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Singapore – For a country that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of high-tech governance, there has been little national discussion in Singapore on the balance between data collection and individual privacy.
Now, COVID-19 has forced the conversation, after it was revealed that data from the government’s contact-tracing app, contrary to initial promises, could also be used for criminal investigations.
The public backlash prompted the government to not only acknowledge that it had made a mistake but also to introduce new legislation to restrict the use of the data.
Under the new amendments to the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, passed in the Singapore Parliament this month, personal data collected by digital pandemic contact-tracing programmes can only be used to contact trace, unless it is required by law enforcement for investigations into “serious offences”.
Beijing authorized its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels and destroy “illegal structures” in waters where Chinese territorial claims are disputed by neighbors and, in one case, rejected by an international court.
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After the crackdown, Hong Kongers fear the future
When news of the first arrests began trickling through, Joey Siu got straight onto the phone to her friends in Hong Kong. As they stopped responding, one by one, she realised the crackdown was growing - and fast.
The 21-year-old student activist, who fled to the US two months ago, watched the detentions mount on her screen: a social worker, an academic, a former journalist, an American lawyer. I panicked, said Ms Siu, as the scale of the operation became apparent, partly because of the fact that I can t go back and help.
Trump supporters gather in the U.S. capital to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory over President Trump.
“Enemies of democracy are celebrating these unbelievable images,” tweeted German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who called on Trump and his supporters to “finally accept the decision of the American voters and stop trampling upon democracy.”
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Michael Fullilove, executive director of Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank, said leaders of America’s adversaries, including Russia and China, would celebrate the chaos.
“The champagne is flowing in the Kremlin and Zhongnanhai today,” he tweeted.
Beijing’s Global Times propaganda outlet could barely contain its delight, using terms like “karma” and “retribution” in a roundup of Chinese social media posts on the events.