Focus Features

Singapore, which previously had some of the most restrictive censorship laws in the world, has backed off just a little bit by enacting legislation allowing for the screening of political films. In 1998, the Singapore government, explains Reuters, “banned the production and screening of all political films, imposing a maximum fine of S$100,000 ($73,000) or a two-year jail term on offenders.” The new amendment to the law permits films that are “factual and objective, and do not dramatize or present a distorted picture of politics in Singapore,” Lui Tuck Yew, a junior minister at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, told Reuters. But while the amendment had overwhelming support, many felt it barely addressed the issue of censorship and lack of freedom of speech. One member of Parliament, Siew Kum Hong explained that “the amendments did not go far enough as it would still allow the prosecution of people who film political rallies without realizing whether the event was lawful or not.”

Singapore, which previously had some of the most restrictive censorship laws in the world, has backed off just a little bit by enacting legislation allowing for the screening of political films. In 1998, the Singapore government, explains Reuters, “banned the production and screening of all political films, imposing a maximum fine of S$100,000 ($73,000) or a two-year jail term on offenders.” The new amendment to the law permits films that are “factual and objective, and do not dramatize or present a distorted picture of politics in Singapore,” Lui Tuck Yew, a junior minister at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, told Reuters. But while the amendment had overwhelming support, many felt it barely addressed the issue of censorship and lack of freedom of speech. One member of Parliament, Siew Kum Hong explained that “the amendments did not go far enough as it would still allow the prosecution of people who film political rallies without realizing whether the event was lawful or not.”