Thio Li Ann lashed out at TOC for “victimizing” her
September 12th, 2009 | 
Author: From our correspondent
In a highly charged speech at Kum Yan Methodist Church on 9 September 2009, NUS Law lecturer and former NMP Prof Thio Li Ann lashed out at socio-political blog The Online Citizen (TOC) for “victimizing” her.
The event, dubbed “New Media Breakfast” by the Atria attracted a crowd of 40 to 50 people, some of whom are journalists. Atria was started about a year ago with a bloggers’ conference, and lately it has focused on helping church leaders to connect with the latest happenings on the internet.
During her speech, Professor Thio asserted her right as Christian to speak on public issues. She urged Christians to speak up peacefully and lawfully to steer society from the dangers of “immorality”.
Thio also shared on how she has been maliciously targeted online and had to “turn her cheek” many a times as a good Christian. She quoted the example of TOC who played the religious card and accused her of imposing her Christian values when she was merely debating on a public values as a citizen.
She termed the TOC coverage as a lie and irresponsible reporting and said that TOC was not interested in public debate and was only interested in creating confusion. Thio also used a Latin expression that equated those who create irresponsible internet postings as swine.
Thio made the headlines in during a parliamentary sitting in 2007 when she said that “repealing 377A is the first step of a radical, political agenda which will subvert social morality, the common good and undermine our liberties.”
She also caused a massive furore by describing homosexuality being a “gender identity disorder” and that anal sex was akin to “shoving a straw up your nose to drink.”
Thio’s mother, Thio Su Mien, was the alleged mastermind behind the recent takeover of secular feminist NGO AWARE by a group of women belonging to her Church to counter its “pro-homosexuality” stance. They were eventually ousted in an EGM called by the founding members of AWARE.
Thio stated that the AWARE incident was a perfect example where there was no religious issue as it was about a “private takeover” of a NGO and a debate over public values. But someone threw the religious card into the debate and when that happened all rationality was lost.
The non-Christian who threw in the religious card, Thio argued, used religion to incite hatred over a group and such an act was dangerous tantamount to playing with fire.
Two months ago, Thio had to call off a teaching stint at the New York University (NYU) following opposition from the student population and low enrolment for her classes.
News of Thio’s impending appointment had drawn attention and opposition from NYU’s vocal students. Emails were sent to NYU officials asking for her appointment to be rescinded.
Thio appeared to be unfazed by the public backlash against her. During the presentation which was littered with passages from the Bible, Thio argued that as a Christian, it is part of one’s religious call to articulate their views in public especially on contentious such as casinos, same-sex marriage, euthanasia and stem-cell research.
Reference:
Thio Li Ann’s New Breakfast Media by Timothy Seah
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How can say TOC like this? TOC latest article sing praise of George Yeo leh.
TOC sometimes pro also.
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I am very surprised by the reaction of Prof Tio towards TOC’s reporting. Being an academic and a lawyer by training, she should know fully well the public backlash about her ‘opinion’ on the ‘immorality of gay behaviour’. Her research works on ‘Human Rights’ will go down the drain if she continues to be so insistent as typing homosexuality as immoral.
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You guys better watch wherever this woman appears. Surely is about some Chritsian thingy. This is during the soft launch of the new news portal right?
Surely wack TOC so that can push up the value of the new portal mah (Singanews?). I’m sure, she will also wack Wayangparty (or TemasekReview) too, if they were there.
As long as it has her signature, it is to push Christianity agenda. I will discount everything I read from the Singanews portal.
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I am staunchly anti-PAP but for once, I agree with Thio Li Ann. I have followed TOC’s biased coverage of the AWARE saga and I support Thio Li Ann’s stance. Just as TOC and Temasek Review are entitled to their views and express them publicly, so do Christian public figures like Thio Li Ann. bochup should know that Thio Li Ann was taking a moral stand publicly and this has nothing to do with her professional standinga as an academia.
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It’s reactions like the Thio’s that brings a smile to my face. It’s so entertaining.
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As a non-Christian, I think homesexuality is bad and against my religion. But having said that, I will not interfere with what people do with their lives. You can be a good Christain by going to church and preaching all this to your followers but you have no right to judge people who don’t follow your religion and have no qualms about how they choose to behave regarding their sexual preferences.
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i do agree that thio, like anyone, believers or not, is entitled to a voice in the social sphere. but the tricky part of it is, their belief system being a finality, meaning, it is not amenable with new knowledge, whatever views she voices even if appealing to logic, is merely a wayang. her views are final. anyone not sharing them needs correction. that explains the unease , almost the same kind experienced with the pap, with her vibe.
that said, giving her a space is better than shutting her out altogether.
if i were to be the trickster, i would find it cheeky if god were to appear to one of the hardcore pastors with bright light and everything and say in unmistakable clear voice
‘pap must go’
physiotherapy lee vs god.
power.
