Singapore Facts, History, and Description

A bustling city-state in the heart of Southeast Asia, Singapore is famous for its booming economy and its strict regime of law and order. Long an important port of call on the monsoonal Indian Ocean trade circuit, today Singapore boasts one of the worlds busiest ports, as well as thriving finance and services sectors. How did this tiny nation become one of the worlds wealthiest? What makes Singapore tick? Government According to its constitution, the Republic of Singapore is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system. In practice, its politics have been completely dominated by a single party, the Peoples Action Party (PAP), since 1959. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in Parliament and also heads the executive branch of government; the President plays a mostly ceremonial role as the head of state, although he or she can veto the appointment of top-level judges. Currently, the Prime Minister is Lee Hsien Loong, and the President is Tony Tan Keng Yam. The president serves a six-year term, while legislators serve five-year terms. The unicameral parliament has 87 seats and has been dominated by PAP members for decades. Interestingly, there are also as many as nine nominated members, who are the losing candidates from opposition parties who came closest to winning their elections. Singapore has a relatively simple judicial system, made up of a High Court, a Court of Appeals, and several types of Commercial Courts. The judges are appointed by the President upon the advice of the Prime Minister. Population The city-state of Singapore boasts a population of about 5,354,000, packed in at a density of more than 7,000 people per square kilometer (almost 19,000 per square mile). In fact, it is the third-most densely populated country in the world, following only the Chinese territory of Macau and Monaco. Singapores population is highly diverse, and many of its residents are foreign-born. Just 63% of the population are actually citizens of Singapore, while 37% are guest workers or permanent residents. Ethnically, 74% of Singapores residents are Chinese, 13.4% are Malay, 9.2% are Indian, and about 3% are of mixed ethnicity or belong to other groups. Census figures are somewhat skewed because until recently the government only allowed residents to select a single race on their census forms. Languages Although English is the most commonly used language in Singapore, the nation has four official languages: Chinese, Malay, English, and Tamil. The most common mother tongue is Chinese, with about 50% of the population. Approximately 32% speak English as their first language, 12% Malay, and 3% Tamil. Obviously, written language in Singapore is also complex, given the variety of official languages. Commonly-used writing systems include the Latin alphabet, Chinese characters and the Tamil script, which is derived from Indias Southern Brahmi system. Religion in Singapore The largest religion in Singapore is Buddhism, at about 43% of the population. The majority are Mahayana Buddhists, with roots in China, but Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism also have numerous adherents. Almost 15% of Singaporeans are Muslim, 8.5% are Taoist, about 5% Catholic, and 4% Hindu. Other Christian denominations total almost 10%, while approximately 15% of Singapores people have no religious preference. Geography Singapore is located in Southeast Asia, off the southern tip of Malaysia, north of Indonesia. It is made up of 63 separate islands, with a total area of 704 kilometers square (272 miles square). The largest island is Pulau Ujong, commonly called Singapore Island. Singapore is connected to the mainland via the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Tuas Second Link. Its lowest point is sea-level, while the highest point is Bukit Timah at the lofty elevation of 166 meters (545 feet). Climate Singapores climate is tropical, so temperatures do not vary much throughout the year. Average temperatures range between about 23 and 32 °C (73 to 90 °F). The weather is generally hot and humid. There are two monsoonal rainy seasons—June to September, and December to March. However, even during the inter-monsoon months, it rains frequently in the afternoon. Economy Singapore is one of the most successful Asian tiger economies, with a per capita GDP of $60,500 US, fifth in the world. Its unemployment rate as of 2011 was an enviable 2%, with 80% of workers employed in the services and 19.6% in industry. Singapore exports electronics, telecommunications equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and refined petroleum. It imports food and consumer goods  but has a substantial trade surplus. History of Singapore Humans settled the islands that now form Singapore at least as early as the 2nd century CE, but little is known about the early history of the area. Claudius Ptolemaeus, a Greek cartographer, identified an island in Singapores location  and noted that it was an important international trading port. Chinese sources note the existence of the main island in the third century  but provide no details. In 1320, the Mongol Empire sent emissaries to a place called Long Ya Men, or Dragons Tooth Strait, believed to be on Singapore Island. The Mongols were seeking elephants. A decade later, the Chinese explorer Wang Dayuan described a pirate fortress with mixed Chinese and Malay population called Dan Ma Xi, his rendering of the Malay name Tamasik (meaning Sea Port). As for Singapore itself, its founding legend states that in the thirteenth century, a prince of Srivijaya, called Sang Nila Utama or Sri Tri Buana, was shipwrecked on the island. He saw a lion there for the first time in his life  and took this as a sign that he should found a new city, which he named Lion City—Singapura. Unless the big cat was also shipwrecked there, it is unlikely that the story is literally true, since the island was home to tigers but not lions. For the next three hundred years, Singapore changed hands between the Java-based Majapahit Empire and the Ayutthaya Kingdom in Siam (now Thailand). In the 16th century, Singapore became an important trading depot for the Sultanate of Johor, based on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. However, in 1613 Portuguese pirates burned the city to the ground, and Singapore vanished from international notice for two hundred years. In 1819, Britains Stamford Raffles founded the modern city of Singapore as a British trading post in Southeast Asia. It became known as the Straits Settlements in 1826  and then was claimed as an official Crown Colony of Britain in 1867. Britain retained control of Singapore until 1942  when the Imperial Japanese Army launched a bloody invasion of the island as part of its Southern Expansion drive in World War II. The Japanese Occupation lasted until 1945. Following the Second World War, Singapore took a circuitous route to independence. The British believed that the former Crown Colony was too small to function as an independent state. Nonetheless, between 1945 and 1962, Singapore received increasing measures of autonomy, culminating in self-government from 1955 to 1962. In 1962, after a public referendum, Singapore joined the Malaysian Federation. However, deadly race riots broke out between ethnic Chinese and Malay citizens of Singapore in 1964, and the island voted in 1965 to break away from the Federation of Malaysia once more. In 1965, the Republic of Singapore became a fully self-governing, autonomous state. Although it has faced difficulties, including more race riots in 1969 and the East Asian financial crisis of 1997, it has proved overall a very stable and prosperous little nation.

