9th Edition: THE SITE FUCKING CRASHED LMAO edition.
A lot of images and posts of the last general got broken. So I think it's better to make a new one.
Discuss anything on Southeast Asian politics. Coming 2024 Elections, open orgs, People that should be dead for different reasons running in Malaysia's elections or just random shit. There are still dozens of us… hopefully! Starting off this general with massive wave of cult sex camps.
Matrix room:
https://matrix.to/#/#!YeYeuZuLSYkegWssey:matrix.orgLast threads:
https://archive.ph/5rqoxhttps://archive.is/Jlc7Ahttp://archive.is/0NhJHhttp://archive.is/nDq1Khttps://archive.vn/cxwtyhttps://archive.is/ayshzhttps://archive.is/2NLO8https://archive.is/3f5Rf>>1947611https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/property/hcmc-new-apartment-market-prices-itself-out-of-buyers-reach-4792837.htmlHCMC new apartment market prices itself out of buyers’ reachFirst post being how landlords destroyed any prospect for the future for us youth in Vietnam. The fucking real estate buyouts by rich fuckwads for get rich quick investment schemes has fuck this country royally.
>They are looking for a unit costing less than VND3.5 billion and located within 12 kilometers of the city center, but of the six properties a broker recently told them about, four face legal issues and the rest are either too small or too costly.For perspective it would take the average person
50 years of work to even afford this.
>Some 80% of these are premium units priced at VND60 million per square meter or higher.What the fuck. This is why housing should be a human right.
>>1949704Simple, because rapid unpredictable urbanization fucked tons of countries over. Here in Vietnam the rapid pace of urbanization in the south was due to the US turning them into concentration camps to keep proles away from communist guerrillas. Saigon (what now has expanded into HCMC) was a hive of slums and poverty. Due to this the city was partly depopulated post unification. And even then the slums stayed because some people won’t leave.
Not to mention my idea on imperialism on one country in which had saigon being a leech that suck away resources from the countryside. Something that Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok are still doing.
https://news.yahoo.com/news/myanmar-civil-war-threatens-key-195714231.html so how long do you think mandalay gonna last
>Myanmar’s bloody civil war is obstructing Beijing’s plans for a major trade route, the BBC reported, obstructing construction efforts and putting the key economic project at risk.
>The Chinese-Myanmar Economic Corridor was intended to give Myanmar access to global markets via the Indian Ocean, uplifting the impoverished nation as well as supporting China’s investments in energy and the mining of lucrative rare earth minerals.https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-forces-kill-six-mandalay-women-and-children-in-scorched-earth-retreat.htmlThe rebels are heading in already
>Six civilians including children were killed when Myanmar regime forces conducted indiscriminate air and artillery strikes while raiding a village in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region, on Saturday morning.This is as desperate as the derg in eritrea
>>1960272https://www.yahoo.com/news/myanmar-junta-invites-armed-groups-164321787.htmlThe junta gave up.
>Myanmar's embattled junta on Thursday invited armed groups opposed to its rule to stop fighting and start talks to bring peace, after three-and-a-half years of conflict.Weak sauce, but probably the only way for the country to not balkanize
>As well as battling determined resistance to its rule, the junta is also struggling with the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, which triggered major flooding that has left more than 400 dead and hundreds of thousands in need of help.Also the typhoon probably didn't help. It's hard enough for a united country like vietnam or the philippines to deal with it.
>"We invite ethnic armed groups, terrorist insurgent groups, and terrorist PDF groups which are fighting against the state to give up terrorist fighting and communicate with us to solve political problems politically," the junta said in a statement.The chinese would probably be the mediator.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/vietnam-protests-chinese-forces-attack-on-fishermen-in-contested-watersChina just can't stop being complete douchebags. Next level chauvinism.
>Vietnam on Oct 2 protested to China over what it said was an attack on a Vietnamese fishing boat three days ago in contested South China Sea waters that injured several fishermen.>“Vietnam is extremely concerned, indignant and resolutely protests the brutal treatment by Chinese law enforcement forces of Vietnamese fishermen and fishing boats operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement.>Vietnamese state media reported this week that around 40 people from two foreign vessels had beaten the fishermen with iron pipes, injuring 10.Fucking thugs.
>>1965336It used to be racially segregated into 3 areas. Sai Gon for the french and their collaborators, Cho Lon for chinese diaspora and Gia Dinh for the natives. By the time the Americans came the Cho Lon area became a massive slum, where the urban communist insurgency prospered. All 3 areas were merged into HCMC following reunification.
Holy Lebensraumn Batman
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/prabowo-banks-on-ambitious-schemes-to-boost-indonesia-s-economic-growth>As such, among the new administration’s initiatives is developing huge food estates in Papua province, a remote, under-developed region in easternmost Indonesia.>Food estates are food plantations that are usually run by local farmers and funded by the government, to promote food self-sufficiency.>The Papua plan envisions the conversion of 22,290 sq km of land – about 30 times the size of Singapore – around Papua’s Merauke district to plant padi, sugar cane and cassava – a starchy tuber similar to yam.<Moreover, using Eastern Europe to feed Germany also was intended to exterminate millions of Slavs, by slave labour and starvation. When deprived of producers, a workforce, and customers, native industry would cease and disappear from the Germanised region, which then became agricultural land for settlers from Nazi Germany.Yep totally not evil at all mister butcher of Timor.
>Already, 47-year-old tycoon Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad – a main donor to Mr Prabowo’s presidential campaign – has reportedly ordered 2,000 excavators from China, of which about 100 have arrived at the Papua site, and land clearing has begun.Such productive forces. Much nazism!
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/10/27/pm-anwar-dismisses-backlash-calls-critics-slow-witted-as-he-says-accepted-najibs-1mdb-apology-in-good-faith/155040>I SO SOWY FOR STEALING 4.5 billion dollars UWUWhat the fuck is wrong with malaysia lmao
>“I am the prime minister, I am the father of the nation. When someone says something like this (apology), what should I do? I accept it in good faith,” he said while addressing attendees at the Perak PKR Convention at the Kinta Riverfront Hotel in Ipoh.Who gave you the right to be daddy? People voted you in for a single fucking term lmao.
>“I understand my position on 1MDB, but it’s unfair to single out just one individual. Sometimes, those who attack have assets that were embezzled even more than that,” he added.Clown shit
>>2002918Anwar is not wrong about that but it’s so depressing how it’s the status quo. Malaysia is just beyond corrupt towards scum like najib.
In other news vietnam is intensifying island building mostly because they have been able to make in house anti ship missiles and upgraded their S125 SAMs.
https://amti.csis.org/how-many-runways-is-vietnam-building-in-the-spratly-islands/And since they have more features than anyone else they can expand as much as they want without getting into the limit of numbers like china nor the limits of resources like the Philippines.
This is what Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and China should have been.
Slovenia: How to Get Rich Without Capitalism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzG6X7FiOFM>>2019759Not excited for the population of Eat Pray Love liberals overtaking retarded bogans here in Bali.
It's already bad enough, but the latter at least won't shy about with giving the people here (me) free booze.
>>2030749Wrong general. SEA is Myammar and everything east till Polynesia.
>>2019759Well at least it won't just be white people this time.
>>2020996>slovenia>part of Yugoslavia <not capitalism Already retarded. The fact that it got way higher development was due to the federal state prioritizing it so fucking much. Then slovenia itself refused Serbian demands for shock therapy which led the economy to be relatively intact while everyone got fucked.
>>2032583Maoris nationalist are dumb. Especially with how utterly insufferable maori Americans are.
>>2030749Looks like they did a handy (2/3) majority.
Interesting.
Let's watch a socdem party with a mandate cuck out, anons.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/the-philippine-vice-president-publicly-threatens-to-have-the-president-assassinatedSara Duterte publicly threatens to have President Marcos assassinated> Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday, November 23, 2024, she has contracted an assassin to kill the President, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself is killed, in a brazen public threat that she warned was not a joke.Holy fuck lol
>Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the “active threat” against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to an elite presidential guards force “for immediate proper action.” It was not immediately clear what actions would be taken against the Vice President.Is this the start of the Filipino civil war?
> The Presidential Security Command immediately boosted Marcos’ security and said it considered the vice president’s threat, which was “made so brazenly in public,” a national security issue.Wait why isn’t she arrested lmao
https://aceh.tribunnews.com/2024/11/26/helikopter-tni-au-ditembak-di-mimika-papua-tengah-dua-prajurit-terlukaIndonesian Air Force Helicopter Shot Down in Mimika, Central Papua, Two Soldiers Injured, one of the helicopter crew dead>A shooting incident occurred on a Caracal 2213 helicopter belonging to the Indonesian Air Force (AU) in Hoya District, Mimika Regency, on Tuesday morning (11/26/2024).>The Caracal 2213 helicopter, registered with registration number H2213, has now successfully landed at Yohanis Kapiyau Air Force Base (YKU). The Rajawali Special Team consisting of 24 personnel, using four helicopters , was deployed to Hoya District to evacuate victims. The two members affected by the ricochet Second Lieutenant Pnb Marsa Fuad and Private Wisadang, have been evacuated to Timika Regional Hospital. >>2050738Well it's part of To Lam's autistic drive to clear out the bureaucracy, 5 ministry are getting shafted, and merged into other ministries. I'm in labor and social welfare so i'm basically fucked. Either being thrown into the medical ministry or the education one. It's gonna be a shit show considering this was done on a whim and had no process. See Beria.
