Singaporean Agency Cracks the Whip on a Blogger

In a Yahoo!News report, a Singaporean student at the University of Illinois took down his blog, Caustic Soda, after a government agency threatened him with a lawsuit for his entries critical of the agency’s policies. 

Under the Philippine Constitution’s Bill of Rights, the State is required to protect a citizen’s Freedom of Expression.  So, I would be surprised if the Philippine government would ever go through the same lengths as its Singaporean counterpart in quelling dissent.

But I recall that many of the Singaporean students I met abroad were studying under one government scholarship or another.  So the leverage of the Singaporean government is much greater — shut up or be without funding.  Consider further that a large percentage of Singaporeans live on government-provided or subsidized housing.  On te bright side, the Singaporean government is universally credited with the country’s phenomenal economic growth and performance.  So, I’ve heard some Singaporeans say that if basic freedoms have to be chilled, then it’s a fair exchange.

Now, I wonder if that attitude will ever get some traction over here.