Singaporeans Will Receive First Legal Soapbox, Sort Of

Thirteen people signed up Monday to be the first Singaporeans allowed to speak publicly without a license, police said.

The 13 had come forward by late Monday, the first day of registration for those wanting to vent their opinions at a new “Speakers Corner” opening in Singapore on Sept. 1, said Chee Wing Cheong, an officer at the Kreta Ayer police post.

For years, residents of this city-state wanting to speak out in public have had to wait for authorities to issue special licenses. But authorities decided to create the new venue following increasing public calls for more speech freedoms.

Writer James Gomez, one of those who registered Monday, said he would make a speech “pushing for more freedom of expression” in tightly controlled Singapore.

Gomez said Singaporeans, known for their reluctance to publicly question authority, are restrained more by their own fear than by government repression. Many Singaporeans worry that criticizing the government could hurt their career prospects or cause them other problems, he said.

“It’s about getting people to escape from fear, basically,” Gomez said.

Singapore’s Speakers Corner is loosely based on its historic, anything-goes namesake in London’s Hyde Park. But the Singapore version, set to open in a downtown park, will have limits.

Topics that may incite racial or religious hostilities are not allowed. Orators must show identification and register with police before speaking, and a law that allows detention without trial for anyone deemed a threat to public security will still apply.

Some free-speech advocates have praised the idea as a breakthrough, while others have scoffed at it because of its restrictions.

Singapore’s leaders argue that their strict policies have ensured the safety and stability that have made Singapore one of Asia’s wealthiest countries.