>>2050659>Source: BBCYou do know that the vietnamese language version of that tripe is banned for essentially nazi propaganda right? Those fuckers recently got so hard downsized by the UK that they had to move their operation to bangkok so suck off the junta SBB's tits to stay alive. BBCV main way of mking money is talking dogshit. Recently they had an article praising thatcher's privatization of railway.
One example is their buyouts of sabeco which is still a shitshow that made less money than other domestic competitors and their stock is tanking.
https://www.mpi.gov.vn/en/Pages/Report-on-Foreign-Direct-Investment-1740.aspxThailand isn't in the top 20 investors into the country lol. If anything it's the singaporeans.
>>2056722Ricky would be the lumpenprole that Marx would get along with.
Bubbles would be the intellectual
>>2058270It's not like the subianto plant can win that, Jokowi already caused enough bad blood with the attempt to put his youngest son at that post. People in jakarta are 1 voting out of spite for jokowi/subianto and 2 voting due to the other guy promising more after anies dropped out.
>>2072503Speaking of which the non chinese border ones took another town.
https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-arakan-army-border-maungdaw-680c84094241949fe3fa36c4c49e67de>One of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometer (168-mile) -long border with Bangladesh.Arakan is basically forever lost.
>The capture by the Arakan Army makes the group’s control of the northern part of Rakhine state complete, and marks another advance in its bid for self-rule there.SDF ass vibes
>>2079652>trusting thai news about Cambodia Lmao. You do know the animosity between those fuckers right? Their internet interactions are either calling for race war, slur tangent or we wuz kangz autism. I think it’s projection considering Thailand rn is far more unstable, just yesterday the myanmar ethnic armies threw a bomb at a border town.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/two-detained-after-bomb-kills-three-at-thai-festivalTwo detained after bomb kills three at Thai festival>BANGKOK - The authorities in Thailand have arrested two men following a bomb blast at a festival near the border with Myanmar that killed three people and wounded dozens, police said on Dec 14.
>An improvised explosive device went off on a dance floor at a festival in Umphang district in Thailand’s northern Tak province on the night of Dec 13, according to local police.
>Tak police chief Samrit Ekamol said the Myanmar suspect had thrown the bomb after encountering a “rival gangster” he had previously fought with.However this isn’t to say that Cambodia is a bastion of stability. They gonna face a small recession in the future when all the Chinese investments dried up as they seek greener pastures and especially as they try to coax Vietnam back into their fold with the High Speed Rail. Cambodia is just piss poor in developing their industry, they can’t even process their own rice in any significant capacity.
>>2080555Oh hell yeah I
love capitalist economics and state redistribution, Marx was overrated - it's
evolution baby!
japan expanding their fascist grip upon the philippines
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2025/01/06/philippines-and-japan-renew-bilateral-money-swap-arrangementPhilippines and Japan renew bilateral money swap arrangement>The Philippines and Japan have renewed their Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) effective on Jan 1, 2025, the Philippine central bank said Monday.
>The Bank of Japan, acting as an agent for the Minister of Finance of Japan, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signed the Fourth Amendment and Restatement Agreement of the Third BSA.https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15227855U.S., Japan, Philippines strike deals on defense, investment at leaders’ summit>The U.S. plans a Coast Guard joint patrol in the Indo-Pacific region in the coming year as well as joint maritime training activities like one scheduled “around Japan in 2025,” the countries said.
>Washington will also place undisclosed “humanitarian relief commodities” at Philippine military bases, they said.
>New investments were announced in undersea cables, logistics, clean energy and telecommunications. Facebook parent Meta invested in a submarine cable system that would connect the U.S. with the Philippines.Pinoys will soon have the japs patrol their waters now
>>2106725Thai Far-right, Left, and Liberals: "Nooooo, the Thai government is selling Ko Kut and the overlapping territory rich in oil and gas, claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia, to Hun Sen!"
Cambodian Opposition: "Nooooo, Hun Sen is selling the overlapping territory rich in oil and gas, claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia, near Ko Kut, to the Thai government!"
Guess why he got shot.
>>2080555The average fillipino duterte nationalist is now a bong bong nationalist that wants duterte executed.
More or else started the same soft genocide of our nation for gentrification that Marcos is continuing. Marcos isn't actually that anti-China outside of populism as our economy is still being the eternal doormat to China, in fact Sino-Flip trade is at an all time high. There will never be a war over the SCS because Marcos isnt dumb enough to waste daddy's vassal kingdom over some lines drawn by a rich chinese filipino asshole 50 years ago.
>>2106818The whole thing with duterte having a Filipino epstein as a rasputin basically microwaved pinoy nationalist brains. They basically don’t know what to think no more. What’s funny is that the NPA and the CPP are probably the only guys who won’t sell the country to the highest bidder.
>>2106801Thai and Cambodian banter is still the funniest shit. Crazy level of racism for no reason.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jan/8/takeshi-ebisawa-yakuza-leader-pleads-guilty-u-traf/Update on the yakuza boss trying to smuggle uranium into Myanmar
Japanese organized-crime leader pleads guilty in U.S. to trafficking nuclear material>A Japanese national who federal authorities say is a key figure in Japan’s organized crime group, known as Yakuza, pleaded guilty Wednesday in New York to conspiring to traffic in weapons-grade nuclear material in Asia, the Justice Department said.
>Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, also pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges, including conspiracy to send to the U.S. large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine in exchange for surface-to-air missiles intended for rebel groups in Burma.
>Ebisawa also was convicted of laundering what he believed was drug money as part of a multi-year Drug Enforcement Administration undercover sting operation.
>The weapons were to be shipped to the Shan State Army and Karen National Union, two rebel groups in Burma. The arms were to include three Army portable M72 light anti-tank rocket weapons, 10 7.62 M60 machine guns, 10 5.56 Colt Canada C8 automatic rifles, and 400 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, according to DEA Agent Thomas P. McLaughlin in a criminal complaint in the case.
>In 2020, Ebisawa told undercover sources that he had access to a large amount of nuclear material that he offered to sell. To prove he possessed the material, he provided photos showing rocky substances next to a Geiger counter measuring their radiation. Lab documents also were provided showing he possesses uranium. >January 14, 2025 –Oppo and Realme face backlash for pre-installed apps violating user privacy. >Sensitive data was accessed; officials demand accountability.
>Oppo and Realme, two major smartphone brands, face a firestorm over a shocking data privacy scandal. >Pre-installed apps on their devices have been found accessing users’ personal information, including contact lists and phone numbers, without consent.
>The Fineasy loan app, embedded in certain phone models since 2023, is at the center of the controversy. >Alarmingly, users cannot uninstall this app, which has been flagged for lacking a license from Thailand’s central bank to operate as a digital loan service.
>Pol Col Suraphong Plengkham, a director from the Personal Data Protection Commission said:This app's invasive data collection is a gross violation of user privacy. >Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has intervened, ordering the suspension of phone sales with the app pre-installed. >Oppo and Realme have apologized, stating they are working to remove the app and offering support for users to uninstall it.>However, Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, NBTC commissioner, noted:The absence of proper oversight of pre-installed apps is a systemic flaw that must be addressed immediately. >Critics argue this scandal underscores the risks of pre-installed software and lax enforcement of data protection laws. >While the brands claim no data leakage occurred, the incident has left consumers questioning their digital safety.https://www.vpnranks.com/news/oppo-realme-phones-caught-in-app-data-privacy-scandal/ https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thai-pm-paetongtarn-almost-fooled-by-asean-leader-seeking-money-in-ai-voice-scam>hey this is anwar pls gibe me 100 million dollars<okay i'll send it… wait a minuteHeirness nepobabies are stupid as fuck
>>2112521Woah phones have spyware? Say it ain't so
Vietanon, how's it going with the leadership handover since Trong died?
>>2107913>still calls it Burmalol burgers.
>>2123714Boring. Communists or far-left groups here don’t have the guts to create their own party. Instead, they attempt to leech off parties with SocDem policies, only to be suppressed when they become too powerful or make the 'Porkies' behind the party uncomfortable. (Both of the top two parties have been infiltrated by members of the now-defunct CPT at all levels.) Moreover, many newer groups keep getting deradicalized over time and eventually turn into SocDems. As for the already existing leftist groups that don’t align with any party, I’m not sure what they’re doing behind the scenes.
>>2123714Sadly, the revolution was bamboozled by a guy who wanted to be the Thai Führer and a group of opportunistic nobles from the very beginning.
>>2124489>>2124227Preciated. Thanks vietanon! <3
>>2123708>secretlyEh. Not so.
What sincerely pisses me off is the USAsians who have all the smoke for China, Vietnam or DPRK for things like 'speech' and even calling Kim a monarch, but they consistently have 0 words for Thai. Except maybe positive vacationing experiences.
So… anyone’s worrying that the son in law of suharto is bringing back the new order?
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesias-new-leader-expands-militarys-role-test-fragile-democracy-2025-01-28/Indonesia's new leader expands military's role in test of fragile democracy Indonesia is already a sham oligarchic democracy with everyone left of socdem banned. It’s gonna get even worse.
>Just three months into office after sweeping to a landslide election victory last year, Prabowo has quickly expanded the armed forces' roles in several public areas - including running much of his flagship project to serve free school meals.Like what the fuck? How is this not a junta forming right in front of their eyes?
