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The 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre (Beijing) was a series of demonstrations led by labour activists, students and Chinese intellectuals. The cause of this movement is due to people’s strong feelings against the authoritarianism and calls for a democratic government.

The military response to the movement had left many protestors dead or injured. The reported tolls ranged from 200–300 (based on PRC) and to 2,000–3,000 (with reference to Chinese student associations and Chinese Red Cross). It also led to the government arresting these people so as to suppress them. There were also bans on the foreign press in China and members of the party who had publicly sympathized with the protesters were purged (i.e. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang). The violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protest had caused widespread condemnation of the Chinese government.

What about Singapore?

The Government of Singapore is formed by the political party which gains the most votes in the general elections held at least once every five years. People's Action Party (PAP) has been chosen since 1959, when Singapore attained self-governance. Transparency International ranked her 4th (of 179) in the world for the least political corruption country. However, there are critics on the level of freedom of speech.

Freedom of Speech: adparams.getadspec('c_billboard1'); window.google_render_ad(); Present equals Past?

This right which is protected by international human rights law includes freedom to hold and receive opinions without the authority interference. Freedom of expression is subjected to country’s law and it is necessary in a democratic society for the public’s interest.

Though the Singapore's jurisdiction allows freedom of speech from citizens, a lot of people still have doubts about it. Singapore government have opined about the freedom of speech as undesirable for a small nation. They portrayed this through addressing the possible consequences of such act. (i.e. racial and religious disputes, poverty, sufferings)

In Singapore, officials continue to use the threat of hefty fines and libel lawsuits to limit the freedom of speech. Race, language and religion remain potential divisive fault lines that can lead to social unrest if not managed carefully. The constitution protects this right and it must be respected.

In the past, people seldom talk about political issues and even media faced the same repression. Journalists can be fined by the government officials for “anti-government” articles or about any controversial topic. Speakers' Corner has failed partly because of tight restrictions. Speaking at Speakers' Corner does not exempt people from Singapore's strict defamation and slander laws.

Greater freedom of speech exists today. The reasons for this change are a more educated population, the technological advances, greater overseas exposure and others. But can we speak freely everywhere? What are the procedures to “legally” say something? For how long can a particular topic be discussed openly? How many people gathering would it be considered disturbing? How do you define threatening?

Even so, freedom of speech should be permitted as it is a form of human right. However, it is two-way approach for freedom of speech implementation to be successful. One, issues that prove to be threatening to the social security should be heard and immediate government attention should be given to reduce the impact of such speech. More importantly, address the matter. Address people’s concern. Priority should be given to resolve the issue rather than just to reduce the spread of it.  Two, on the part of the speaker, some social communication etiquette, understanding and sensitivity should be taken into consideration when he speakers. It is a country whereby you think smart, speak smart. Think smart and act smart would come after the speech.

Week 5: Women and Family

Today’s women are like clowns. But instead of juggling with bottles, they are juggling between their work and family. In the past, women placed emphasis on their family. This is the Victorian Ideal of womenhood whereby women devoted their lives to nurturing children and maintaining home. They are responsible of continuing of family. Men are to work to provide an income to the family. This model, which is similar to the Athens and the Renaissance, can also be seen in Asian and the Indian society. However, in today’s context, besides managing the household, women also have to work in order to secure some income for their family. This is especially so for middle-lower and lower income groups.

Industrial Revolution and World War 2 have open doors to welcome women in the workforce. In the past, women worked for the family. But now, women worked for personal goals and family. When women went to the society to work, they are often at a disadvantage as compared to men. Their might face lower wages for the same job or have lower welfare benefits or others. Education for women in the past is to refine them but today’s education is to empower them.  These are some of the changes we can see to women in our society.

So, what are these implications on men, women and the family?

