728-157468.html Summary of Case: With the growing popularity of Twitter.com, a popular micro-blogging website which allo...

started by Chong Yi Ting on 18 Aug 09 no follow-up yet
Ang Yao Zong

Must CUT! - 15 views

Before I start, I should first say that this is coming from my previous experience as a non-professional film-maker hahaha...... I feel that film producers and directors should have the freedom to...

Censorship Accountability Ethics

started by Weiye Loh on 30 Aug 09 2 follow-ups, last by Ang Yao Zong on 01 Sep 09
juliet huang

Go slow with Net law - 4 views

Article : Go slow with tech law Published : 23 Aug 2009 Source: Straits Times Background : When Singapore signed a free trade agreement with the USA in 2003, intellectual property rights was a ...

sim lim square

started by juliet huang on 26 Aug 09 no follow-up yet
Weiye Loh

Race Issues in Singapore: The need for greater public discussion | The Online Citizen - 0 views

theonlinecitizen.com/...-for-greater-public-discussion

Racism Freedom of Speech Singapore

shared by Weiye Loh on 15 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • What do we make of MFA’s rejection of free expression and extensive public discussion of race and religion, in light of the PAP government’s reluctance to curb a senior Cabinet member in his freely contentious speech? This points to double standards of the PAP government, or a paternalistic view that ordinary people cannot be trusted to have a mature discussion about these sensitive topics.
  • Yet, the gracious dignity of AMP’s criticism of MM Lee’s comments, and the lively and respectful debate about race issues at Saturday’s forum is indication that Singaporeans can certainly handle public debate about difficult issues–and even if some of us cannot, we need to learn, not by shutting up, but by emulating good examples of genuine debate in public arenas.
Weiye Loh

Science: Singapore vs The World - erwinchan - 0 views

erwinchan.posterous.com/science-singapore-vs-the-world

Science Singapore Data Visualization

shared by Weiye Loh on 12 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • View SlideshowDownload this gallery (ZIP, undefined KB)Download full size (214 KB) An infographic from FastCompany indicates the highest activity "scientific productivity" in 2003. The number of scientific papers published are the variable and the greater the size of the circle, the greater the number of papers published. The locations of top scientific activity are Boston, London, and New York. The radius of our circle is bigger than the island ourselves.
  • Another project that can help us visualise the impact of our nation's science is from WorldMapper. Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. This method helps us to see the familiar island shape much larger and gives us the understanding of how "fat" we are in relation to the world.View SlideshowDownload this gallery (ZIP, undefined KB)Download full size (149 KB) W
Weiye Loh

Singapore restricts release of Oscar contender The Kids Are All Right: City Press: Ente... - 0 views

www.citypress.co.za/...he-Kids-Are-All-Right-20110216

Censorship Singapore

shared by Weiye Loh on 16 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Singapore’s film censors had restricted the showing of a lesbian-themed, Oscar-nominated film, in a move that shocked the local cinema scene, a media report said today
  • The Board of Film Censors rated The Kids Are All Right as category R21, applying to “films that may contain adult issues, themes and more explicit scenes”, and limited its release to one single print, the Straits Times newspaper reported.
  • The US comedy drama directed by Lisa Cholodenko about a lesbian couple that meets the man who fathered their children received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture and Best Leading Actress for Annette Bening.According to the board’s film classification guidelines, “films should not promote or normalise a homosexual lifestyle”.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • “The majority of the members agreed with the board that the film ... has exceeded the film classification guidelines,” the board said
  • It said it made a concession to allow the film’s release, rather than to ban it.
Weiye Loh

