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A brief history of Singapore, where Trump will meet Kim
Utopia or dystopia? SBS News looks at the story of Singapore in the lead up to the historic Trump-Kim summit.
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Updated
By Nick Baker
Image: A woman poses for a photo at the Merlion park in Singapore. (AFP / Getty Images)
Singapore is set to host a historic meeting between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12.
It's believed the Southeast Asian financial hub was chosen for its neutrality, security advantages and track record of hosting international summits.
But here are five things you might not know about it.
Migrant history
At just 719 square kilometres in size (about half that of Hobart), the tiny Southeast Asian nation of Singapore has a dramatic history.
A woman poses for a photo at the Merlion park in Singapore. Source: AFP / Getty Images
In the early 19th century, Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company established a trading post on the far-flung Singapore island. It would signal more than a century of British presence there.
During this time the port city attracted trade and migrants from across Asia and around the world. But in 1942 Singapore fell to Japan, which renamed it Syonan (Light of the South).
Not long after Japan was defeated by the Allied powers, Singapore attained self-government.
Controversial founding father
In steps Lee Kuan Yew - Singapore's first prime minister and architect of the country's rapid rise.
Mr Lee held onto power for over three decades, overseeing the island's transformation from a malaria-infested backwater into one of Asia's most successful nations.
He combined market-friendly policies with strict controls over the press, free speech, and his political opponents. As such, he was hailed by some as a visionary and criticised by others as authoritarian.
Lee Kuan Yew in 2004. Source: AAP
At the time of Mr Lee's death in 2015, then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott said "thanks to his leadership, Singapore is now one of the world's most prosperous nations, a financial powerhouse, and one of the world's easiest places to do business".
Long lives and fast internet
Nowadays, Singapore punches far above its weight in many world rankings.
The average life expectancy in Singapore is 83.1 years - third in the world (behind Japan and Switzerland) and one place above Australia's 82.8 years.
It ranked first in the OECD's latest global education report, fifth in the United Nations Human Development Index and eighth in the world for gross domestic product per capita.
And, according to the State of the Internet report by Akamai Technologies, Singapore has the world's fastest average peak internet speed.
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Source: Getty
'Harmonious' society
The Singapore government often trumpets itself as a "highly successful" and "harmonious" multiracial society.
Latest government data shows that the country is 76.1 per cent Chinese, 15 per cent Malay, 7.4 per cent Indian and 1.5 per cent "other".
Singapore is a "diverse, multiracial society where people of different backgrounds, races and cultures live together", according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's office website.
But a recent survey of 2,000 Singaporeans found that while the vast majority thought that all races should be treated equally, more than half said they had encountered racism.
Lee Kuan Yew highlighted the importance of tolerance among these different ethnic groups as key to Singapore's success. Although in an interview he gave in 2009, he also highlighted a more practical reason.
A Hindu procession in Singapore on February 9. Source: Getty
"Anything else besides multicultural tolerance that enabled Singapore's success?" the interviewer asked.
"Air conditioning," Mr Lee responded.
His instruction to install air conditioners in all the buildings where civil servants worked allowed people to work around the clock - not just in Singapore's cool early mornings or at dusk.
"Air conditioning was a most important invention for us, perhaps one of the signal inventions of history. It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics."
Troubled human rights record
While Singapore is one of the world's biggest economic success stories, its track record on human rights is more problematic.
According to Human Rights Watch, the country's political environment is currently "stifling".
"Citizens face severe restrictions on their basic rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly through overly broad criminal laws and regulations," Human Rights Watch material says.
A 2014 protest in Singapore. Source: Getty
It cited how in 2017, the country tightened the already strict limits on public assemblies contained in the Public Order Act, which requires police permits for any "cause-related" assembly outside the closely monitored Speakers' Corner.
And according to the BBC, "[Singapore's] tightly-controlled media environment means self-censorship among journalists is common. There are also curbs on online content".
Singapore is ranked 151 on the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.
Additionally, Human Rights Watch has condemned Singapore's treatment of the LGBT community.
"The rights of the LGBT community are severely curtailed: sexual relations between men remains a criminal offence, and there are no legal protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity," it says.
Additional reporting: AAP, Reuters
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