>His allies in parliament are also preparing legislation that would allow Prabowo to appoint active military officers into senior government positions, dismantling some of the safeguards put in place after Suharto was overthrown in 1998 following an economic crisis and popular uprising.Oh wow we really do be establishing Thai-style military dominance
>A former son-in-law of Suharto, Prabowo was a special forces commander under his repressive 32-year reign and was later dismissed from the military amid unproven allegations of human rights abuses.Oh yeah I almost forgot he’s the butcher of timor and papua
>>2138912>Thai progressive anti-monarchy activists—you guys made it too obvious that you were receiving funds from this organization to push your movement forwardI'm not so sure.
These people do like to present themselves as very 'western facing', but also the US state sees Thailand as their man in the region and a 'stabalising factor' to them, meaning that Thai helps to keep the Burger Order in place.
Why change it up with all the risks this brings when what exists works for the americans just fine?
>>2138912Anti monarchy people has always existed, this is a good thing since the lack of usaid reigning will leave them to get radicalize towards the left, since there's no money in peaceful demonstrations anymore lol.
>>2138922Not everything western backed is bad. The US was in some rare based retard mode once in a while. Hell they backed the vietminh. Or the german backing lenin. The radlib republicans in Thailand are basically being controlled due to the CIA being afraid of it going beyond socdem and actually using force to kill the monarchy. Same reason they backed the kurds in order for them to back off attacking turkey.
God we need to get away from this fucking cancer and move on to nuclear power.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/vietnams-industrial-boom-drives-global-coal-imports-new-highs-maguire-2025-02-11/Vietnam's industrial boom drives global coal imports to new highs
>Vietnam's imports of thermal coal rose 31% to 44 million metric tons in 2024, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler, which contrasts with just a 1% expansion in global thermal coal imports last year to 1.01 billion tons. >An enduring boom in Vietnam's export-oriented and power-hungry manufacturing sector has been the main catalyst behind the surge in its imports and use of coal, which is the country's largest source of power.>The growth rate of Vietnam's coal purchases in 2024 far exceeded the 11% rise in imports by China, the world's largest coal consumer, and ensured that Southeast Asia registered the largest rise in coal imports among all regions last year.It's insane that we're in the 21st century and the main power source is still coal.
Any comrades in java? I need to know how bad the cuts for the state sector in indonesia now.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/students-lead-dark-indonesia-protests-100002200.htmlStudents lead 'Dark Indonesia' protests against budget cuts>- Thousands of students staged 'Dark Indonesia' protests in cities across the country on Thursday against budget cuts and other policies of President Prabowo Subianto, fearing they will undermine social support systems and their futures.
>Clad in black, about a thousand placard-carrying students in the major city of Yogyakarta marched through a busy thoroughfare yelling out demands for change, four months after Prabowo took office following a landslide election win.
>Herianto, a student leader in Jakarta, said students are protesting cuts in the education sector after Prabowo ordered a cost-cutting drive to free up around $19 billion that can be used to fund his policies, including a school lunch plan.
>"Indonesia is dark because there are many policies that aren't clear to our society," Herianto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said. "The cuts are designed to plug a hole in the free meal programme expenses. Education is one of the things that could be impacted. Students are so angry."https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-prabowo-budget-cuts-government-ministries-toilet-paper-water-lights-4943966‘It’s embarrassing’: Indonesia’s civil servants bemoan lack of toilet paper, drinking water as Prabowo’s budget cuts bite Bro wat the fuck. No water, no tp!
>Earlier this month, Indonesian civil servant Kardiani (not her real name) found the supply of drinking water and toilet paper at her office restricted. Most lights in the restrooms are now switched off, and use of the printer is tightly regulated. This is fucking insane
>Kardiani, 30, works at the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, one of many ministries affected by President Prabowo Subianto’s budget efficiency directive issued on Jan 23. The president ordered a 256 trillion rupiah (US$15.76 billion) budget cut for ministries and state agencies, along with a 50 trillion rupiah reduction in central government transfers to regional administrations. Fucking hell man
>Joanna (not her real name), a 35-year-old employee at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, said many of her ministry’s priority programmes, including telecommunications infrastructure in remote areas, national data centres and digital development projects, would be severely impacted.Some long posts to debunk pragerU and US copium on whether they "won" or not:
NORTH and SOUTH VIETNAM BEFORE UNIFICATION AN ECONOMIC COMPARISON
SOUTH
>British journalist David Hotham wrote: “People boast that the Republic of Vietnam was truly independent, but in fact there was no independence at all. How can a country be independent when its entire military budget is from foreign aid? How can a country be independent when 80% of the money for imported goods is paid for by funds taken from Washington's treasury rather than the national budget”.
>Another characteristic of the southern is the control of Chinese diasporic bourgeoise over the economy. Before 1975, in the South, diaspora Chinese controlled almost all important economic positions, and especially a firm grasp on 3 important sectors: production, distribution and banking. The Chinese owned companies in the South almost completely dominated all walks of business. In 1978, the new government of the unified Vietnam nationalized about 30,000 large and small Chinese businesses to end their control. All in all there were 30,000 businesses in the South? In comarison the number of Vietnamese businesses in South Vietnam was not even a fraction of the Chinese, no different from other countries in southeast asia where the economy was completely dominated by the Chinese diaspora.
>James M. Carter, a professor at Drew University, commented in the book “Inventing Vietnam: The United States and State Building, 1954-1968” (Cambridge University Press, 2008) as follows: “The economic distortion also had terrible consequences. The expanded presence of the United States and the military aid program caused massive inflation. The cost of living rose 74% in the second quarter of 1966. A year later, prices were up 190% from 1965 level. Inflation continued to soar as goods and cash ended up in the black market, and then into safe-deposit boxes in Japan, Hong Kong, and European banks. One official lamented that the war had created “a national symphony of theft, corruption, and bribery.”
>The Saigon regime could not support itself; it could not even collect enough revenue for its daily operations. It had become dependent on American aid… By then, American officials had stopped talking about nation-building, land reform, democracy, and transparency. Instead, they talked about a war that must be won against the enemies of the fictional “South Vietnam” state.
>This trajectory of American policy made it almost impossible to tell the truth about success and failure, especially to policy makers as the United States never achieved the goal that the Saigon regime could survive on its own without relying on US aid. Regarding the dependence of the Republic of Vietnam's economy on US aid, Professor of Economics Dang Phong commented: "The Southern economy before 1975, although it appeared prosperous, was a facade in that it could not support itself."
>For example, the total domestic revenue of the Republic of Vietnam in 1974 was about 300 billion VND, with the 1974 exchange rate of 685 VND/1 USD, equivalent to 438 million USD (an average of 54 USD/person/year), only half of US aid, and only 1/6 of annual military expenditure. This means that more than 65% of national income and most government expenditures were taken from US economic aid. Prosperity did not come from the economy itself but from the huge source of US aid through 4 main channels. That is:
<First, the US poured an average of 1 billion USD into South Vietnam each year, per capita is 125 USD/person/year, equivalent to 75% of average income. Another 1 billion USD in supporting the State apparatus and military, balooning their income, a lieutenant usually owned a house and support his entire family, a minister had a salary worth 10 taels of gold/month.
<Second, the cost of war (outside of the 1 billion USD in aid - there were periods when it reached 28 billion USD/year, such as in 1967, 1968). Due to US mismanagement and corruption a lot of this spilled into the civillian economy. Shell casings alone created enough demands for 7 copper factories; military scraps were the main input for steel mills, because the south had no significant iron ore. Military costs had become a part of the civilian economy.
<Third, also outside of the $1 billion in aid - is spending power of half a million US soldiers, an average of $800/month per person, over $4 billion a year - 10 times the total GDP of the Republic of Vietnam. This huge amount of profits created countless service industries and income for civillians. A laundry shop owner who once contracted to wash clothes for US soldiers said that he only picked up small change in a pile of clothes was able to build a four-story mansion in a year.
<Fourth, in addition to the $1 billion in aid, there were regular aid items in the form of goods that the Americans specified to be purchased by their allies to resolve the trade balance. This method created countless sugar factories, textile factories… that did not have raw material areas for growing sugarcane nor cotton - but imported raw materials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan… for production.
Conclusion: A rich Republic of Vietnam as propagandized is only a legend. An economy completely dependent on aid and controlled by the foreign bourgeoise and gangsters cannot be a developed economy.
>>2165443NORTHIn the North at that time, apart from some minor excesses due to the Land Reform, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam had achieved many achievements in production:
>As a result of 5 reform waves, we confiscated, requisitioned, and purchased 810,000 hectares of land, 106,448 cattle, 148,565 houses, and 1,846,000 agricultural tools of all kinds that were held by the landlord class and divided them among 2,104,138 working peasant households.