MDA says Aware needs distribution licence for DVD of 2009 meeting - 0 views

jg69.amplify.com/...icence-for-dvd-of-2009-meeting

AWARE Law Feminism Gender Equality Singapore Censorship

shared by Weiye Loh on 19 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • WOMEN'S advocacy group Aware's plan to distribute a set of DVDs of its dramatic extraordinary general meeting (EGM), held in May 2009, has hit a snag.
  • The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) has not been able to distribute the DVDs, as it is appealing against a requirement that it needs a government licence to do so.
  • The MDA has, in the meantime, given the DVD an M18 rating - meaning it should be seen only by those aged 18 and above.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Aware planned to sell the four-disc DVD box set of the EGM only to its 600 members, as an official record of the event. But its executive director Corinna Lim, 45, said an MDA official contacted her 'a few days' after news of the $100-per-set DVDs broke last October, to ask if Aware had a distribution licence. Ms Lim, a former corporate lawyer, said Aware has appealed against the need for one. She argued that the licensing requirement applies to businesses, not non-profit organisations.
  • Section 6 of the Films Act states that a person must have a valid licence in order to 'carry on any business, whether or not the business is carried on for profit, of importing, making, distributing or exhibiting films'.
  • 'I really take the view that we are not obliged to have a licence, and if they make us have a licence, they would be setting a terrible precedent for Singapore. 'That means any organisation that wants to distribute to your shareholders or just your members would need a licence.' She noted that recordings of the EGM were online, such as on video-sharing site YouTube.
  • But MDA director of customer services and operations Pam Hu told The Straits Times yesterday that the MDA has required some religious and arts groups - and not just businesses - to possess the distribution licence. Ms Hu added, however, that the MDA is reviewing Aware's appeal and would notify the group of the outcome shortly.
  • On the M18 rating, she said this is because the DVDs 'feature discussion of homosexuality and Aware's sexuality programme, which stirs up strong emotion among the members'. 'This contributed to the M18 rating as it requires maturity to understand the issues discussed and not be carried away by the emotive passion of the meeting.'
  • Observers were divided on how to interpret the law. Singapore Management University assistant law professor Eugene Tan said the language of the law does not limit its reach and thus could apply to Aware. But Professor Ang Peng Hwa, of Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, said Aware should not need a licence as it does not distribute films in its normal course of work. 'If it needs to have a licence, that means any company that does a corporate video will also need (one). MDA will be flooded with licensing (applications),' he said.
Weiye Loh

Fridae | Simon Fujiwara: Censored at the Singapore Biennale 2011 - 0 views

www.fridae.com/...at-the-singapore-biennale-2011

Censorship Art Singapore

shared by Weiye Loh on 26 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Fujiwara mailed me with this news: his work’s been censored. All the erotica’s been removed, rendering it, in his words, “meaningless, almost a tribute to Franco in the end”. The curators and managers didn’t even consult him or seek his permission to alter the piece – they simply altered it without his consent. What’s even more disgusting is the fact that they waited two weeks, until all the Biennale’s international guests had left the country, before they leapt into action. This way, they could appear liberal to foreign journalists while ultimately preserving a conservative front for Singaporean audiences.
Weiye Loh

Commentary: SingTel launches Singapore's first "priority lane" broadband plans | Techgo... - 0 views

www.techgoondu.com/...-priority-lane-broadband-plans

Net Neutrality Capitalism Technology Internet

shared by Weiye Loh on 13 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Weiye Loh on 13 Jun 11
     
    Until now, all broadband plans here - and in most parts of the world - are sold according to the promised top speeds that are hardly reached in everyday use because of factors like network congestion and wireless coverage. SingTel said as much today when it launched its first-of-its-kind services. Executive vice president of digital consumer, Yuen Kuan Moon, pointed to the many users who have complained that they never got the speeds they paid for, especially when mobile networks are clogged with 145 per cent cellphone penetration in Singapore. SingTel's answer? Give priority to those who pay more, and try to let them know what speeds they will typically get.
Weiye Loh

TODAYonline | Singapore | Information literacy needed for Singaporean students - 0 views

www.todayonline.com/...eeded-for-Singaporean-students

Information Literacy Internet

shared by Weiye Loh on 06 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Conducted by the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) at Nanyang Technological University, the "National Information Literacy Survey for Singapore Schools 2010" involved more than 3,000 secondary school students. The findings showed that the overall score across all info-literacy competencies stood at 38.7 per cent - some way off the ideal score of at least 50 per cent. While the study found that the participants appeared most adept in defining a project task and knowing where to seek information, their lack of aptitude to cite the sources of information used were of particular concern.
  • The participants were also found to be lacking in the abilities to compare information with other sources and to form critical assessments from the information.
  • Comparing the participants' backgrounds, the findings showed that the information literacy score for each participant increases with their parents' educational qualifications and their affluence levels.
Weiye Loh

A Singapore Taxi Driver's Diary: May 6, 2009. Wednesday: The countERProductive erp system - 0 views

taxidiary.blogspot.com/...dnesday-counterproductive.html

Kantian Ethics ERP Ethics

shared by Weiye Loh on 08 Oct 09 - Cached
  • As far as I know, ERP is not a mere toll system that cares nothing but money. It is actually designed for the greater good: a smooth traffic flow characteristic of the efficiency-minded Singapore. Money is only a means to an end, so to speak. The ERP system, as I remembered, is a world’s first, uniquely Singapore invention for fighting traffic jams, and has been hailed as a genius answer to a common problem in large metropolitan centers around world. A wonder remedy for a disease brought about by advancement of civilization, very much like the cholesterol-clogged blood circulation in human bodies.
  • However, I can’t help being perplexed this time. How could a highly celebrated system like ERP become so hopelessly impotent in regulating traffic nowadays?
  • What happened to “money is only a means to an end”?
    • Weiye Loh
      Weiye Loh on 08 Oct 09
       
