NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Chia Thye Poh

Chia Thye Poh (traditional Chinese: 謝太寶; simplified Chinese: 谢太宝, b.1941^[2]) was the longest-serving political prisoner in the history of Singapore and perhaps the longest-serving prisoner of conscience of the 20th century, or if not, one it's longest-serving political prisoners. The following is a historical list of members for the current and past nine Parliaments of Singapore External references Members of Parliament Categories: Singaporean Members of Parliament | Government of Singapore | Politics of Singapore | Singaporean politicians | Singapore-related lists ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Singapore. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... A political prisoner is someone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, because their ideas or image are deemed by a government to either challenge or threaten the authority of the state. ... Prisoner of conscience (POC) is a term coined by the international human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Detained under the Internal Security Act of Singapore, he was imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial and subsequently placed under conditions of house arrest for another nine years - in which he was first confined to the island of Sentosa and then subject to restrictions on his place of abode, employment, travel, and exercise of political rights. The Internal Security Act (ISA) of Singapore[1] confers on the government the right to arrest and detain individuals without trial in certain defined circumstances. ... In the common law legal system, an indictment (IPA: ) is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense. ... In legal parlance, a trial is an event in which parties to a dispute present information (in the form of evidence) in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute. ... In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her residence. ... The big Merlion statue on Sentosa Central Business District from the Carlsberg Sky Tower. ...

Prior to his detention, he had been a teacher, a physics lecturer, a socialist political activist and a member of the Parliament of Singapore.^[2] Subsequent to it, he has been a doctoral student and an interpreter. The following is a historical list of members for the current and past nine Parliaments of Singapore External references Members of Parliament Categories: Singaporean Members of Parliament | Government of Singapore | Politics of Singapore | Singaporean politicians | Singapore-related lists ... Interpreter can mean one of the following: In communication, an interpreter is a person whose role is to facilitate dialogue between two parties that do not use the same language. ...

He traveled to Germany in 1997, and to the Netherlands at least as recently as 2000. The supervision of his PhD thesis in development economics was completed in 2006. PhD usually refers to the academic title Doctor of Philosophy PhD can also refer to the manga Phantasy Degree This is a disambiguation page â€” a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... This article is about the thesis in academia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Early life

He read physics at Nanyang University and upon graduating he worked briefly as a secondary teacher and then as a graduate assistant at his alma mater.^[2] Nanyang University (Chinese: å—æ´‹å¤§å¦, abbreviated Nantah, å—å¤§) was a Chinese university in Singapore. ... A teaching assistant (TA) is a junior scholar employed on a temporary contract by a college or university in teaching related responsibilities. ... Alma mater is Latin for nourishing mother. It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. ...

Political activism

As a member of the Barisan Sosialis he was elected member of Parliament for Jurong Constituency in 1963, being nominated as the candidate in replacement of a colleague who had been arrested by the government of Singapore^[2]^[3] Concurrent with his holding of parliamentary office, he worked as a university physics professor. Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) is a Singaporean political party formed in 1961, by left-wing former members of the Peoples Action Party (PAP) and led by people such as Dr Lee Siew Choh and Lim Chin Siong. ... Jurong Group Representation Constituency. ... The Government of Singapore is formed by the political party which gains a 50% majority in the general elections held in Singapore at least once every four years. ...

He was banned permanently from entering Malaysia in the wake of a political speech he delivered to the Perak division of the Labour Party of Malaysia on 24 April 1966.^[3] For other uses, see Perak (disambiguation). ...

In July 1966, he was convicted for publishing a "seditious article" in the Barisan's Chinese-language newspaper.^{[citation needed]} In the same month, he was arrested with 25 others and charged with unlawful assembly for his participation in a demonstration against United States involvement in the conflict in Vietnam.^{[citation needed]} It has been noted that he was active among peace campaigners calling for an end to the U.S. bombing of Indochina during the Vietnam War in the 1960s.^[2] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 Ã— 1200 pixel, file size: 610 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Old Parliament House, Singapore. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 Ã— 1200 pixel, file size: 610 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Old Parliament House, Singapore. ... Sedition is a term of law which refers to covert conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. ... Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. ... // Milestones of U.S. involvement under President Truman 9 March 1945 â€” Japan overthrows nominal French authority in Indochina and declares an independent Vietnamese puppet state. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

In early October 1966, he and eight other Barisan Sosialis MPs boycotted the Parliament over the decision by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to split from Malaysia.^[4] This was part of the Barisan's strategy to protest "undemocratic acts"^[5] of the Government, by carrying their struggle against the PAP outside of Parliament.^[5] He declared that the means of the struggle would be "street demonstrations, protest meetings, strikes".^[6] Look up Boycott in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Party logo with a symbol of red lightning that signifies action. ... For other uses, see Demonstration. ...

On 8 October 1966, he led a protest march of 30 supporters to Parliament House and handed a letter to the Clerk of the House demanding a general election be held under eight named conditions, with the release of all political detainees and the revocation of all "undemocratic" laws.^[5] Parliament House The Old Parliament House (Chinese: å‰å›½ä¼šå¤§åŽ¦), also known as the Arts House at the Old Parliament, is a building in Singapore gazetted as a national monument on 14 February 1992. ... A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. ...

