The following is my answer to a Quora question: “What is the differences and similarities between Singaporean style of authoritarian governance and Chinese style of authoritarian governance?”
China is run by a one party system. The Chinese Communist Party controls everything. To succeed in such a system, it is necessary to be a member of the party. The Chinese Communist Party began as a form of totalitarian state, which has evolved into some form of post-totalitarian oligarchy. There are no elections in China, and political parties other than the Chinese Communist Party, are banned. There is strict control over the press and forms of expression, including art, film, and social media. The compact between the state and the people is that as long as the state delivers affluence, security and economic growth, the people leave the running of the state to the Party. To some extent, that has worked, and China is an economic power.
Singapore is a socialist democratic state. There are elections, political parties are
not banned, although political expression is heavily regulated to maintain harmony
in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society.
Singapore is far from a totalitarian state. While the press is regulated, it is not
censored. This applies to other forms of
free expression such as the arts. Movies
are largely censored for pornography and violence, as opposed to political
content. There is little oversight in
social media unless posts and comments fall afoul of existing laws on libel,
the maintenance of racial and religious harmony, or threaten the security of the
state. The system advantages the
incumbent, but it does not stifle political discussion.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for taking the time to share our thoughts. Once approved, your comments will be poster.