No More Hustleporn: Many families have vindictive relatives. My relatives just happen to control a small authoritarian government. 🇸🇬 🧵

By Yiren Lu — Mar 2, 2023

Tweet by Shengwu Li
https://twitter.com/ShengwuLi

@ShengwuLi:

Many families have vindictive relatives. My relatives just happen to control a small authoritarian government. 🇸🇬 🧵

@ShengwuLi:

My grandfather, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), was the first prime minister of Singapore. My uncle Lee Hsien Loong (LHL), the current prime minister, disagreed with his brother and sister about Lee Kuan Yew's will.

@ShengwuLi:

(Long story short: LKY wanted his personal home demolished, and demolition would be politically inconvenient for LHL. His brother and sister want to uphold their father's last wish.)

@ShengwuLi:

In a country with rule of law, this dispute would have been resolved quietly in family court. Instead, LHL has abused all the resources of the state to persecute his siblings.

@ShengwuLi:

LHL character-assassinated his own brother and sister with the state-controlled press. LHL appointed his personal lawyer to be attorney general, and the attorney general's chambers then prosecuted me over some mild criticism in a private Facebook post.

@ShengwuLi:

A complaint by LHL led to a prosecution against my mother. The authorities used the proceedings as a pretext to rewrite history over LKY's will, to suit LHL's narrative. (This was all years after the will was read and granted probate—LHL raised no objection at the time.)

@ShengwuLi:

Just today, LHL's government has revealed in parliamentary questions that the police want my parents to come in for 'questioning'. In Singapore, the authorities can hold you indefinitely, under inhumane conditions, without timely access to a lawyer.

@ShengwuLi:

When a hostile authoritarian government says they want to 'question' you, it is clear what that means.

For the prime minister of Singapore, it's 'rule of law' for thee but not for me.