Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced Friday that only citizens, organisations and companies from Singapore will be allowed to sponsor or participate in activities at Speakers' Corner
Singapore’s MHA announced that foreign entities will need a permit before they can fund or support events at Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park including Singapore’s premier LGBT event, Pink Dot—held annually in June.
The order, which comes into affect on Nov. 1, means foreign entities will have to apply for a permit for sponsoring, publicly promoting, or organising its members or employees to participate in an event.
"Non-Singapore entities will need a permit if they want to engage in such activities relating to a Speakers' Corner event," the ministry said in a statement.
The order seeks to “reinforce the key principle” that the Speakers’ Corner was set up primarily for Singaporeans, according to MHA press release.
The move comes after the MHA announced in June that it would be taking steps to ensure foreign companies do not support or fund Speaker’s Corner events, including Pink Dot who counts Apple, Google, Microsoft, Barclays, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BP and Twitter among their corporate sponsors.
Pink Dot has said it is “disappointed” by announcement.
“Pink Dot has always been a local movement dedicated to bringing LGBT Singaporeans closer to their friends and families and closer to Singapore society as a whole – a universal aspiration that we do not consider to be controversial or political,” said spokesman Paerin Choa.
When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, a Google spokesman said: “We've been proud supporters of Pink Dot since 2011 and we will continue to show our commitment to diversity and inclusion. So we will apply for a permit to support Pink Dot in 2017 if required by this new regulation. We hope that these new rules will not limit public discussion on important issues."
Human Rights Watch urged foreign companies with regional headquarters in Singapore to reconsider the city state's suitability as a business location.
"The Singapore government is not going to be satisfied until civil society in Singapore lives on the ground gagged and bound."
"This is an outrageous interference in the right to freedom of association and a clear continuation of Singapore's anti-LGBT bias," the group's deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, said.
Singapore’s MHA announced that foreign entities will need a permit before they can fund or support events at Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park including Singapore’s premier LGBT event, Pink Dot—held annually in June.
The order, which comes into affect on Nov. 1, means foreign entities will have to apply for a permit for sponsoring, publicly promoting, or organising its members or employees to participate in an event.
"Non-Singapore entities will need a permit if they want to engage in such activities relating to a Speakers' Corner event," the ministry said in a statement.
The order seeks to “reinforce the key principle” that the Speakers’ Corner was set up primarily for Singaporeans, according to MHA press release.
The move comes after the MHA announced in June that it would be taking steps to ensure foreign companies do not support or fund Speaker’s Corner events, including Pink Dot who counts Apple, Google, Microsoft, Barclays, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BP and Twitter among their corporate sponsors.
Pink Dot has said it is “disappointed” by announcement.
“Pink Dot has always been a local movement dedicated to bringing LGBT Singaporeans closer to their friends and families and closer to Singapore society as a whole – a universal aspiration that we do not consider to be controversial or political,” said spokesman Paerin Choa.
When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, a Google spokesman said: “We've been proud supporters of Pink Dot since 2011 and we will continue to show our commitment to diversity and inclusion. So we will apply for a permit to support Pink Dot in 2017 if required by this new regulation. We hope that these new rules will not limit public discussion on important issues."
Human Rights Watch urged foreign companies with regional headquarters in Singapore to reconsider the city state's suitability as a business location.
"The Singapore government is not going to be satisfied until civil society in Singapore lives on the ground gagged and bound."
"This is an outrageous interference in the right to freedom of association and a clear continuation of Singapore's anti-LGBT bias," the group's deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, said.
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Just apply for a permit. It's not banning at all. It keeps tabs on what's being campaigned. In the long run this is valuable information.
And the same rules apply to all. Equality.
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