Asia | Banyan

Singapore cracks down on Chinese influence

The city-state wields its foreign-interference law for the first time

Illustration of a chicken overlaid with the crosshairs of a sniper.
Illustration: Lan Truong

“FESTIVE FEVER” is how the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre describes the national mood in the run-up to Chinese New Year on February 10th. A different fever troubles the government of Singapore: how to deal with China’s allegedly extensive influence operations in the city-state. This month a sweeping new law against foreign interference was invoked for the first time, against a Hong Kong-born Singaporean, Philip Chan.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A Chinese chicken hunt”

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