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The change is evident in a variety of forums. After a welcoming speech to college students late last month, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean found himself dodging pointed questions about Singapore’s news media restrictions and its hamstrung democracy. Those in attendance said that Mr. Teo was taken aback by the boldness of the crowd, which in years past would have quietly absorbed his pep talk about hard work and self-sacrifice.
Not surprisingly, social media have helped propel the newfound audacity. Facebook and a number of homegrown Web sites are giving voice to the sort of government criticism and no-holds-barred debate that almost never appear in the straitjacketed mainstream news media. The country’s leaders, eager to lure foreign talent and investment by softening Singapore’s reputation as a gum-banning, rules-obsessed nation, have given wide berth to the online free-for-all.
Many of the most vocal activists are young, wired and cynical about the government’s argument that it alone can maintain the prosperity and social harmony that has transformed this resource-starved island into one of the most advanced economies.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/w...loosens-restrictions.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Not surprisingly, social media have helped propel the newfound audacity. Facebook and a number of homegrown Web sites are giving voice to the sort of government criticism and no-holds-barred debate that almost never appear in the straitjacketed mainstream news media. The country’s leaders, eager to lure foreign talent and investment by softening Singapore’s reputation as a gum-banning, rules-obsessed nation, have given wide berth to the online free-for-all.
Many of the most vocal activists are young, wired and cynical about the government’s argument that it alone can maintain the prosperity and social harmony that has transformed this resource-starved island into one of the most advanced economies.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/w...loosens-restrictions.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all