Mass Media and Stereotypes - 710 Words

Mass media plays an important role of stereotypes in our present-day world, by broadcasting information and entertainment to a variety of audiences. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a common understanding of a person or group of people. Media ranges from television, press, books, radio, and the internet. Media propaganda is the other form of media that is described as manipulation. It is a powerful factor that influences our beliefs and attitudes about others. Race, gender, and economic (class status) stereotypes continue to be used in media despite change in social attitudes. Racial stereotypes are known as being characteristics of a race of people. Many racial groups are affected by media stereotypes, like Asians, African Americans, Muslims, and Hispanics. There are a variety of Asian stereotypes in the media. Some vary from them knowing karate, exceling at some kind of instrument, most girls having a Hello Kitty obsession, most Asians are Chinese, they are good at math, etc. However, the most widely known stereotype of Asians is that they have strict parents. In the book, Two Kinds, Amy Tan writes about an Asian mother who is very strict on her daughter and has high expectations for her. Tan states â€Å"Not the best. Because you are not trying† (Tan 786). This quote shows the negative connotation that Asian parents are in fact strict on their children. By the same token, African Americans have been stereotyped for decades. Stereotypes ranging from blacksShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Black Stereotypes On Mass Media1884 Words   |  8 PagesInitialization and Declination of Black Stereotypes in Mass Media The first Academy Award ever obtained by a black American occurred in 1940 during the 12th annual Academy Awards. 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Southern Voting behavior since the 1960s Essay Example For Students

Southern Voting behavior since the 1960s Essay Voters in many areas of the U.S. are apt to vote differently as a whole from election to election. The nation has also had a decreased turnout rate for the presidential and local elections. The South has typically not followed these patterns that the rest of has seemed to be following. The Southern whites of the U.S. have typically followed and voted for the more conservative candidate and party. Where as the Southern blacks have typically (when they have been able to vote) voted for the more liberal party or candidate. The South was at one time a Democratic stronghold and has in the past 30 years become a typically conservative voting electorate. This tendency of voting by race for the liberal or conservative candidate has been a continuing occurrence. Southern turn out for elections has been significantly lower than the rest of the nation as well over the same time period. This bias of the past 30 years as well as voter turn out has only recently began to change in the South. In the beginning of and prior to the 1960s the South was a Democratic stronghold and it was rare for there to be any competition from Republicans in these non competitive states (Mulcahy p.56). A poll taken in the 1960s showed that the southern states were the obvious stronghold of Democratic identification. The extreme case was Louisiana, where 66% identified with the Democratic party(Black p. 44). This all began to change as the Democratic party became more liberal in its national policy views. The Democrats became too liberal in their policies concerning civil rights for the white Southerners to continue voting for them. (Mulcahy p.40). This reason along with others is what drove the Southern whites to change there voting habits of the last 100 years. The white Southerners began to vote for presidents of the Republican party and for Independents such as the Dixiecrats, because they were more conservative on a national scale. The Largest change of the Southern voters occurred in 1960 when the southern white Protestant presidential vote went Republican(Wayne p62). This would of allowed for the democrats to lose the south if the black electorate had not voted Democrat. The black Southern voters at the time of the 1960s were just again able to participate with their rights to vote. This was because shortly after the Civil War and reconstruction the Southern whites reduced and eventually removed the short lived black political power. They added laws that made it mandatory to take tests for voter eligibility, as well as discouraging black voting at all. This discrimination greatly reduced if not completely halted black voting in the south until the 1950s and 1960s. It was not until 1965 that the Voting Rights Act was passed that prohibited literacy tests for federal elections did blacks obtain their constitutional right to vote (Wayne p.70). Many blacks did in fact support the Republican party for quite a long time because they were known as the party of reconstruction and freeing of the slaves. Black voting turned towards the Democrats in the 1930s and 40s on the advice of One N.A. A.C.P. leader Turn your pictures of Lincoln to the wall, the debt is paid in full(Mulcahy p 37). This black voting for the Democrats created a problem in of its self, that the Blacks were continuing to vote for the local white conservative Democrats, that upheld the traditional Southern white views. This lead to the continued power of the oppressive whites, even though the party platform was one of reform. It was not until the early 70s that when the Republicans won the election for the governor of Virginia was the two party system fully revived in the south (U.S. news p. .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 , .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .postImageUrl , .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 , .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:hover , .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:visited , .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:active { border:0!important; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:active , .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089 .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ucc3694027018e083c84e8d718de69089:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Return Of The Native By Hardy Essay 210). This two party system allowed Democrats to run on a more liberal platform, which gave the blacks the representation that they wanted. Voting in the South since the 1960s has followed the pattern of voting for the most staunch conservative, or protector of Southern whites views. In the 1968 election Southern whites in the Deep South voted for George C. Wallace, while the rest of the South split on Nixon and .