Singapore has banned the sale and distribution of the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine after it refused to comply with media regulations. "It is a privilege and not a right for foreign newspapers to circulate in Singapore", said a spokesman for the ministry of information, communications and the arts. Approval for the Hong Kong-based magazine to be circulated in the city-state was withdrawn because it failed to appoint a legal representative and pay a £67,000 "security bond". These conditions have also been placed on four other foreign publications: Time, Newsweek, the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune. The FEER, published by Dow Jones, has 1,000 subscribers in Singapore. They face legal action if they continue to receive the magazine.
A further example of Singapore's press restrictions was illustrated by its refusal to allow a British journalist into the country. Jaya Gibson, who works for The Epoch Times, was denied entry at Changi airport. No reason was given. Gibson had previously been allowed in to cover the trial of two Falungong followers charged with displaying insulting words on a banner near the Chinese embassy. (Via International Herald Tribune)