>In agriculture: people restored production on abandoned lands, consolidated irrigation and dyke systems, boosted fertilizer production, rebuilt the number of buffaloes and cows lost during the war, improved agricultural tools and farming methods… By 1956, the North produced more than 4 million tons of food, and famine was pushed back. By the end of 1958, the number of cooperatives increased to 4,721 and by November 1960, there were 41,401 cooperatives with 76% of the cultivated land area.>In industry, we have restored 29 old factories and built 55 new ones, mainly in the field of consumer goods production. Result: the total value of state-owned industrial output increased from 28 billion VND in 1955 to 232 billion VND in 1957.>In Transportation: the state has invested quite a lot in the transport and postal sectors: In 1954, 54.4% of the total investment capital was spent on construction and basic construction, in 1956 it decreased to 28.4%, and in 1957 it was 20.9%. Thanks to state investment, transport was rapidly restored: 657km of railways and 168 bridges and culverts were restored in 3 years from 1955 to 1957; 1,624 km of roads were restored, 1,660 km were repaired, 600 km of main roads were built…>Commerce: the state promoted the development of state-owned companies and cooperatives; foreign trade was established with friendly socialist countries.>The cultural, educational, and medical sectors developed rapidly: from 1955 to 1957, the North had more than 1 million people escape illiteracy, the number of people receiving primary and secondary education increased rapidly; in the 1956-1957 school year, the North had 606,000 primary school students, 952,000 high school students, and 3,664 university students. In 1957, the North had 55 hospitals, 13 sanatoriums, 85 infirmaries, 19,700 hospital beds, 362 maternity homes, 5,130 disease prevention departments, and many social and infectious diseases were eliminated.This was a victory of great significance for the countryside and farmers in the North. It created conditions for agricultural production to develop, ensuring food supply for the North and supporting liberation of the South.
>In the reform of private capitalist industry and commerce: the state advocated buying back and redeeming the means of production of the bourgeoisie and gradually paying the ransom to them. All industrial and commercial establishments after the reform were organized into joint-venture industrial and commercial enterprises, cooperatives…, eliminating capitalist exploitation, contributing to promoting production development in wartime conditions.
>In the reform of handicrafts and small traders: the whole North has put 81% of craftsmen into cooperatives, 60% of the reformed small traders have participated in trading groups or trading cooperatives.Carrying out economic development, especially the state-owned economic sector:
>In industry: In the period of 1958 - 1960, the total investment budget for industry increased 3 times compared to the period of 1955 - 1957, the value of industrial products in the North accounted for 41% of the total value of the national economy; in which, state-owned industry accounted for 90.8% of industrial output.>In agriculture: In 1957, the North had 16 state-owned farms, by 1960 it increased to 59 farms. Investment capital for agriculture in this period doubled compared to the period 1955 - 1957.>In construction: Many important projects were built such as: Vinh power plant, Lao Cai, Hai Duong porcelain factory; rubber, tobacco in Hanoi, irrigation works…In terms of culture, education, health: By 1960, the number of high school students doubled, the number of vocational high school students increased 4 times, universities increased 4 times with 9 universities and 11,000 students, raising the ratio of students/100 people to 18/100.
Along with the task of restoring, renovating, developing and promoting culture, the Party and State also pay attention to building the army and strengthening national defense to turn the North into a large and solid rear base for the struggle to liberate the South.
>>2166549Good luck guys, you're gonna need it
>>2172777To Lam W?
>>2174915The fact of the matter is that the other countries are perfectly fine with staying neutral. Hu Jintao literally almost achieved a sea alliance with Vietnam until Xi fucked shit up.
Hell duterte was willing to have PLA troops stationed in the pinoy islands until Xi also fucked that shit up, took the scabourough shoal, attacked pinoy navy and tanked his apporval so that the American simp Bong bong marcos jr took over.
With this logic america and europe should invade and take over all of africa, latam and asia to stop chinese and russian expansion? Retarded ass logic.
>>2175044Dunno, but it's difficult. Giang already told him to eat shit and die when To Lam tried to cut down on the military. And Luong Cuong is basically a Giang proxie. Currently all town and municiple party elections are halted for Lam's big reorganization. I'm stuck in a filing job rn.
>>2175766>The fact of the matter is that the other countries are perfectly fine with staying neutral. Hu Jintao literally almost achieved a sea alliance with Vietnam until Xi fucked shit up.>Hell duterte was willing to have PLA troops stationed in the pinoy islands until Xi also fucked that shit up, took the scabourough shoal, attacked pinoy navy and tanked his apporval so that the American simp Bong bong marcos jr took over.Wait so the do nothing and win man is only such because every time he does something it bites him in the ass? /s
If they were about to achieve a friendly position, I wonder why they went on building islands instead? I guess the simplified take would be "imperialism" but that would be a really surface level explanation.
>>2184314Being chinese. Also killing a shit ton of opponents in the drug war. There's a big pogroms against the diaspora rn. This gonna bite marcos jr just like when his dad did it in the 80s, as the victimized minorities will form the back bone of the NPA once more.
>>2182993One mod member is sg. He's around.
>>2189941Based JDPON DON at it again further pushing into the arms of China, i see?
I'm here for it. Gonna ride that train until the tracks run out.
FDPD >>2175766There's no such thing as democracy in Indonesia, virtually we ain't got anything at all. There's no representation in the government, no controlled opposition or even opposition at all. Things are FUBAR right fuckin' now.
In fact, we only got two party from the New Order. The green party = the armed forces/military and the brown party = the police. Yeah, just like how you burgers scums with democraps & republicunts. We're in this shit cuz of you. Fuck you.
Chairman Xi, please save us and fire when ready. Screw with SEA, y'all bunch of faggots should've stop playing both sides. And for Aussies, watch out. We might've start another East Timor invasion or even attack you later.
>>2176493>I wonder why they went on building islands instead?I like when NLF-comrade hyperventilates about something, but in this case Vietnam and the Philippines started militarizing the SCS first and were doing so for far longer than China. Something that was admitted by the US decades ago.
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve12/d353The perspective of China vis a vis the Philippines militarization compared to the Vietnamese militarization is that the Philippines is ultimately Uncle Sam's vassal and the building of bases in the SCS is ultimately for the benefit of Uncle Sam, especially since the Filipino government tends to support the US on the Eastern China issue. So China will always make the Philippines eat shit while letting the Vietnamese slide off comparatively
>>2182993I've already gotten my standby notice for the election, so its definitely on within the next couple of months.
>TNLA Clashes with SSPP Forces in Muse Township
March 24, 2025
>In Muse Township, northern Shan State, clashes erupted between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) forces.
>According to reports, the SSPP suffered casualties, and multiple soldiers were wounded during the conflict.
>According to The Kachin Sub-State Media, the incident took place on March 23, 2025, around 12:00 PM, when TNLA forces launched an offensive against SSPP positions in Muse Township.
>During the clash, five SSPP soldiers were reportedly killed, while several others sustained injuries.
>The skirmish continued for about seven hours, with heavy fighting taking place in at least six locations.
>Reports indicate that TNLA successfully advanced into Muse and gained control of certain areas.
>Meanwhile, SSPP forces attempted to defend their positions but faced heavy losses.
>The current situation suggests that TNLA is reinforcing its alliance with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and tensions are expected to escalate.
>By 2025, three major offensives are anticipated as TNLA continues to push deeper into northern Shan State.
>Additionally, reports suggest that TNLA forces are planning further military operations in collaboration with KIA.
>If the situation continues, SSPP might struggle to maintain control over its territories.
>It remains uncertain how the conflict will unfold, but it is evident that tensions between TNLA, SSPP, and KIA will continue to shape the security landscape in northern Shan State.
Source # The Kachin Sub-State Media
Mfs Can't even defeat Tatmadaw yet choose to fight each other.
Duterte International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial LIVE | Ex-Philippine President Duterte Trial Over Drug War | ICC Court LIVE | N18G
WATCH LIVE ON STONED SIBERIANS TV (Cytube/tv.leftypol):
https://tv.leftypol.org/r/StonedSiberianshttps://tv.leftypol.org/r/StonedSiberianshttps://tv.leftypol.org/r/StonedSiberians>>2196775>far longer than china<CHina literally opened fired bfore claiming shit not theirsWOW no shit man. You mean people armed up after you invaded and massacred defenseless people operating thousands of kilometers away from you? Woah I come into your house and live there but if you do anything you're the aggressor. Talk about insane logic my guy.
Simply enough the pinoys are way too damn idiotic, reliant on the US and corrupt to do shit against china. That's why they pushed their shit in. Simple as, they only fucks with people weak enough to not fight back at all as a gesture of F-you to the US. We have stockpiles of missiles and the ships to rival the chinese so they backed off.
>>2199066Basically, controlled oppositions.
>>2203764He truly lost it lmao. Speaking of which the shitshow over in the thai building collapse really shows how bad the junta at doing business with china. The Chinese will only skim when the local government skim as well. So now they're the unfortunate scapegoat for the junta.
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2025/04/02/chinese-embassy-pledges-cooperation-in-thai-building-collapse-probe-stresses-039fair039-investigation >>2206694Yep, porkies in SEA in general loves doing this type of cooking the books. They partner up with some rando chinese company, take evrything in the budget, leave the rest for the chinese to build. And when it eventually fails tell the chinese to flee then blame the local diaspora for it.
>>2207621We're basically bribing the shit out of trump rn. It's openly a bribe lmao.
>>2206660>I come into your house and live there but if you do anything you're the aggressor. NTA but this is unironically true btw,in first world countries you can only call the cops to remove them because they can sue you if you try to remove them physically and "use too much force",and you have to prove it with witness testimony or a written paper saying you explicitely told them to leave.
it's also entirely illegal to have traps or anything active to protect your house
>>2206660>You mean people armed up after you invaded and massacred defenseless people operating thousands of kilometers away from you?Yeah and? I was pointing out that Vietnam and the Philippines did it first so why they (or you rather) get to complain about China building their bases when they started it first is laughable.
>Simple as, they only fucks with people weak enough to not fight back at all as a gesture of F-you to the US. We have stockpiles of missiles and the ships to rival the chinese so they backed off.You are now reaching jai hind levels of hyperventilating. Please continue.
