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Comment by alon_honig | Hacker News Reader

This is incorrect. Singapore is not a high censorship/low freedom society. You should visit countries before you trash them.

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I guess “high censorship” is subjective, but you can’t protest without a police permit, media organizations are licensed by the government, certain foreign media have been effectively banned when when they made statements the government didn’t like, you can’t put on a play without script approval by the government, all movies are presented by the government, and libel laws have been used to bankrupt political opponents, forcing them out of government.

Seems pretty “high” censorship to me.

I have, and I found it much as Gibson did [0]

[0] https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/

> Singapore is not a high censorship/low freedom society

Singapore constrains freedom quite substantially.

Singapore’s parliamentary political system has been dominated by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and the family of current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong since 1959. The electoral and legal framework that the PAP has constructed allows for some political pluralism, but it constrains the growth of opposition parties and limits freedoms of expression, assembly, and association.

Deeper Analysis of Political Rights and Civil Liberties:

https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/202...

> You should visit countries before you trash them.

I haven't visited North Korea either. That shouldn't stop anyone from opining on it.

this literally a perfect example. your idea of NK is based mostly on reporting that is biased, propaganda, etc. and here you are mocking people who doubt any of that. lol. im not saying NK is secretly good but i think you would discover a lot of things that you didnt know. especially regarding how things got the way they are.

> you would discover a lot of things

actually, no I wouldn't, because when a Westerner goes to NK, he or she is strictly controlled as to what they can see. In particular, no citizen will talk unguardedly to you because of their intense fear of the police.

If you think that's not true, why don't you tell us about your trip there (you did take one, didn't you?)

what a fool you are. take for example the markets. the markets in NK are a thriving fixture of everyday life. they are also completely illegal. people cross the border into china frequently. there is a huge underground in NK but people who only consume american propaganda only learn about the NK police. there is more to the picture.

> what a fool you are.

You still haven't told us whether you've been there or not.

As for the Western picture of it: it comes largely from NK citizens who've escaped. Call it "propaganda" if you like, but if it were false then there would be a net inflow of people who are as hip to reality as you think you are. Is there?

South Koreans would be trying to move IN if you were correct; after all, they're closer than anyone and they speak the language.

It tends to be accurate. If you want to read more, see Demick, 2009: “Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea” [0]

[0] https://search.worldcat.org/title/918997255

There are lots of authors and journalists who either go there, or interview people who escaped. I think we learn a lot more from them than we would by taking a heavily curated tour of pre-screened sites.

i read that book a couple years ago. the broad strokes tend to be accurate but obviously people understand north korea as much as they understand italy based on Italian tropes.

Perhaps if NK wanted to be understood they'd allow tourists to come in and wander around and talk to the happy natives.

Just answer us this: is an NK citizen free to emigrate to some other country?

Its based on lights out satellite imagery.

It is low freedom if you're gay.

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