Berlin – In an international comparison of 125 transformation states, Singapore was named the most successful national economy, followed by Taiwan ranked fifth, and South Korea ranked ninth, and China, ranked 51. That’s according to the German Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index which has, however, criticized Singapore for alleged democratic deficiencies, ranking it 72 internationally – on par with Russia – when measured against the qualification criteria for a constitutional democracy. The German Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index, published March 13, 2008, analyzes the quality of democracy, market economics and political management in 125 developing and transformation countries worldwide. On Singapore’s economy, the report stated that in 2006, the city state enjoyed a 7.7% economic growth and 13% growth in volume of imports and exports to US$810billion. Seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 2.7%, up 1.3 percentage points from 2003. Singapore also welcomed over 9.5 million tourists in 2006 in a new record for the city state. Singapore, along with the economies of China and India, were credited as having achieved the fastest international growth rates in recent decades. Singapore also topped the two states along with South Korea and Taiwan in terms of quality of social market economics. On Singapore’s state of democracy, the report alleges that Singapore’s “authoritarian political system regards the exercise of fundamental liberal democratic principles as a threat to the stability and welfare of ‘Singapore Incorporated’ and takes those measures it perceives as necessary to stem this tide.” It also alleges press freedom as being “non-existent” and that it is governed by the belief that a “free press will do more harm than good to the country”. The report also found the laws of the state “permit limitation of editions of foreign publications which express opinions on domestic political topics”, and that even “stricter measures” are taken against domestic publishers and journalists “who stray from the government line, and punishments are drastic”. Rights to political association and assembly were found to be “extremely limited”, and opposition movements “hindered from the outset”. Room for national political activity was also regarded as “extremely restricted” and alleges that domestic Internet usage was subject to surveillance. The report states “no forum exists for free debate outside of state-controlled print media, television and radio”. Overall, on the democratic front, Singapore, ranked 72, trails Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh ranked 62 and 66, and leads Malaysia by two places. Taiwan and South Korea are Asian and Oceania region leaders in positions 6 and 11. China and India were placed 112 and 21 respectively, with the latter being the third-best democracy in the region. Ranked 120 and 124 are North Korea and Myanmar.
Ad – Before Content
Related Articles
- PlayBox Neo Highlights Latest Advances in Smart Media Playout at April 2024 NAB Show
- Taiwanese Documentary On the Train to premiere in Japan
- Bolin Partners with NDI to Integrate Advanced Connectivity Across Product Line
- Atomos to Offer Camera to Cloud with MediaSilo
- Pixotope brings the power of Unreal Engine to automated and news broadcast graphics
- Eamon Drew Joins Atomos as Chief Business Development Officer