{"id":8497,"date":"2014-05-02T07:58:18","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T23:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=8497"},"modified":"2014-05-02T07:58:18","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T23:58:18","slug":"protesters-gather-at-singapore-park-to-rally-against-immigration-policies-they-say-are-too-lax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/05\/02\/protesters-gather-at-singapore-park-to-rally-against-immigration-policies-they-say-are-too-lax\/","title":{"rendered":"Protesters gather at Singapore park to rally against immigration policies they say are too lax"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SINGAPORE – About 350 people gathered at a park in Singapore on Thursday to protest against immigration policies that they say are too lax.<\/p>\n

A small but growing number of discontented locals blame the higher cost of living on foreigners and have been lambasting the government for its so-called soft immigration policies.<\/p>\n

Organized by activist Gilbert Goh, Thursday’s protest follows recent racial abuse heaped on a group of Filipinos on the island who were planning to celebrate their Independence Day at the city-state’s main shopping belt. Critics say they should hold their celebrations at the Philippine Embassy.<\/p>\n

Goh criticized Singaporean authorities who had warned him Wednesday night that it would be illegal to deface a poster of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.<\/p>\n

Public demonstrations are rare in Singapore, with the ruling People’s Action Party placing tight controls on protests.<\/p>\n

Some protesters carried placards that read “Save our jobs” and “Give us back our Singapore.” Many chanted “Step down PAP and Step down Lee Hsien Loong.”<\/p>\n

A woman in her 50s broke down in tears and said she had lost many of her “true blue Singaporeans” at work because they were replaced by “cheaper foreigners.”<\/p>\n

“Please don’t post my photo. I am worried I will lose my job,” she said as she walked away from photographers.<\/p>\n

Baey Yam Keng, a member of Parliament from the PAP, said that while such protests are rare in Singapore, they “debunk the perception that Singapore is sterile and oppresses dissenting voices.”<\/p>\n

Just under 40 per cent of Singapore’s 5.4 million people are foreigners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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