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Li Shengwu free to return & contest in GE: S'pore Ambassador to US responds to 'false portrayal' of country in NYT video
In response to an NYT Opinion video.
![image](https://static.mothership.sg/1/2025/01/LuiTuckYewLiShengwuCover.png)
Singapore's Ambassador to the U.S., Lui Tuck Yew, has penned an open letter to the editor of the New York Times (NYT) in response to a video published on its Opinion section titled "How Tyranny Begins."
The video features, among other interviewees, Harvard economist and professor Li Shengwu. Li is a Singaporean and son of Lee Hsien Yang, who is brother to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Li made a number of claims in his video, including on the judicial system in Singapore.
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Lui pushed back on these claims, and objected to the "false portrayal of Singapore" to "advance [their] own agenda."
The video
The video can be found here. Li appears along with Jonathan Duarte, an Nicaraguan activist, Ekaterina Kotrikadze, a Georgian-Russian journalist and Eva Fodor, a Hungarian academic.
Li is introduced with the caption, "The Political Enemy." His words are intercut with other interviewees sharing their own experiences in their countries.
![](https://static.mothership.sg/1/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-27-at-5.01.58-PM-e1737972772850.png)
Li alleged that his uncle, who was until recently Singapore's prime minister, had a "pattern of using police investigations and criminal prosecutions to dispose of or exile his opponents."
He said that he posted a private Facebook comment, for which the Singapore government "went after him" with a criminal prosecution, and he fled the country as soon as he could.
In 2017, Li accused the Singapore government of being "very litigious and has a pliant court system".
A representative from the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) said that this statement "clearly impugns" the impartiality of Singapore's courts and its judiciary system.
Li paid a fine after the Singapore High Court found him guilty of contempt.
Lui Tuck Yew response
In his letter, Lui writes that the video is essentially a commentary on current U.S. politics, but it draws in Singapore via Li's misleading analogies, and that Li is "masquerading as a persecuted dissident."
Lui points out that Li has never been exiled from Singapore, jailed or stripped of his possessions, unlike some others featured in the NYT video.
"He remains a Singapore citizen and continues to travel freely on a Singapore passport.
Singapore takes the rule of law seriously, and no one including Li is above the law. He was indeed charged for contempt of court in 2020. He has already paid the fine of S$15,000 (US$11,000) imposed by the Court.
He has not been under investigation for anything else since, and there are no outstanding charges against him. He is free to return to Singapore any time he wishes."
Li can contest in the GE if he so wishes
Li said in the video that "“It is better to fight...It is better to refuse rather than to give in and hope that somebody else will be the check and balance for you.”
Lui responded:
"If he so wishes, he can contest in the next General Elections, which must be held before November this year.
Instead, Mr Li parleys his status as the grandson of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and lends himself to the Times to provide false analogies for US politics. It is deeply regrettable that he has chosen to denigrate the very country his grandfather had a pivotal role building."
He ended the letter by highlighting that Singapore outranks the U.S. on metrics such as the 2024 Rule of Law Index and the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index.
"It is not for us to comment on US domestic politics. But we must object when you use a false portrayal of Singapore to advance your own agenda," Lui concluded.
You can read the entire letter below:
Lucien Wong reference
Also in the video, Li refers to Attorney-General Lucien Wong, and said, "My uncle had taken his own personal lawyer and made that lawyer Attorney-General."
The next shot of the video shows President Donald Trump's nomination of Pam Bondi as the next U.S. Attorney-General.
Bondi served as one of Trump's lawyers during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
Back in 2017, Workers' Party Members of Parliament questioned potential conflicts of interest involving Wong over the Oxley Road saga, given his previous role as Lee Hsien Loong's lawyer.
Indranee Rajah responded in Parliament that Wong was recognised as a top legal mind and one of Singapore's best lawyers, appointed after then-Prime Minister Lee consulted Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Public Service Commission chairman Eddie Teo and former AG V K Rajah.
The Council of Presidential Advisers had also advised then-President Tony Tan to concur with the appointment while President Tan, acting in his discretion, also supported it.
Indranee added that Wong would not be involved in matters where conflicts of interest may arise, including 38 Oxley Road.
Related stories:
Top image via NYT Opinion screenshot and AFP.
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