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Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

marginalrevolution.com

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Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#71

Post by yanhangyhy »

notahacker wrote: post #65
yanhangyhy wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so is USA and Trump, why people call Trump a dictator?

Trump tried to reverse the election last time he lost and enjoys suppressing protests with military units. But yeah, he isn't literally a dictator, just would like to be

i failed to understand the enthusiasm for politics memes.. it's a good point, i just dont undertand the fuss. in the end, you want to something changes in your life, not only something like 'i can joke about our system'. if it can change the system and the policy, i totally support them. but i dont see many cases. If i have to choose one, i will always choose the gum.

i read so many pepople complain the ICE on rednote and on reddit complain Trump and jokes about him, i just don't see the changes. Does Trump retreat any of his major polices? If not, are people just lives in the bubbles?

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#72

Post by maxglute »

jmclnx wrote: post #8

I think it is due to China. I remember Singapore was a large financial center for Asia, but China's rapid growth overshadowed Singapore. I also think Hong Kong is going through the same thing, plus I believe China is trying to make Shanghai into its main Finance Center, letting Hong Kong's center fade away.

SH onshore, HK offshore still. PRC bigger economy than entire region SG serves, if PRC wills HK to be finance hub larger than SG then that's what HK will be, on mainland volumes alone. One thing Singapore has over HK is it's land endowments though pathetic is slightly less meagre, SG managed to carve out nice industrial sector for 20-25% of GDP, something HK couldn't compete with PRC and IMO heavy reliance on finance fucked it over. Hence HK being integrated into greater pearl river after NSL slap down cowed all the nativists.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#73

Post by breppp »

snowpid wrote: post #48
breppp wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All gulf states have abysmal gay rights, but are you sure they are executing gay men?

I'll checked it and you are right. It is just law and practical not done. But what is worse: Law which does not matter, because the elite will ignore it anyway or threatening gay men to kill them but currently not doing tit. anyway, not a place a emigrate.

I agree, without even talking about gay rights, I think both the UAE and Qatar have a legal system and an immigration system I wouldn't want to be subjected to.

Generally true for most of the world outside of the West

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#74

Post by wk_end »

cardanome wrote: post #66
asplake wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights/how-long-you-can-be-...

Reality: > This trial marks the first attempt in Britain to treat political property damage as equivalent to terrorism - an unprecedented and dangerous expansion of state power. Under the current Labour government, many defendants will have spent nearly two years behind bars before even standing trial. https://www.cage.ngo/articles/trial-begins-for-first-six-of-...

Everyone in this thread is conflating/misunderstanding various things and seems a little misinformed.

"Detention without trial" is a thing in the UK, as well as the US, Canada, and many (most?) other countries, even those considered non-authoritarian or whatever, for lots of crimes, not just politically convenient ones. This isn't a new thing because of growing fascism, it's literally the distinction between "jail" and "prison", or what the bail system is for. Court systems don't have the capacity to try everyone immediately upon arrest, and in various ways, look to balance that with the right to a speedy trial, the right to a presumption of innocence, justice, and public safety.

(I'm not making any judgement on the balance Britain is striking in this particular case, which sounds bad!)

But what OP is pointing out as problematic in Singapore's case is 1) detention without even being charged with a crime, which is what the UK government website linked above says is forbidden beyond a relatively short time frame and 2) the absence of any kind of a right to a speedy trial.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#75

Post by asplake »

cardanome wrote: post #66
asplake wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights/how-long-you-can-be-...

Reality: > This trial marks the first attempt in Britain to treat political property damage as equivalent to terrorism - an unprecedented and dangerous expansion of state power. Under the current Labour government, many defendants will have spent nearly two years behind bars before even standing trial. https://www.cage.ngo/articles/trial-begins-for-first-six-of-...

Trial delays and court backlogs in the UK are indeed terrible, as few people here would disagree. They are not without court oversight (remand hearings, etc). They affect many people – rape victims being a notable example – and I do not believe that these systemic problems are politically motivated.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#77

Post by Saline9515 »

jpgvm wrote: post #50

> Singapore is a much more democratic country than most outsiders realize Yeah no. In Singapore you have a single party which has used it's constitution, laws, courts and media control to enforce a defacto one-party state for 60 years. Singapore citizens can (and do) vote but those votes have absolutely zero chance of changing anything. Is it technically democracy? Well they vote so yes? Is there any chance at all of…

People also voted in USSR. DPRK has a 99,9% voter turnout that modern OECD countries could only dream about.

Voting is only a part of the democratic process, but is meaningless taken alone.

To add to what you say, Singapore is not a democracy, Lee Kuan Yew's son ruled the country for 20 years after his death, and his successor was chosen by him.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#78

Post by [deleted] »

maxglute wrote: post #69

Singapore was never "cool" as long as I remember in Asian expat circles since 90s. It's like the nice clean manicured places where boring expats who enjoys boiled potatoes and chicken breasts without spice settle. Dubai without all the high quality sin.

[deleted]

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#79

Post by csa »

FatherOfCurses wrote: post #38
46493168 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a reason William Gibson called it “Disneyland with the Death Penalty” https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/

Yes and whenever I see anyone gushing about Singapore that's the first place my mind goes. You can keep your 1000 different Instagrammable spots, I'd rather go some place that is a little more into democracy and reasonable policing.

> reasonable policing

Policing SOPs in East Asia (incl. Singapore) is different than policing SOPs in the west. Typically people are warned, often multiple times, that they are in danger of experiencing the less kind side of local law. Once the switch is flipped, this gentle hand becomes an iron fist.

I will bet dollars to donuts that the person who was held without charge for decades (mentioned above) was completely not surprised that they were severely punished. They may not have liked the punishment, they may not have agreed with the opaque process, but they almost certainly can’t say that they didn’t know it was coming.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#80

Post by tim333 »

alephnerd wrote: post #30
GCA10 wrote: post #17

OP's critique feels like a celebrity economist's variant of those travel magazine pieces that tell us why Zermatt, Phuket or Nantucket is no longer a "cool" vacation spot. On some sort of momentary buzz meter, sure. But the factors that help Singapore be an Asian or often global hub in so many respects are still running strong, no? Worrying about whether a couple dozen X/Twitter legends are hyping you today feels sil…

> celebrity economist's That is what MarginalRevolution is. It's fairly heterodox by most standards, but not in the good way. > the factors that help Singapore be an Asian or often global hub in so many respects are still running strong, no Nope. If I can now IPO in China or India with Singapore level valuations and attract Singapore level deal sizes, why would I as a Chinese or Indian want to dedicate significant ca…

India and China don't have the low tax stable capitalist system thing that Singapore has. In some ways it's advantage has increased now Hong Kong is part of China.
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