>>2199834Goddamnit 3rd May?! That is way too early. Aw man the labour day rally will probably be cancelled.
>>2199078This reminds me of the scandal with one of the minister getting scholarship for his children. And while I was arguing for the scholarship being given to poor kids, I guess I never realised that scholarships need to go to poor kids, else they will stay in their community for too long and organize. PAP is eating from its own source of talent and discontent management.
>>2220795Not at all, considering the pinoys had dogshit coast guard, no missiles and no marine militias. Not to mention they stole that shit from the southern puppet when those fuckos got pushed by the US to cede them.
>>2220858Wdym? It's already a thing since 2000s. The challenge is to carve out a niche in it and push the chinese into investing.
looks like things might be escalating between india and pakistan again, closing off water streams, trade, and airspace.
they might go to war.
or it could all just be a dick measuring contest.
who knows
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/pakistan-india-kashmir-attack.html>>2239643For real though this might open a 4 front war and fully fucked south asia
Like the Indians will back hashina returning to bangladesh in a special military operation + backing the taliban and baloch nationalists. Pakistan might approach the turks for help while egging on china.
>>2239676fuck. sake.
What side will UK gonna take?
>>2239729whatever side daddy america takes.
but if kier takes a neutral or pro pakistan side that pretty much guarantees the hindu population of the uk becoming permanent tories
>>2239790Thanks i'll give it a read.
IDK about civil war but i 100% think there will be inter-community violence.
Can someone make a thread?
==Indian military action could be possible: Pakistani security source=
With the increased bluster from Indian government officials, Pakistani security officials believe that Indian military action could now be possible, but say the country is “ready for any Indian misadventure”.
“We are maintaining a high level of alertness and vigilance, but unlike India, we don’t want to create any unnecessary hype by talking about our readiness,” a security source told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, as he has not been authorised to speak on the matter.
“India is wrong if it thinks there isn’t going to be any tit for tat. However, we are both nuclear-armed countries, and Indian aggression could lead to an irresponsible situation. Both of us should act carefully,” he added.
The official further questioned India’s allegation of Pakistani involvement, noting the attack took place nearly 200km (125 miles) from the Line of Control, the de facto border between the two countries, and highlighting the presence of more than 500,000 Indian security personnel in the Kashmir Valley.
India urges its citizens in Pakistan to return home
India asked its citizens visiting Pakistan to return home “at the earliest,” a day after it unilaterally suspended a bilateral water-sharing pact, the Indus Waters Treaty, with its western neighbour.
It also asked Indian nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
The ministry announced the suspension of visa services to Pakistani citizens. Earlier, it had suspended visas to Pakistani citizens under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation framework.
Pakistan has retaliated with its own measures, including suspending all trade and closing land routes as well as its airspace.
Day 4 morning of the Singapore election and it is pretty wild so far. Day 1 dropped a bombshell on the political campaign.
PSP did not contest as many areas as before, while RDU fills up the gap. Both are rather left wing in their economic policy , with RDU even proposing an UBI for Singapore. A siaolang party, PPP has also contested many seats in PAP strongholds. All other parties did their nomination of candidates without much fanfare. However, the biggest opposition party
and my party, WP has made one of the coldest and most high stakes gamble since 2011.
Marine Parade, one of the GRCs (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_representation_constituency) district that they ran in 2020 and been campaigning ever since, had been redrawn to hollow out WP strong areas for MacPherson, a PAP stronghold. Most parties announced their candidate line up days before the election. WP did so too for areas they already controlled, Hougang, Aljunied and Sengkang. Notably WP did not mentioned their line up in the other battleground GRCs they are in, East Coast, Tampines, Marine Parade, Punggol and also two other SMCs. Everyone, even within WP membership, was wondering who was going to these 4 GRCs.
On Nomination Day, WP made the very very (literally down to last hour) minute to completely abandon Marine Parade, sending their Marine Parade candidates and membership directly to Punggol instead. Effectively 140k people in Singapore cannot vote, a walkover since 2011. This has attracted mockery and frustration from PAP and two minor parties contesting in Tampines. The former had to send a deputy prime minister to buff up the PAP line up in Punggol at the very last minute, while the latter was upset a much bigger opposition has come from its turf to their turf without informing them. WP also sent two candidates to two SMCs but that's a story for another time.
But why the move? All three GRCs has a regional advantage for WP to exploit.
>Punggol: Next to Sengkang, a recently held WP area. Both have similar demographics of young families who are less likely to vote PAP. WP has also won some area in Punggol as a SMC so it still has a presence there. WP sent their rising star player and young married MPs there to contest>Tampines: Highest concentration of Malay (33%) in Singapore. Malays are mad at the Malay PAP MP in the area for being terrible on Malay issues. Before WP came over, PAP has 66% of the votes too. To that end, WP sent their well known Malay MP form their stronghold over to Tampines, effectively solidifying (or at least trying to) the Malay vote. WP has also been low key campaigning here for years, so their presence is more well known.>East Coast: The most pro WP area from Marine Parade was given to East Coast, which WP already had 47% last election. Among all three, WP has the most ground game here, with membership doing campaigning in this area since the last election. In fact the only other area that they have done campaigning in for this long and this hard is in Marine Parade. To that end WP sent the weakest candidate line up here.The move was cold but efficient. WP's leadership made a statement that they didn't feel like they could win Marine Parade with the changes, nor do they have the resources and personnel (in terms of members not candidates) to indulge in a losing campaign. They however made a promise to return to campaigning in Marine Parade after the election. So many people were annoyed, even within the party. But alas this is politics and sometimes there are casualties.
I do not know the outcome of this play, but I do know that WP is playing to win above all else. If it flips only no GRC, its reputation is deeply blemished. If it flips one, not much has changed. If it flips two, it will be hailed and lauded just like in 2011. If it flips all three, WP is a government in waiting.
Day 2 has its own surprises as well. Major parties had their own rallies in certain designated areas. I will mostly talk about WP rally since it was by far the most popular in terms of people attending and livestream viewers with WP's viewship was at more 12 times the second largest viewed rally and also I was there myself lol
PSP, the major party in the west, and SDP had their speakers harp on the transgressions of PAP government these past few years. PSP's leader lamented that PAP lost its way after all these years and how PSP is try to fix PAP mistakes. Fittingly for a man who was a PAP MP for decades. SDP also mentioned their campaign to reduce GST and reform to the CPF structure. PPP whines about PAP and WP, especially the latter for abandoning Marine Parade and putting Tampines in a 4 way fight. Their leader even saying "Don't ask me about Pritam Singh (WP leader) again. I am not interested in him I am not gay." This man was stepped over for a major position in WP and has had a 20 year crashout from it. PAP mocked SDP's electoral moves and harped on staying together in troubling times.
Most other parties chose stadiums in secondary schools to do their rallies, but WP made an interesting choice to do so in a open field at Sengkang, the GRC that they won in 2020. The field is also adjacent to Punggol too, a strategic choice to get Punggol voters to come over and witness the rally. WP has had a reputation of holding massive rallies, but also its inability to transfer these massive rallies to votes. This is because the people who do come usually don't live in WP contested areas, or who are just noisy PAP voters. WP in 2015 infamously held massive rallies but still almost lost Aljunied. 2020 there were no rallies yet they still flipped Sengkang.
Still their reputation for having an electrifying rally is maintained. The field was muddy but the rally stage was built up in time. Every WP candidates came to the rally and sat on the stage. They talked about all kinds of issues, similar to the PSP and SDP, harping on PAP's mistakes and rallying their base for a more diverse views in parliament and within the party.
But what is interesting are the minor issues they harped on. First one was voter secrecy, because they want to assure voters that voting is secret hence they have nothing to fear voting for them. Indeed many speakers talked about rejecting their fears and encouraged others to do so. This is to combat the PAP's narrative of fear in a world of tariffs and global recession. The youngest candidates even quoted a line from Game of Thrones "Can a man be afraid if he is brave? That is the only time he can be brave!". I cringed but the crowd loved that shit.
Another minor issue was reforms to the education like reducing class sizes and stress from tests. But how they did it was interesting. Many of the candidates have kids or going to have kids, and use them as rhetorical devices to talk about the manifesto policies WP has made. Indeed a common theme among the speeches is to have hope. Hope for a better Singapore and a better future.
Perhaps one of the personally shell-shocking moment was when a Malay female spoke about Palestine. It was in our manifesto too, but has been kept low key since the manifesto was published. This might solidify the Malay and Catholic vote at the expense of the Christians. Already people are calling WP the Woke Party. We will see the ramifications of this soon enough.
Finally, a Malay man spoke about transport, incorporating the recent train breakdowns and many statistics in this speech. He was not a great orator and it was by far the most boring speech. But alas what he was talking about is perhaps the most important topic of the night. WP has pledged to establish a National Transport Corpoation, effectively nationalising all of transport services in Singapore. As he harp on how the profit motive is killing the effectiveness of the transport services, a leftist standing beside me told me he should talk about CEO's pay to incite the base. I insisted on talking about the profit motive, even saying that to talk of CEO pay is center left politics, and the profit motive is left wing politics.
The rest is standard showmanship. The one running against the National Trade Union Congress chief in a SMC made indirect attacks on his character. Many people didnt know who he was but his speech has rocked the political scene and has made him a considerable threat in the SMC.