“The expansion of women’s roles, the shrinking of men’s roles”. I would have to agree with this. As more women find their way into the working force and due to automation, men are often displaced in these situations. This might make traditional mind-set men to feel depressed for not fulfilling his task and had to depend on his wife for his livelihood. He might feel ashamed, humiliated and frustrated. He might turn to suicidal or self-destructive behaviors like over-drinking and start to smoke. For some men, they might turn to become a machismo. A machismo is a swashbuckling blend of male authority and male privilege in Latin America and to help out around the house. Research has shown that “men are more likely than ever to play and interact with their children but no more likely to participate fully in their daily care”. Hochschild described the changing role of men as “the time bind”.

With greater educational and job opportunities, there are greater chances of women achieving their idealistic goals and ambitions. In the past, women’s accomplishment and achievement comes from raising children and maintaining homes. But in contemporary modernized society, today’s women might have greater sense of satisfaction and achievement from their work rather than taking care of their family. Very often, it is not easy for women to be ambitious in a traditional family setting. Different versions of harsh words are often heard to discourage females to becoming ambitious. In these societies, women are encouraged to take a more submissive role.

These opportunities might lead to the mindset of “work first, family later”. As women become increasingly financially stable, with greater job opportunities available to them, women today can have a choice to make. Today’s women have a greater say in a relationship than women of the past. They can have a say as to when to get marry, when to have kids and even initiate a divorce when they do not feel the unhappiness staying on with the man or she found someone better.   This is known as the “vintage year divorce” is a Japanese terminology for marital break-up.  These divorces are more likely to be initiated by women. When women are abandoned or left alone to managed the family, feminization of poverty usually occurs. This situation appears as women are often left as the sole custodians of children, often with limited child support and sometimes limited income. Single parenting is a norm today. In U.S., 8 out of 10 families are headed by single parents and very often they are in their teens or early 20s. These women feel the burden of work and family. It is not easy to balanced both and for some women, they have to take up 2 jobs just for the survival for their family. 

Sometimes, women have to move from places to places in order to support the family. The book “Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy” explains the situation of contemporary women.  Hochschild described the juggling of women’s role at home and family as the “second shift”. The “second shift” is “the anger and frustration that women often feel when they find they are still doing the major portion of the housework on top of their paid work.”

Lastly, globalisation has locked poor women into the global economy and causes the poor men to shut out. In addition, the changing role of the men and women affects the family. The traditional family life of large patriarchal extended families has become smaller nuclear families. As both parents are working to support the family, children might be neglected and in the first place, will they have children when they can be expensive and demanding?

More and more national companies are moving their production overseas and selling their goods to foreign consumers. As a result, more trade occurs across borders and there is greater capital flow between and among countries. There is also an increase in migrations whereby people seek better jobs opportunities.  The financial sector has an increasingly important role to play in the global economy.

Below are some international work and trade organizations that we have to know.

1.      The World Bank and International Monetary Fund(IMF)

These organizations are founded together. Countries have to be a member of the IMG before they can become members of the World Bank. An interesting thing to note is that the number of votes a country receives is based on how much capital it gives the institution. In both, five powerful countries(U.S., Great Britain, France, Germany and Japan) get to appoint their own representatives to the institution’s executive board. The president of the World Bank is traditionally nominated by U.S. while the managing director of IMF is traditionally an European.

2.      The Multilateral Agreement on Investment(MAI) AND Trade-Related Investment Measure(TRIMS)

MAI works in the interest of investors as a labour-friendly government can threaten company’s profits. TRIMS control the movement of capital into or out of their countries.

3.      World Intellectual Property Organisation(WIPO) and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS)

Companies are finding it harder to control intellectual property in computer software and biotechnology. “Reengineering”- drawing on one design as the basis of another is also an increasing concern. “In the old days, intellectual property only covered property rights over inventions, industrial designs, trademarks and artistic and literary works. Now, it covers computer programs, electronic images and recordings, and even biological processes and genetic codes.”

