egs of suppression/ lack of freedom/ control

Ø An often asked question: there is freedom of speech but is there freedom after speech?

- Catherine Lim’s political commentary “The PAP and the people-A Great Affective Divide” drew a harsh response from the government which called for Lim to “take responsibility for her views” and enter politics if she wished to continue airing them. Libel lawsuits and detention without trial are also often used in Singapore to suppress political dissent.

- Suppression of criticism and dissent in other parts of Asia include the Tiananmen Square Massacre where the Chinese government ruthlessly cracked down on both protesters and their supporters;

the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar;

the imprisonment of Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia etc.Asian governments’ fear that critical thought will weaken power and or traditional values

has resulted in harsh controls of the media and strict censorship (e.g. The Thai governmentt banned access to Youtube website after it turned down a request to remove a 44-second clip showing graffitti-like elements painted over a slideshow of photographs of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

In Singapore, there was the arrest of bloggers who posted racist comments on the Internet

as well as the sacking of “Mr Brown” from the Straits Times for his critical comments of the Singapore government.)