Singapore limits free speech. They have laws covering defamation, sedition, & fake news such as the Protection from Falsehoods & Manipulation Act. They also have restrictions on online content & public assembly (protests). Their drug laws are extremely strict & the death penalty is imposed if caught holding certain large quantities of drugs. Until 2024 the government used to run a matchmaking service for singles, but now they just maintain strict standards on how the dating apps are run. Singapore also has some of the strictest penalties on crimes, even what the US would call minor like vandalism. And guess what, Singapore is rated one of the best places in the world to live and US/Western citizens loved to expat there. IIRC, someone did a test where they left a nice laptop unattended in a food court or something, and the thing never got stolen in the multiple times they ran the test. Here in the US, thieves would just snatch the laptop right out of your hands in a food court, and in the slight chance they got caught the law won't do anything to them, but maybe a slap on the wrist.

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anonymous 1 hour ago