Finally, our leader was such a drama king. Showed up late mid-rally (thought it was preplanned but turnt out to be traffic problems). Mocked PAP candidates in Houagang and Adjuined, and also the massive freebees they have given in these areas to win (LABUBU!). He ended off by asking the rally attendees to look the left and right and to take care of one another safety while exiting the rally stage.
A captivating rally that does own up to the reputation given by older folks who has had seen them before 2015. I only hope this and with livestreams they can reach the targeted audience and get people in the battleground GRC to vote for them.
>>2242186My family was theorizing that the PAP deliberately called an election as quickly as they could to make sure the opposition would have as little time as possible to prepare. That and due to long Labour Day weekend, a substantial number of citizens would probably be abroad. Also unfortunately, the Labour Day rally is scheduled for 25 May instead
>This might solidify the Malay and Catholic vote at the expense of the Christians.The Gaza issue is very much a coinflip, some care a lot and some just don't, unless it gets pushed to the forefront I don't think it will turn a lot of people round.
Day 3 of the election is the day for party broadcast.
Parties now are already doing outreach. Basically going around hawker centres and train stations to hand out a calling card of their faces and names. WP also hands out an A4 size paper dictating the tldr of our manifesto pledges, while also having a QR code to access the full manifesto.
Like their symbol, PAP comes and goes quickly while making a loud noise. Camera crews even with a videographer and someone carrying a boom stick follows the PAP MPs as they canvass the voters going about their lives. PAP even gives out brochures and freebies like sweatbands, ice cream.
Day 3 was also a time for everyone to fire back at what was said during the rallies. PAP leaders mocking SDP and WP electoral moves, while SDP counters by calling said MP a hypocrite for abandoning Aljunied when he lost there. WP leader also defended his decision to enter Tampines against the PPP leader. They probably knew each other personally since the latter is an ex-colleague of the former before the 20 year crash out. Nothing major to report.
The only other important thing to note is the party broadcast. Each party was asked to make a message for public, with the time given to them is in proportional to their seats contested. The minor parties harp on the usual topics. Rising living costs, stagnating wages, rising inflation. Indeed in terms of economic issues, almost all the opposition parties are mostly in sync with welfare state policies. It varies on exactly how they go about doing it. RDU does use this time to preach left wing populism, claiming that they are against the 'billionaire class' for 'those that are left well'. Ironic that RDU leader mocked the constant rebate vouchers given by PAP but is also pushing UBI, which is like an universal rebate voucher anyway. Nonetheless, RDU does come across as more sane and inspiring than most of the minor party, including PSP, whose leader meanders about the global crisis and how PSP would do to tackle the issue
By sharp contrast, WP's leader didn't mentioned much of his economic policies nor was he as sarcastic as his rallies. Instead, he was somberly talking about how WP wants to build a functioning democracy, and how WP has governed its GRCs well. He also mentioned his party's parliamentary record, his members being more active in parliament than most PAP members and even the two PSP members. He even mentioned that the WP is not a contrarian when it comes to voting PAP's bills, usually voting along sensible bills and debating on different. This attitude is what originally causes many to criticize WP as too moderate and accommodating to PAP, hence the infamous PAP-lite moniker. He brings it back to accountability and diversity in Parliament. Perhaps to assure swing voters that not much will change if WP captures their area, and how WP is a sane opposition party that will act wisely instead of opposing for the sake of opposing, a statement that many in the opposition do feel. We will see if this moves the needle for some, but the base isn't exactly impressed and galvanized by this party broadcast.
Unfortunately, PAP has the longest time and the last word. And oh boy is the broadcast terrible. The prime minister creates doom and gloom narrative of the world, with tariffs overheard and the potential rise of multipolarity. "A storm is coming for us." Repeating "Uncertainty." "Existential threat." My friends were so off putted by his constant doom and gloom and they were already tuned out by his bland and uninspiring speech. And yet he ends off with his constant vouchers and rebates. PAP is becoming a caricature of its oppositions. Reducing economic policies to vouchers vouchers vouchers while constantly putting Singapore into a siege mentality. Idk if many voters will start to drown out this constant negative vibes and/or aura the prime minister gives, but we will see.
>>2244045Yea they always do that. It is frankly embarrassing to do that and turn around claiming everything is fair.
>Labour Day rally is scheduled for 25 May insteadYea that is kinda bullshit but oh well.
>The Gaza issue is very much a coin-flip, some care a lot and some just don't, unless it gets pushed to the forefront I don't think it will turn a lot of people round.Already social media platforms are criticizing WP. Also one thing to note is that the churches do message or lobby their flock to vote for PAP, infamously doing so in the cooling off period. The christian zionists could use their network to do so since WP takes a hard stance against Israel.
Day 4 of the campaign and we are about halfway done. The electoral campaign is until May 1st, where there is a cooling off day and then an election. Already controversies are arising. A Muslim preacher in Malaysia endorses WP for supposedly meeting WP malay leaders to talk about various malay issues and Gaza. The Muslim preacher makes it seem like there was a deal made with WP malay leaders on certain matters. A minor scandal online happened for a day or two.
In that time, the PAP prime minister publicly rejected identity politics, claiming it is needlessly divisive in our multiracial country. A shadow jab at WP leader, especially since the recently disgraced and ousted Muslim MP was infamous for preaching identity politics and using it to fight for malay issue. The WP leader makes a point to reject the Muslim preacher's endorsement, clarifying that the Malay MPs did meet with various malay community leaders, of which the preacher decided to enter to talk about his pet issues. No agreement was or can be formed with this outsider. WP maintained that it is independent of foreign influence and of religions being used as identity politics. A bold move for a party that has its MP candidates play up their ethnic background and language speaking during rallies.
It is also another round of rallies. Not much happen other than one of the SDP's candidates accidentally saying racist slur against of her own party members. She didn't think it was a slur but alas the damage is done. Minorities were outraged over what has happened. I will speak about it later. PAP has its ex-MPs and ministers whine about how the world is going to a dark place and how they must have a strong mandate, as if WP or PSP could topple their government. So bleak and deary, idk why anyone wants to hear it. WP candidates was even mocked as strangers to Punggol.
For WP's rally, it was rather muted. Held in the Tampines GRC, much much more people showed up in the junior college where it is held than the PPP, one of the smaller party running in the 4-way Tampines GRC. Perhaps it would show that it is only a 2-way fight in Tampines? Regardless, the Tampines and East Coast candidates gave their speeches and pivot their personal issues to their manifesto pledges. What was interesting was that some of them loved to raise their fist for a while after their speech, while some just bowed and waved. Perhaps a sign of who is the left wing and right wing of the party? One of the best speakers that night was the one running in the Changkat SMC, a really really small area of Tampines craved out as part of a gerrymandering plot to dilute Opposition. He mocked this gerrymandering, alluding it to North/South Korea and West/East Germany. Instead he pledged to make a Tampines plan, to vote WP in both GRC and SMC "under one roof". A cheeky reference to a sitcom long ago. His references in his speech even stretched to Star Wars (May the Fourth be with you) and 三国演义. His humour and Singlish really sells his personality. Even when the emcee gave him timing slips, he made quips about it and carried on. Definitely one of the sleeper candidate to watch.
As always, WP leader was late to the rally but still dominated the stage when it is his turn. He mocked the PAP manifesto, a shocking short and vague document. I originally thought it was TL:DR verison of the manifesto, only to find it is the actual document! The WP leader viciously attacked the manifesto, calling it a blank check. He also mocked the PAP members in NTUC (both in WP contested SMCs), using them to assure the public that even if they are voted out, they still has job security in serving the people in NTUC. He asked voters to keep them focused on NTUC. He really loves to mock the PAP candidates, especially those contesting in WP areas. He even attacked the NTUC-Allianz deal, mocking the NTUC PAP MPs for being impotent on the issue. They refused to debate on the deal or even defended its actions. Eventually the deal was scrapped. He says PAP-NTUC is a twisted symbiotic relationship where the latter is controlled by the former, while WP has a symbiotic relationship with Singaporeans. He also ended his speech with the stuff he said earlier about his party independence from foreign actors.
Will this move the needle? I do not know but we will see.
Day 5 of the campaign was disappointing in flair and events. PAP tried their best to defend themselves from the NTUC-Allianz deal, even attacking the WP from abstaining on the emergency bill that was proposed to stop the deal. WP of course shoots back, claiming that Parliament didn't need new legislation anyway and could rely on preexisting laws and powers.
Tonight there was also a Roundtable discussion that welcomed the top 6 parties (PAR, PSP, SDP, WP, RDU, PAP). SDP refused to show up while WP and PSP sent their younger and more eloquent members. What a nothingburger the Roundtable discussion. It was not a debate or even a conversation between parties, but a questionaire where everyone gave their speech on specific issues. PSP and WP representatives were smart to tie their answers to manifesto pledges. PAR's leader tried to make long tirades against the PAP but was cut off. RDU did well to make passive aggressive remarks to the PAP. Unfortunately PAP gets the final say with much more time than all parties. In fact everyone could the PAP representative was reading off an Ipad. This could have been an email! vibes off of this discussion. PAP representative did not say anything new, but focus their attacks on WP for their manifesto policy. Nevertheless, many people loved the PSP and WP representative. The time on TV could increase their profile by a lot.
