The public forum on Political Openness and Democratic Accountability in Asia: Nicety or Necessity.

Of the four speakers, three are political leaders from outside Singapore.

They are:
Mr Martin Lee, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and Chairman of the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's largest political party;
Mr Lim Guan Eng, vice chairman of Malaysia's Democratic Action Party;
and Mr Wilson Tien, director of the International Affairs Department of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the party of the present Taiwanese president.

The sole Singaporean on the panel is Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, Workers' Party secretary general and chairman of the Open Singapore Centre.

A press statement announcing the forum asked: "In the aftermath of the Asian economic turmoil, has transparency and accountability become entrenched in Asia or are there still forces that actively seek to deny Asian peoples of the benefits of open and free societies?

"Is democracy a luxury that Asian countries cannot afford or is it a system that has become a necessary ingredient that will determine the future progress of the region?"

Referring to the speakers, the statement said, "This is a rare opportunity for Singaporeans to hear Asia's leading democrats talk about their struggles in their fight against authoritarian forces, and their hopes and aspirations for their countries." IN

The August 5 forum will begin at 6.30pm and is expected to end at 10pm. It will be held at the Latour Ballroom, Le Meridien Hotel, 100 Orchard Road, Singapore.

For further information and pre-registration (S$7) contact opensing@singnet.com.sg

The Open Singapore Centre is a non-government organisation which promotes transparency and democratic accountability.

Speakers:
Martin Lee:
Mr Lee is a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and Chairman of the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's largest political party. A Barrister, Mr Lee was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1979. He served from 1985-1989 as a member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee, the body appointed by Beijing to draft Hong Kong's post-1997 constitution, until his expulsion in the aftermath of his denunciation of the Tiananmen crackdown.

Mr Lee was the first non-European recipient of the Schuman Medal, honoured by the law faculty of the University of Toronto as Goodman Fellow, given the Statesmanship Award by the Claremont Institution in Los Angeles, presented the Democracy Award by the National Endowment for Democracy, awarded honorary Doctor of Law degrees by Amherst and Holy Cross Colleges, given the Prize for Freedom at the World Council of Liberals meeting, honoured with International Human Rights Award by the American Bar Association

Mr Lee was born in Hong Kong in 1938. He received a BA degree from the University of Hong Kong and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in London.

Lim Guan Eng:
Mr Lim is vice-chairman of Malaysia's Democratic Action Party. He was first elected MP in 1986. A year later, he was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act for 18 months. Mr Lim remained an MP until he was convicted under the Sedition Act with "prompting disaffection with the administration of justice" after he publicly criticized the Malaysian government's handling of allegations of statutory rape made against the former Chief Minister of Malacca, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik, in 1994. He was also charged under the Printing Presses and Publications Act with "maliciously printing" a pamphlet about the case. Mr Lim was sentenced to two concurrent custodial sentences, amounting to 18 months in prison. He was released in August 1999. Amnesty International declared Mr Lim a prisoner of conscience.

Mr Lim graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University, Australia. He has authored several books on democracy in English and Chinese. He was selected by Asiaweek magazine as one of Asia's 20 Millennium Political Leaders in 1999.

Wilson Tien:
Mr Tien is Director of the International Affairs Department of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the party of which the present Taiwanese President Mr Chen Shui-bian leads. Mr Tien has played a significant role in DPP's rise to power and has worked closely with President Chen.

In the 1970s and 80s many of the current leaders in DPP, which was then an illegal organisation under martial law, were convicted for sedition. Several were imprisoned and tortured.

Educated in National Taiwan University and Indiana University, Mr Tien represents the new wave of democrats who will lead Taiwan in the future.

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam
Besides leading the Workers' Party as its secretary general, Mr Jeyeretnam also chairs the Open Singapore Centre. For much of his adult life, he has been at the forefront of championing the rights of Singaporeans. He has been repeatedly sued by leaders of the ruling People's Action Party and nearly bankrupted on a few occasions.

He broke the PAP strangle hold on parliament in 1981 when he was elected MP for Anson in a by-election. He was returned to parliament in the 1984 general elections by an increased majority. Shortly thereafter, however, he was disbarred from parliament and jailed for one month when he was convicted of fraud and for making false declarations. On appeal, the Privy Council in London, then Singapore's highest court of appeal stated that Mr Jeyaretnam had "suffered a grevious injustice."

While Mr Jeyaretnam continues to face lawsuits by PAP leaders, he remains undaunted in his fight for democracy and freedom in Singapore.