      Does Kantian ethics include the treatment of non-subjects i.e. objects as means to an end? What about exploitation of environment? Hmm...
Weiye Loh

journalism.sg » Tin Pei Ling's baptism of fire: Should bloggers have lit the ... - 0 views

journalism.sg/...tin-pei-ling

Democracy Gender Stereotype Singapore Privacy

shared by Weiye Loh on 30 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • That is nothing, though, compared with the attack by Temasek Review, the anonymously-run website with lofty ambitions “to foster an informed, educated, thinking and proactive citizenry.” The website delved into her personal life – even questioning her motives for marrying her husband – to present her as a materialistic, social climbing monster. Such attacks have also been flying around social media.
  • Never mind that Tin (unlike most high-flying PAP candidates) has several years’ grassroots experience; sections of the online community have dismissed the possibility that someone so young – she is in her 20s – could serve in the highest forum in the land. (I recall feeling similarly skeptical when Eunice Olsen was put up as an NMP. She proved me wrong and I have learnt not to prejudge.)
  • Siew Kum Hong, hardly a PAP apologist, has had the intellectual honesty and moral courage to come out swiftly in his blog against this distasteful turn of events.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • some others have argued that election candidates should expect such a baptism of fire. One blogger, while agreeing that the incident was “unfortunate”, said with Nietzsche-like logic, “If Ms. Tin is made of sterner stuff, she’ll live through this. If our future political leaders don’t have the tenacity to look past the Glee-like slushies and take the hit for the citizens of Singapore, then I don’t think they deserve my vote in the first place.”
  • how Tin and her party leaders respond to this episode will say a lot about their preparedness for the new terrain.
  • This, however, doesn’t really excuse those who have chosen to corrupt that terrain.
  • Some online posters have argued that the PAP is just reaping what it has sown: it has made life ugly for those who dare to enter Opposition politics, deterring many able individuals from joining other parties; now it’s payback time, time for the PAP can get a taste of its own medicine. Certainly, the online world should help to level what is undoubtedly a tilted offline playing field. This imperative is what motivates some of Singapore’s best online journalism.
  • Websites that say they want to help raise the level of Singapore’s political discourse shouldn’t go lower than the politicians themselves.
  • Weiye Loh on 30 Mar 11
     
    Never mind that Tin (unlike most high-flying PAP candidates) has several years' grassroots experience; sections of the online community have dismissed the possibility that someone so young - she is in her 20s - could serve in the highest forum in the land. (I recall feeling similarly skeptical when Eunice Olsen was put up as an NMP. She proved me wrong and I have learnt not to prejudge.)
Weiye Loh

Making Music in Singapore | informed intuitions - 0 views

www.informedintuitions.com/...making-music-in-singapore

Piracy Music

shared by Weiye Loh on 02 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Weiye Loh on 02 Jun 12
     
    "All sharing is not piracy. Some of it is just actually sharing…. In order to protect some people from piracy we have also violated the rights of many more to share…In the Web 2.0 world, we are all producers of data. We not only leave traces but also put out material of cultural significance-from videos of dancing babies to knowledge that we want to share-through these peer-2-peer networks. A sudden collapse of this infrastructure almost seems to show how it is only the money-making material that is important to the state…"
Weiye Loh

TODAYonline | Singapore | Lawsuit over blog post - 0 views

www.todayonline.com/...Lawsuit-over-blog-post

Lies Truths (Mis)Information todayonline news

shared by Weiye Loh on 15 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Weiye Loh on 15 Aug 09
     
    Former teacher sues Association of Bloggers president and founder, Jayne Goh
Weiye Loh

Do avatars have digital rights? - 20 views

hi weiye, i agree with you that this brings in the topic of representation. maybe you should try taking media and representation by Dr. Ingrid to discuss more on this. Going back to your questio...

avatars

started by Elaine Ong on 16 Sep 09 7 follow-ups, last by Weiye Loh on 18 Sep 09
Ang Yao Zong

Remember "Negarakuku"? - 3 views

http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2007/04/muar_rapper_on_.html http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/13039/84/ The two links above talk about Wee Meng Chee, a Malaysian rapper who is currently pursuing...

democracy speech freedom sedition

started by Ang Yao Zong on 15 Sep 09 no follow-up yet
Weiye Loh

Censoring Sex Education - 3 views

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1002815/1/.html International guidelines on sex education reignite debate By Ong Dailin, TODAY | Posted: 04 September 2009 071...

Sex Education

started by Weiye Loh on 04 Sep 09 no follow-up yet
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