This unfair format is probably a reaction to the 2020 debate where PSP,WP,SDP and PAP sent their representative to debate on TV. WP sent Jamus, a handsome economist to debate with guailang PAP minister Viven (he is a male Indian). Much was said during and about the debate, but one thing that struck with me was when Jamus sidestepped accusations from Viven that WP was PAP-lite. He talked about not giving PAP a blank check and there will always be trade offs between capital and labour, with PAP choosing the former and WP the latter. This line is what solidified my view that WP isn't a moderate centrist party, but an acutal succdem party. And its manifesto about nationalizing transport, hawker centres and coffeeshops is pretty impressive for a succdem party. It has even pushed for JTC corporation (Singapore government's organization) to buy or acquire more commercial and industrial land in order to keep rents low. No doubt these policies were only possible with someone like Jamus in the party. As a sidenote, too many people who complain about WP being too moderate and bland ought to read its manifesto. In fact a WP volunteer recalled receiving some chafing from certain voters for being too left wing. WP is moving the Overton Window in Singapore with their bold moves.
Anyway, Jamus became an overnight sensation with Sengkang eventually becoming a sleeper hit in the 2020 election, flipping over to WP. Micheal, who is WP's representative for this cycle could have had a similar effect that night. But the format didn't allow for such verbal jousting. Nevertheless, more face time on TV with his handsome face speaking clearly on the manifesto positions could still carry Micheal and his Tampines team forward.
I hope everyone is frustrated with PAP's heavy handed approach in the election and changes to the GRCS and now the debate format to vote otherwise out of spite. This and the economy should turn the needle elsewhere. 2015 and its pessimism still looms over all of us in believing that change is unlikely. I hope 2025 brings a new era in politics.
Day 7 of the campaign is where another round of rallies are made. This time WP goes to Punggol to do their rally, in the exact same area as PAP a few days ago. You may start to notice that my posts are becoming shorter and shorter. That is because I am recalling from memory. And also because the next few jabs between PAP and the Opposition are more or the less on the same issues.
PAP usually gripes about 3 main points
>Opposition does nothing coz they only know how to criticize
>Opposition winning more seats would mean PAP and therefore Singapore would be weaken in negotiation
>Opposition eliminating potential ministers (that were parachuted in of course) would mean a severely weakened cabinet
And as always, opposition parties would respond with
>Opposition can only do something when it wins seats and get into committees
>PAP is more or less going to have 51% of the seats in Parliament anyway so Opposition should be voted in to give them a majority
>PAP cannot whine about losing ministers if they move them to hotly contested seats in the first place
That and the PAP's narrative about tariffs and fear of a new world order vs the Opposition's narrative about hope for a better Singapore in the face of a bad economy. The rally speeches for WP is more or less the same. Talk about their lived experiences, pivot to a particular manifesto policy, tell people to vote not out of fear but out of hope. And that Workers Party is a loyal, rational and credible opposition.
When I say Punggol has star power, it is clear in their speeches. They made grand speeches that night, attacking their direct opponents in the area and rebutting the snide comments they have made. They mocked and depict them as out of touch. The WP leader would later touch on that too. Nothing too unusual.
What is unique is the WP's chairperson (basically the 2nd in command), who leaned into her old age last time, leaned into her femininity. She was WP's chairperson for decades, and usually one of the few women running for the party. This time 5 additional women are running with her and she took today to highlight that. A bit idpolish but I guess it is needed. She makes a particular point that this might be the only time Punggol can vote for WP. It is a fresh made GRC, whose parts has been divided up into other areas before. a poignant point of the constant and drastic gerrymandering in Singapore.
But would that be enough for Punggol voters to vote WP? I have heard that many young people want to vote WP but are unable to convince their parents to do so. I can only hope the pure star power, that many inside and outside of the party believe to be the key in winning elections, can carry us here.
Day 8 of the election and there are scandals abound. A WP members contesting against the NTUC chief, has his chat leaked where he constantly berated many aspects of Singapore and whatever he found unhappy. While of coz he said nothing racist or sexist, people seem to be offended, or think others will be that he was so vulgar and crass. A sign of how mindlessly conservative Singaporeans can be. What is worse is that many in PAP spoke out against wokism, yet they indulge in their own brand of purity politics and cancel culture. Bad press for the next few days, but nothing has changed on the ground in terms of sentiments.
This day, WP has its rally in East Coast. A decades long battleground GRC that was always out of reach from WP. Last election, it sent its biggest star into the area, Nicole Seah. A pretty firebrand speaker of her time, she hopped around parties before coming to WP. She was basically our AOC. Alas, the heir apparent of the PAP's prime minister was parachuted into this area at the last moment, giving her an uphill battle. Still she managed to pull the GRC to a 53-47 result, the third closet result of the whole Opposition contesting areas (not including Hougang and Aljuined). The PAP heir apparent was disgraced by the result of the election as a whole and basically retired from politics, leading to the current guy to take over.
A few years ago, she was caught on video having an affair with another WP MP. This forced them both to resign from politics. A huge shame and a massive waste of momentum. Her disappearance and PAP's heir apparent minister makes this area a rather bland and boring fight.
Everyone this side of the ECP already knows who is WP and what it stands for. EC is the non WP-area that has constant house/market/hawker visits for 10 years. The only area that can compare to EC is Marine Parade. This and the addition of Joo Chiat, already an infamous WP stronghold, and Chai Chee to EC does make this area easily contestable. Unfortunately, the line up this year is not particularly eye catching, so much so that most people even forget it exist (last pic attached doesnt have EC in the meme). And they need this rally to really catch eyeballs.
And it was a rough start, already a lighting alert delayed the rally by half an hour. It was very close to being cancelled, potentially causing a riot outside. This meant that some speakers couldn't speak tonight to save time. Still the stadium was as always filled to the brim.
East Coast speakers that night did have some nice speeches. One uses the imagery of blue skies to come to EC. Even those who are not contesting EC talk about EC as an old home. Perhaps the most polarising is Nathaniel Koh. Someone who is like the anti-orator, speaking in a calm and monotone style. Yet he speaks of his struggles and the struggles of others. Many dislike his bland speechmaking, but many like his earnest and sincere approach. Finally, the star of EC, the steward of Joo Chiat, JJ spoke. An old man who spoke until he started coughing, making Nathaniel Koh come up to him to offer him some water. He mocked the gerrymandering his home of Joo Chiat being moved around to dilute its votes. He attacked his PAP counterparts for his foolish comments.
Finally it was the WP leader's turn. He attacked the partisanship of PA, Sparkletots and RC. These institutions were dominated by PAP and used to act as electoral machinery for PAP. The people are infamously insufferable and partisan. It is also a way for people trying to get benefits for their children or citizenship for themselves. When WP wins an area, they are still denied these resources to serve their residents' municipal needs. He also appealed to the youth, telling them that WP has faith in them in whatever they do. He has also appealed to new citizens, saying that a pink IC makes you one of us. The former is a solid source of opposition, while the latter is infamously and stereotypical a source of PAP votes. Indeed many natives have accused PAP of selling pink ICs for votes, breeding a sense of doomerism and nihilism in singapore politics. The narrative of the Great Replacement Theory is very much alive here, for native Chinese and Indians hostile to the mainlanders. It does not help that the new citizens themselves proudly say that they vote for PAP precisely because it gave them their citizenship.
I fear xenophobia rising in Singapore, whose citizens are already outnumbered by foreigners in this country. Only 2.8 million out of 5.8 million on this island are able to vote. Already PSP and SDP are embracing anti-immigrant rhetoric, with WP adopting more moderate positions. Things could get worse and worse for new citizens if they persist in this quid pro quo style of voting. Blue skies ahead for Singapore or stormy thunder? The EC GRC is a battleground for these competing visions for Singapore. No star power, no online or media appearances, just pure ground game and legacy voting.
I apologise but I must blend Day 9 and 10 together. The polling ends in a few hours and the sample polls will come up soon. Suffice to say, nothing major happened in the last 48 hours. An Instagram story of a MOE teacher berating the NTUC chief for his rude comments when he was Minister of Education went viral on social media. But so far nobody IRL commented on it to make it particularly significant. The WP Punggol team made a stance against the overt objectification of one of their candidates.
PAP have had their loyal dog, the NTUC to hold a MayDay rally on Labour Day. Later that evening, PAP brought out all the big guns to hold rallies in all three battleground GRCs for WP. They have effectively abandoned the west and north of Singapore to focus on the east. They are desperate and scared of losing, aiming for a Hail Mary. Will that be enough? I will find out hours from posting this.
WP made their final rally in their home stuff. Hougang and Aljunied. I have never noticed before, but Hougang still looms over WP in terms of producing volunteers and candidates from that area. Many candidates spoke their experiences working in Hougang. They have even made a youtube documentary of Hougang, where the previous leader of WP went to appeal the Chinese educated residents and temples to capture the SMC. He would later tighten his grip on Hougang, visiting residents on regular house visits. He even visited every wake in the area, something that is more or less practiced by all WP MPs in their own respective areas. This entrenched the area to WP, a home fortress to retreat to. Earlier I mentioned an insane gamble made in 2011. The previous WP leader was literally goaded to move out of Hougang to contest Aljunied himself. He handpicked a team, which included the now WP chairperson and leader to contest Aljunied with him, leaving a protege to hold the fort in Hougang. He won both and the two has never slipped WP's fingers since. He retired after 2015, and since kept a low profile. His health is declining too and he feels out of touch of the youth. This is why he gave leadership to someone completely different from him, an indian major who turned into a lawyer. He does do campaigning during the past few days, but doesn't want to talk to the press. Many have asked him to make a rally speech which he is famous for, but it is clear this is a new WP and any sign of interference would make them look weak.
