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SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - About 60 people gathered at a park in central Singapore on Sunday to protest against a university's decision to censor news stories in the school media related to a prominent opposition politician.
The group, about half were students and former students from the Nanyang Technological University, were upset the school had stopped a news article and halted the airing of a news bulletin about Chee Soon Juan.
"This is not the first time the school has interfered with the publication of articles. Why must the school dictate certain articles for certain issues' It is stifling," said Thaddaeus Wee, a second-year student from the university.
The protest was held at the Speaker's Corner, modelled on London's Hyde Park haven of free speech. The group - large by Singapore's standards - clapped and cheered briefly after the four organisers spoke. A banner that said "Responsible press for the students" lay before the crowd.
"It's a historical thing to stand up publicly against our school. For the university to cancel the article, it is uncalled for," said Alexis Cheong, who was standing in the crowd.
The university's broadcast network had ran a news bulletin on Chee after he visited the school in late August to meet students and hand out fliers, said Clarence Chua, 25, a graduate from the university and one of the organisers of the protest.
But school officials pulled the bulletin off the airwaves after three days, and stopped a planned news article about Chee's visit, citing concerns school media were airing "unsolicited views" from an "uninvited" person, Chua said.
University officials were not available to comment.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing)
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