This diary entry is my first, and a bit long, but I hope you'll take the time to read it. If nothing else, it gives you pause about the relationship of the government to the news, and how far they can go.
My friend, Jiahao Chen, is a Singaporese citizen studying for a PhD in Chemical Physics here in Champaign, Illinois. Up until about a week ago, he had a blog on our servers, 'AcidFlask'.
In his blog, he criticized the running of Singapore's technology ministry, A*STAR, and specifically criticized its draconian and absurd scholarship program (more on them after the jump). He then, over the course a single weekend, received 11 emails from the chairman of A*STAR, a bureaucrat named Philip Yeo. Yeo's emails (I've seen them) were both juvenile and hysterical, but their gist was that is that if Jiahao didn't remove all his statements critical of the government, he'd be sued in a Singapore court for libel. Yeo has, of course, declined to specify what exactly he finds libelous.
more below the fold ...
Jiahao, being a poor graduate student, had of course no choice but to shut down his blog. However, it hasn't stopped there. First of all, the Singapore's media is effectively government controlled, and have recently written hyperbolic articles commending Yeo as a 'white knight' who outspokenly defends his beliefs. A*STAR has condemned Jiahao's current apology and retraction as inadequate, and is demanding that he post an apology that they themselves have written. Even if he were to post their scripted apology, they still have not made any assurances about whether or not he will be sued.
Significantly, in the wake of this, several Singaporese blogs (Hat Tip: Singapore Angle) have shut down for fear of government reprisal, and many others have are actively blogging the case. There's interest from outside the blogosphere as well. A UK anti-censorship organization has taken notice, as well as the international NGO Committee to Protect Journalists. There is even talk that Reuters is pursuing the story.
These are, as I understand them, the facts. I'll offer my own thoughts and updates in future diaries. For right now, this is an important illustration of the challenges faced by non-US bloggers, and may very well be the beginnings of change in the amount of free speech afforded to Singapore's bloggers.
Appendix: On A*STAR's scholarships
A*STAR is a recently reorganized Singapore government agency. It was formed in order to raise Singapore's global scientific status and marketability. The scholarships that Jiahao criticized pay for a student's entire University education in the United States, requiring them to complete a PhD here. At the end, the students are then required to come back and work in Singapore for a certain amount of time. Any recipient of the scholarship not completing the requirements, or whose GPA falls below an stellar 3.8, is legally obligated to repay the entire fellowship, plus a utterly preposterous 15% interest.
A*STAR has no problem attacking those students who fail to complete the requirements; their webpage for the scholarship, rather than describing the scholarship or its requirements, instead contains a character assassination of a former scholarship recipient, as well as a letter from Philip Yeo attacking those who don't complete their scholarships. In the letter, he writes "We will not hesitate to publicly name irresponsible scholars who intentionally break their bonds for selfish interests. Being named as a bond-breaker will irrevocably affect one's standing and reputation in society."
[updated to improve my crappy grammar 2pm 5/8]