The attendance was of course full af, and the viewerships remains ever high. The same themes and topics were retreaded, so I won't dwell too much on that. WP leader kept his attacks on PAP manifesto and leadership, while claiming that WP is a force for good worthy of more seats in Parliament. As a grand finale, he invited the old leader up on stage for their traditional pledge recital. Interestingly, he asked a new candidate to recite the pledge, while he stood beside the old leader to take the pledge. A sign that he is passing on the torch soon? Time will tell.
All in all, WP made a great campaign with few missteps, an excellent manifesto that is worthy of taking over the government with. Its politics of hope and change shine every brighter than PAP's doom and gloom. Its emphasis on check and balances and policies to combat the cost of living shows it is a proper succdem party with potential of becoming more socialist. I remain optimistic of WP but ever pessmistic and disgusted by the people it is trying to represent and serve. Many leftists make the mistake of thinking if they have just the right rhetoric and policy suggestions, they would win votes. But Singapore's politics has shown time and time again to not be the case, that is all boils down to electoral machinery to try to appeal to the reptilian mindset of the apathetic voters. I dread being disappointed but not surprised at the results that is coming out soon. For better or for worse, Singaporeans will get the government it deserves.
Well the results are out and it was indeed gloomy skies but alas my point about being disappointed but never surprised about Singapore still stands. An absolute garbage showing for Opposition. It seems that the fear mongering of the election really did work and Singaporeans gave into the politics of fear. A national swing to PAP despite rising living costs and housing prices. WP did made some gains, but it was muted with the gerrymandering and parachuting of ministers. Maybe even the new citizens? Regardless it was no 2015 and WP did well considering the opposition parties. It seemed like Singapore wants more of the same problems and same bullshit. Vouchers, fear and gerrymandering. What a nation of cowards. The fact that the NTUC chief got in is an indictment to the population.
I cannot in good conscience be pleased with the result. My contempt and disdain for the Singaporean population has only solidified. Whatever terrible thing the government did for the past few years and what they will do now is on their hands. The last time after 2015, they increased GST and had the White Paper about population. I dread to think what is to come soon. Already so many online are coming out of the woodwork to say that actually PAP is handling things well. Yet HDBs is being sold a million in Sengkang, fertility rate drops to all time low of 0.97, and inequality rises. WP appealed to people's better angels and their economic woes, but they gave into fear and uncertainty. 66% voted for what is to come.
>>2252462Yea, PSP did real bad this time. Not really sure why but their ground game is pretty bad as well. I guess their performance in parliament isn't as good as WP. At least the mosquito parties will recede into the background and more talk time will be given to WP.
>>2252804>What a nation of cowards. The fact that the NTUC chief got in is an indictment to the population.Eh, this happens all the time in other places. The majority will not want to move until the situation has really gone FUBAR and drastic change is needed. It's a classic case of the frog being slowly boiled and not moving until its too late. Even when the bad circumstance could have been averted if more had been done before, people just won't care until shit is really bad.
I always think of the circumstances that kicked off the Russian and Chinese civil wars, no hope, no food, mired in brutal conflicts that had devastated the land. A lot of times people need to be forced by really bad times to change, maybe there just is no real alternative.
>>2253048Yea in a way WP is a real succdem party in a sense that it is actually advocating for policies that is designed precisely to avoid revolution. Failure to meet inroads in parliament is accelerating the conditions of revolution. What I fear is that socialism will not take root but naked nativist extremism not unlike Trump and Reform Party.
>Eh, this happens all the time in other places.Not to such an extent like in Singapore.
Laos got attacked by hmong terrorists 2 soldiers died.
https://www.chiangraitimes.com/news-asia/laos-outpost-attack/>The first attack on the Lao base happened on May 3rd. Reports say the attackers split into several small groups, using a plan to draw in reinforcements before launching a stronger assault. This led to at least two Lao soldiers being killed. Lao forces captured three suspects during the fighting.Currently it seems that the attackers have fled across thailand again
>As of midday on May 5th, Lao forces still haven’t regained complete control of the area. They have avoided using heavy weapons for fear that stray shells could land on the Thai side of the border. In a previous clash, a 7.26mm bullet hit the roof of a house in Thailand, leading Thai authorities to warn Bokeo officials.Seems very sus and probably thai funded
>The three people detained told officials they belonged to an ethnic group with a long history of conflict against the government in Laos. The reason for the attack on the Lao base remains unclear, but it’s suspected to be linked to either the local drug trade or ongoing ethnic tensions.Definitely hmong nationalists and vang pao remnants
>>2252804>The fact that the NTUC chief got in is an indictment to the population.The fucking NTUC chief is in some kind of scandal now and some PAP voters are trying to wash their hands of voting for a party who put him in in the first place. Such bullshit man.
>>2261933That is like some Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere type of imperialism all over again…
>>2266495IIRC they also already have a higher density of cooperatives in comparison to China so this isn't as unbelievable as it might first seem.
Also they will be / are buoyed by their proximity to the nodes outside of historical US uniploar world dominance, in addition to directly bordering two people's republics.
What NON-armed\military campaigns, actions, militancy, and activity, do (otherwise armed) Maoist groups perform? india, nepal, philippines, i think turkey even(?)? Do they "organize" peasantry? try to do charity, volunteer work, triangulate food and medical aid, etc? Do they fight CELIBATE religious priests (in India- brahmins, for example) or nepalese buddhist-monks?
How bad is life as a landless rural laborer really , In Nepal, Turkey, or even Peru wherein PCP-SL is still mildly active?
>>2266495>socialism>free healthcare and educationNot what socialism is.
>>2270011Not a fan of maoists but it's insanely difficult for maoists to do all that considering they're busy either on the run from the government (philippines and india) or doing sectarian autism (nepal).
This year Labour Day Rally was rescheduled to 25/05/25, as May 1st was during the campaigning period. So it is somewhat regrettable that there was a significant decrease in participants and media personnel this year. I guess the election tapped out a lot of people's enthusiasm for politics and people are checking out.
Still it is interesting to see members from almost all the opposition parties, even the "siao lang" ones. In fact that fucking meme jokester guy came to the event. At the very least, I know he isn't a clout chaser. I will keep in mind to remember the people who did came since it does show their sincerity.
The succdem party had the most presence here but the real opposition party really invested in this event is the SDP, who lately embraced a huge left wing shift. Their star youth member, who is also the owner of a left wing media platform is one of the speaker that night. SDP youth wing also has their own booth, trying to recuit young people that come to these events and get them to sign their electoral reform petition. Their leader even announce a consumer coop with his cafe as a starting point. Altogether i find this party's moves to be overtly ambitious and grandiose, in stark contrast to the succdem party's more cautious and arduous attempts to build a party machinery designed to win elections.
Already the succdem party members are rather resistant to setting up their own booth, assuming their significant presence here is implicit endorsement. I do suspect divisions within the party and where the fault line lies, but still the party is not as radical in its posturing than its manifesto.
Speaking of which there booths gauging the parties' policies effectiveness. Interestingly it only has PAP and WP, implicitly showing that we are in a two party state lol. I did ask what can WP do better in policy and got some feedback over certain redistribution measures but not any structural changes to fight inequality. Well at least we are the best among the parties.
Last year I mentioned that the sex work organization was agnostic on whether sex work is work. But this time they are advocating overtly that sex work is work. I guess their groundwork is still helping sex workers with welfare and stuff, but now it seems they are truly invested in advocating for it. Artists has also formed a collective too and offered their paintings as decorations.
The speeches this year was rather underwhelming as more 'professional' speakers and activists are speaking this time around. As always, the race and gender makeup of the speakers are lean drastically into minorities and female, just like most of the audience as well. I even lamented to someone I know that chinese singaporean are very classcucked compared to the minorities. Previously there were the poor and workers speaking about their struggles and what now, now they are 'activists' and politicians speaking.
More glossy and showmanship speeches that is very utopian socialist in nature. Amazingly, the last speaker, the SDP guy spoke about workers of all stripes uniting together, including the migrant workers. Perhaps the closest speaker to being a marxist on stage.
Indeed this worker rights org has pivoted to migrant labour and their rights in their organizing for the past year, with 50 migrants workers watching a livestream of the whole event. All the end, the organizers did their own mini march while the migrants sang the Internationale in a rather monotonous tone but they sang it in their native language via the livestream. A spectacular finish to this event, much better than the previous one. I do hope the country just as this event is slowly pivoting to socialism more and more. Perhaps I can advocate for socialism in my own way but that remains to be seen if the succdem party is a viable platform. 英特纳雄耐尔, 斗阵就一定赢!
>>2285465Sounds like fun, I couldn't be there since I was down with the flu after doing a weekend night shift at my job.
>Their leader even announce a consumer coop with his cafe as a starting pointPls no, I've had enough with all these tiny, air-conditioned, corner cafes selling their overpriced items that never seem to last more than a few years at a time. Seriously no, if I had to come up with a business idea for workers, it needs to be something on the lower end, I had an idea ages ago for a "Complain King" bar, it's mostly like a normal bar, but there's a stage with a mic where anyone who has had a bad day at work (or some horror boss story) gets to help radicalise everyone else by complaining loudly about what happened. The trouble is that I'm really not a drinking person and after my experiences handling drunk people in the police and social services, I'm really not into alcohol of any sort.
Also, since the little india riots there are a lot of restrictions on the sale of alcohol, so its been a dead end idea since.
Unique IPs: 125