Hongkongers questioned by police after attending solidarity rally in Singapore
PUBLISHED : Friday, 03 October, 2014, 2:19pm
UPDATED : Friday, 03 October, 2014, 5:48pm
James Griffiths [email protected]
Attendees of a candlelit vigil at Hong Lim Park gather to support the Hong Kong democracy protests in Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg
As thousands of protesters remained on the streets of Hong Kong, where pro-democracy demonstrations have entered their sixth day, those in Singapore have not found it quite so easy to express their political views.
After a solidarity rally was held in Singapore’s Hong Lim Park, attendees said they saw “around six” Hongkongers who had attended the event taken in for questioning by police.
In response to an enquiry by the South China Morning Post, a Singapore police spokesman confirmed that “several foreigners are currently assisting with investigations into offences under the Public Order Act,” but he emphasised that no arrests had been made.
The Act strictly governs the holding of demonstrations or protests in Singapore, stipulating that “cause-related activities will be regulated by permit regardless of the number of persons involved or the format they are conducted in.”
Demonstrators at the Hong Lim Park gather to show their support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters in Singapore. Photo: AFP
The event, “Democracy Now! Singapore in Solidarity with Hong Kong”, was held at Speaker’s Corner, a “free speech area” within the park where events can be held without the need to apply for a licence from the authorities.
However, as the organisers wrote on Facebook: “Our authoritarian government requires foreigners and permanent residents to apply for a permit to participate in this event. If you don’t have a permit, you can come and ‘observe’.”
It is unclear exactly what the Hongkongers who attended the rally, believed to be students, did to raise the ire of the Singaporean police. A spokesman would not respond to specific queries, saying “Speakers’ Corner is a designated site for Singapore citizens to speak freely on issues as long as they do not touch on racial or religious matters.
“Only Singapore citizens and permanent residents are allowed to participate in demonstrations held at the Speakers’ Corner. Foreigners and organisers of assemblies and processions involving foreigners are required to obtain a police permit before they can use the Speakers’ Corner.
“While foreigners are allowed to work or live here, they have to abide by our laws. They should not import their domestic issues from their countries into Singapore and conduct activities which can disturb public order. Those who break the law will be seriously dealt with.”
A man lights candles next to signs during a candlelight vigil in solidarity with protesters of the "Occupy Central" movement in Hong Kong at the Hong Lim Park in Singapore. Photo: Reuters
Organisers said they had not been able to speak to the Hongkongers after they were released by police.
“The students have been thoroughly warned and are afraid to event meet with the organisers,” a participant in the rally told the Post. “They are quite firm in ceasing communications with them.”
Several hundred people, mostly Singaporeans, attended the vigil on Wednesday evening.
The crowd sang Under A Vast Sky, the song by Hong Kong band Beyond that has become one of the protesters’ unofficial anthems, and lit candles and wrote messages of support for demonstrators in Hong Kong.
“The event went well, despite the fact that we had less than two days to get everything together, including the publicity,” organiser Rachel Zeng told the Post. “What was really heartwarming was the atmosphere, and the fact that people cared enough to come down on a weekday evening to express their solidarity and support towards the struggle for democracy as well as free and fair elections in Hong Kong.”
Stephan Ortmann, a research fellow at the City University of Hong Kong, told The Diplomat magazine “The costs for protests in Hong Kong are much lower than in Singapore. There is no apparent monitoring, though people are still concerned about their jobs if they take a leading role. In addition, Singaporeans are much more deeply embedded in a system of government control from housing to government-linked jobs to government-run kindergartens … this acts as a co-optation mechanism.”
