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Speaker's corner: Step right up


San Francisco Chronicle. March 24, 2000

From NOTES FROM HERE AND THERE by Lewis Dolinsky

SINGAPORE, which is not known for political freedom, is planning to institute its own Speaker's Corner, something like the one in London's Hyde Park. Quoted by the Associated Press, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said, ``We will let people say whatever they like to say, except for things that will offend the law, or offend religious or racial sensibilities, or anything that is libelous -- then of course they will be subject to lawsuits by the people whom they libel.''  

Also, anyone who wants to talk will have to apply for a police permit. Just a formality.