an early morning entry, taipei and singapore.
written: 2:11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005

I always get the urge to write at night even though I don't have anything I particularly want to say. This entry will probably be made up of fragments again.

I used to read Jim Carroll and his fragmentary poetry and it used to inspire me to imitate his style, and now I'm reading Julian Barnes and his penchant for using the semicolon and the comma and now I'm inspired to imitate his style. It kind of sucks not to have one of your own, if I'm being honest here. And I don't know why people say "if I'm being honest" and use it to precede an opinion or a judgement or a comment, because if you're not being honest then why do you even bother saying what you're about to say? Simon Cowell does this a lot on American Idol. Is it a British thing? Whatever it is, Simon is hot.

I was reading this week's SLS readings and it killed me, how ironic some things are. 1955 Legislative Assembly debate over what would go down in history as the precursor to the Internal Security Act. David Marshall argued for "preventive detention" - i.e., detention of suspects without trial, without even concrete evidence, on the basis that they spread "dangerous" and incendiary communist ideologies (here I'm tempted to make a bad joke about Jurong Junior's principal but I shall not); that, or they were communists overtly wrestling for power from the non-communists, whatever. There was also an argument thrown into the mix about how Singaporeans at that time did not have the culture of testifying in court and how some may be intimidated against it...or wait, I can't remember if this latter point was about secret societies but I'm pretty sure I read it under David Marshall's arguments but then again I don't remember what I read anyway so don't quote me on that.

So anyway, David Marshall was for preventive detention. And guess who rose up to speak against it?

None other than Lee Kuan Yew (Tanjong Pagar). When I read what he said I was so shocked that I almost hyperventilated; when I got to the meat of his argument I almost had a heart attack. He said that "preventive detention" goes against the basis and the essence and the principles of democracy; that to do such a thing would be subscribing to communistic measures of detaining suspects without trial; and that such an act is not much different from fascism or totalitarian practises.

LKY said that. And his is the same government who has renewed and re-renewed and re-re-renewed what is supposedly the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act that was passed in 1955 to curb the rampant Secret Society problem. If I'm not mistaken it's still in use today, for I read a 2004 parliamentary debate moving to renew it for another five years.

We learn something new every day.

SLS also killed me because of this: Nanyang Siang Pau. HA HA HA HA HA. I shall not elaborate.

I think I should sleep now. I have not studied for the Torts test. I think I'm going to die. I don't like using other people's notes but since I don't have enough time to write summaries for all the cases on the reading list I'd make do with the mugger notes that Ruishan so kindly MSN-ed to me.

Uh, I'm still screwing up my life.

In other news, this journal is amazing. The second latest entry, one line in particular, reminded me a lot of Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express which I really, really, really love. The entries/prose I've read are set in Taipei - another reason why I like it.

There's just something about that city and it's more than the fact that I grew up there. It's more than nostalgia, more than hot Taiwanese guys, even more than how gorgeous and lyrical the Mandarin accent is. It's the way it's so chaotic, so organised in its unruly mess, the way Taipei society is more polite than Singapore society and how that catches you offguard because of how barbaric their parliamentary meetings are, the way it moves along time with such an aloof, detached coolness, an innate nonchalance, and so when you get caught up in it you truly believe that you could be larger than life.

Side track: I am so glad and I feel lucky that I grew up there; otherwise my Mandarin would be even shittier than it already is. What I take for granted as general rules of the language are almost alien concepts to Chinese Singaporeans.

At the same time, I feel strapped down in the middle, for when I speak Mandarin here people comment that I don't sound local, and when I speak Mandarin over there people didn't understand what I was saying. I never quite built upon the solid foundation either; and so the formidable skyscrapers that could've been are lost for good.

I really need to sleep.

before sunrise // before sunset


Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010