Arrest and imprisonment

On 29 October 1966,^[7] he and 22 other Barisan Sosialis leaders were arrested pursuant to powers afforded by the Internal Security Act.^[4] The official statement released by the Government alleged that Barisan's attempt to arouse a mass struggle outside of parliament was prejudicial to the stability of Singapore. The round of arrests was the second one conducted by the government, including those occurring as part of Operation Coldstore in 1963. Chia was specifically detained for his role in organising and leading the 8 October street procession.^[5] The Internal Security Act (ISA) of Singapore[1] confers on the government the right to arrest and detain individuals without trial in certain defined circumstances. ... In February 1963, the government of Singapore conducted a security operation, named Operation Coldstore (sometimes spelled Operation Cold Store), and arrested at least 107 left-wing politicians and trade unionists. ...

The other detainees were released eventually after they each signed a document promising to renounce violence and sever ties with the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). However, he refused as he felt that signing such a document would imply that he was affiliated with the CPM and had formed an intention to cause instability in Singapore.^[5] Thus, in time, and without ever being the subject of an indictment or a criminal trial, he became one of the longest serving political prisoners in the world - with some consequent restrictions upon his civil rights remaining in place for a total of more than 32 years subsequent to his initial arrest. Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) Known as the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) until the 1960s. ... In the common law legal system, an indictment (IPA: ) is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ...

The length of his detention has been compared to that of Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for a total period longer than 27 years subsequent to his arrest and charged with treason, sabotage and other political crimes.^{[citation needed]} For other people named Mandela, or other uses, see Mandela. ... For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sabotage (disambiguation). ... In the standard sense of the phrase, a political crime is an action deemed illegal by a government in order to control real or imagined threats to its survival, at the expense of a range of human rights and freedoms. ...

During his incarceration, he spent substantial time in solitary confinement at the Whitley Road Detention Centre.^{[citation needed]} In late 1978, Amnesty International confirmed that he was detained at the Moon Crescent Detention Centre located within the grounds of Changi Prison.^[8] Solitary confinement, colloquially referred to as the hole (or in British English the block), is a punishment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons, excluding guards, chaplains and doctors. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience... Changi chapel, built by Australian POWs in 1944, later relocated to Duntroon, Canberra Changi Prison (Simplified Chinese: ) is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. ...

In 1982, he was moved out of prison and into a series of government halfway houses.^[9] A halfway house is a term for a drug rehabilitation center or sex offender center where drug users or sex offenders respectively are allowed to move more freely than in a correctional center but are still monitored by staff and/or law enforcement. ...

In 1985, the government of Singapore asserted that the purpose of his detention related to the allegation that he had been a member of the CPM and suggested that he was therefore willing to participate in anti-Singapore political violence and terrorism.^[2] Terrorist redirects here. ...

Confinement on Sentosa

On 17 May 1989, he was released from 23 years of imprisonment^[5] without charge or trial on the mainland, and instead confined to a one-room guardhouse on Sentosa^{[citation needed]} where he was required to pay the rent on the pretext that he was then a "free" man. He was also required to purchase and prepare his own food. As he had no money, he was offered a job as the assistant curator of Fort Siloso on the West of the island. He refused the offer on the understanding that it was a government civil service position in which he may, as a result, be "muzzled"^[3] from talking to the media without official permission.^[2] Instead, he negotiated an arrangement where he worked as a freelance translator for the Sentosa Development Corporation^[2] About that time he made the following remarks about the circumstances of his continuing detention and the culture of politics in Singapore in general:^[10] Image File history File links Sentosa_locator_map. ... Image File history File links Sentosa_locator_map. ... In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her residence. ... The big Merlion statue on Sentosa Central Business District from the Carlsberg Sky Tower. ... Rent can refer to: Renting, a system of payment for the temporary use of something owned by someone else. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up Translator in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) is a statutory board in Singapore, under the purview of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. ...

Final release

In 1990, there was some relaxation of the restrictions applying to him.^[3] Chia has stated his belief that representations by Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany in the mid-1980s ^[11] played some part in the Singaporean government's decision to soften its stance in regard to him.^[3] The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler). ... Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born April 3, 1930) is a German conservative politician and statesman. ...

In 1992, he was allowed to return to the mainland and visit the home of his parents,^[2] but was still placed under restrictions on travel, activities and associations.

In November 1997, restrictions were further relaxed to an extent that allowed him to accept a fellowship from the Hamburg Foundation of the German government for politically persecuted persons. He subsequently spent a year in Hamburg studying economics, politics, and German language.^[12]^[2] He was also permitted to change his address and to seek employment without prior permission of the director of Singapore's Internal Security Department.^[3] Politics of Germany takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Federal Chancellor is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... Look up Persecution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In August 1998, he underwent a prostate operation in Singapore.^[3] The prostate is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system. ...

In November 1998, it was reported that the source of his income was the work that he performed as a freelance translator.^[3]

On 27 November 1998, all remaining restrictions were nullified.^[3] He thus formally regained rights to make public statements, address public meetings, and participate in political activity.^[3] He immediately called upon the Government to repeal the Internal Security Act^[11] and expressed his interest in becoming involved in political activity.^[3]^[13]

Since release

In late 2000, he was pursuing a Master's degree in development studies at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague^[2] and expected to complete those studies and return to Singapore in December of that year.^[14] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Development studies is the multi-disciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing nations. ... The Institute of Social Studies (ISS) is an international institute of higher education on social and economic change with a focus on development processes. ... Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006) - Municipality 98. ...

In 2006 the supervision of his PhD thesis through the Institute was completed.^[15]

Writings

Contents

Early life

Political activism

Arrest and imprisonment

Confinement on Sentosa

Final release

Since release

Writings

See also

References

External links

Contents

Early life GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Political activism

Arrest and imprisonment

Confinement on Sentosa

Final release

Since release

Writings

See also

References

External links

Early life