4.      The World Trade Organisation(WTO)

Also known as General Agreements on Trade and Tariffs(GATT), is a body that speed up trade negotiations as well as oversee and enforce provisions of the GATT. There are times whereby they are referred to as “a place where governments can collude against their citizens” and other cases such as “large corporations are essentially renting governments to bring cases before the WTO.”

5.      International Standards Organization(ISO)

The organization aims at easing trade by standardizing the dimensions of industrial products. They are often linked to “technical barrier to trade” and creating a “strategic partnership”.

6.      The International Labour Organisation(ILO)

They are around to draft conventions, monitor their implementation, publishing and analyzing global labour conditions and providing technical assistance to national government.

The Dollars and Sense Collective, “The ABCs of the Global Economy” March/April 2000.

-         How globalization affects the lives of Singaporeans?

Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life and the deprivation of opportunities to learn, to obtain better employment to escape poverty, and/or to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens. According to Mollie Orshansky, who developed the poverty measurements used by the U.S. government, "to be poor is to be deprived of those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted."

Poverty may affect individuals or groups, and is not confined to the developing nations. Poverty in developed countries is manifest in a set of social problems including homelessness and the persistence of "ghetto" housing clusters.

There are 5 main factors that caused poverty. The 5 factors are environment, economic, health, government and social factors. 

1) Environment Factors

Erosion, desertification, overgazing, deforestation and geographical factors are some environmental reasons causing poverty.

2) Economic Factors

• Unemployment
• As of late 2007, increased farming for use in biofuels, along with world oil prices at nearly $130 a barrel, has pushed up the price of grain. Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world.
• Capital flight by which the wealthy in a society shift their assets to off-shore tax havens deprives nations of revenue needed to break the vicious cycle of poverty.
• Tax havens which tax their own citizens and companies but not those from other nations and refuse to disclose information necessary for foreign taxation. This enables large scale political corruption, tax evasion, and organized crime in the foreign nations.
• Unequal distribution of land. Land reform is one solution.

3) Health Care Factors

• Poor access to affordable health care makes individuals less resilient to economic hardship and more vulnerable to poverty.

• Inadequate nutrition in childhood such as iodine and iron can impair brain development, undermines individuals to fully develop their human capabilities and thus makes them more vulnerable to poverty. One-third of the total global population are affected by iodine deficiency, including 285 million 6- to 12-year-old children. In developing countries, it is estimated that 40% of children aged 4 and under suffer from anemia because of insufficient iron in their diets.
• diseases of poverty: AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis
• Clinical depression substance abuse, including for example alcoholism and drug abuse

4) Government Factors

• Lacking democracy in poor countries:
• Weak rule of law can discourage investment and thus perpetuate poverty.
• Poor management of resource revenues can mean that rather than lifting countries out of poverty, revenues from such activities as oil production or gold mining actually leads to a resource curse.
• Failure by governments to provide essential infrastructure worsens poverty.
• Poor access to affordable education traps individuals and countries in cycles of poverty.
• High levels of corruption undermine efforts to make a sustainable impact on poverty. In Nigeria, for example, more than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigeria's leaders between 1960 and 1999.

5) Demographics and Social Factors

• Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods. Note that population growth slows or even become negative as poverty is reduced due to the demographic transition.
• Crime, both white-collar crime and blue-collar crime, including violent gangs and drug \cartels.
• Historical factors, for example imperialism, colonialism and Post-Communism (at least 50 million children in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union live in poverty).
• Matthew effect: the phenomenon, widely observed across advanced welfare states, that the middle classes tend to be the main beneficiaries of social benefits and services, even if these are primarily targeted at the poor.

• Cultural causes, which attribute poverty to common patterns of life, learned or shared within a community. For example, Max Weber argued that the Protestant work ethic contributed to economic growth during the industrial revolution.
• War, including civil war, genocide, and democide.
• Discrimination of various kinds, such as age discrimination, stereotyping
• gender discrimination, racial discrimination, caste discrimination
• Individual beliefs, actions and choices.

- Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty (16 August 2008)

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