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I think she needs to get married.
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next thing you know. she’ll start saying creationism is true.,. (IN MULTI RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE)
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You guys know what happened with the NYU thing right?
Apparently the students felt that they shouldn’t have someone who felt that some humans were in fact, sub-human teaching them about Human Rights.
I fully agree with the students.
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Next thing she will do is to ban Discovery Channel, National Geographics, History Channel, and any channel that shows anything about the Evolution Theory.
After that, she will go after all the seafood restaurants for serving prawns.
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She is not married?
Must have been ditched by a man claiming that he is homosexual.
So actually, it is immoral to ditch her.
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i have a good tipoff that singa news is taking foreign church money…
i wonder how the govt’s going to take this if it comes to light.
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Hi tinky,
Do you have any concrete proof?
If you have, email us at [email protected]
$90,000 is a lot of money. It is impossible for Matthew Yap to raise it all on his own.
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Always pointing fingers at others, always thinking that she is right. Have she done any reflection that why so many people (even Christians) are giving her the finger？ Have she done any reflection on the way they took over AWARE is justified?
These individuals only take care of themselves and their own views giving disregard to others. They also like to force their own views down others throats. With the ability to quote from various parts of the bible doesn’t make her any wiser.
Singapore are full of people whom are full of themselves.
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Thio said: I think she needs to get married.
With her kind of face and body, I wouldn’t marry her even if she gives me a million.
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“With her kind of face and body, I wouldn’t marry her even if she gives me a million “…sad that we got such sick mind in this blog…see a doctor and mirror yourself the same.
How could this person made such statement. At least this
lady did with good intention in her heart based on her religious views…but you are simply ” Wu Leow” like a kid with auch nasty remark..that reflect your heart with evil intetnions.
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How can she “used a Latin expression that equated those who create irresponsible internet postings as swine” ?. If this is what she has actually meant, she is downright rude and her behavour is disgusting. How can such a highly educated and religious person make rude remarks on others. Perhaps, she should do some soul searching.
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@cheat:
“At least this
lady did with good intention in her heart based on her religious views…”
Will you marry her if she gives you a million?
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cheat said: How could this person made such statement. At least this lady did with good intention in her heart based on her religious views…but you are simply ” Wu Leow” like a kid with auch nasty remark..that reflect your heart with evil intetnions.
You are not reading carefully, I am NOT commenting on your qualification as an academic nor as a person. Her intentions is NOT in question nor being commented on right now.
I made the comment in my capacity as a male and I can choose to comment on any women in the world with regard to her being suitable to be my bride. I don’t like her face and her body type, anything wrong with that? That is not ill intention, is it?
I am entitled to my own opinion and choosing about marrying or not marrying her BUT I am not advocating that all males don’t marry her. If you want to marry her for a million, its your perogative and I cannot advise you against it, agree?
Marriage is a choice of my own and that is my right, intention be it good or bad from her willl not affect my decision to NOT marry her even if she gives me a million.
So in your arguement, not marrying her because I don’t like her face and body is ‘ill-intentioned’ while she calling those on the internet ’swine’ is a lady with good heart?
What power arguement you have there!
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During her speech, Professor Thio asserted her right as Christian to speak on public issues. She urged Christians to speak up peacefully and lawfully to steer society from the dangers of “immorality”.
Thio also shared on how she has been maliciously targeted online and had to “turn her cheek” many a times as a good Christian. She quoted the example of TOC who played the religious card and accused her of imposing her Christian values when she was merely debating on a public values as a citizen.
During the presentation which was littered with passages from the Bible, Thio argued that as a Christian, it is part of one’s religious call to articulate their views in public especially on contentious such as casinos, same-sex marriage, euthanasia and stem-cell research.
===
See how these three passages clashed, revealing her hypocrisy.
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XiSd Tay – I made the comment in my capacity as a male!
You are revealing your hypocrisy with such reply..you heart not sincere but with ill-intents. just bcos this lady shared her views difference from yours!.
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Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
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And the daughter of the Demon-Empress Homofobia surrounded herself with the eunuchs and hungry ghosts listening to them only until she saw only with their eyes and spoke only with their tongues, and strode out into the world demanding that the Blameless Ones be captured and burned at the stake
But the Great One in his wisdom allowed that all who heard her saw through her weasel words and chastised her and caused the demon of homofobia to be rent from her body so that thereafter the Blameless Ones were able to live in peace and love each other.
And it also came to pass that the people of homofobia were struck dumb for the lies they had told of the Blameless Ones, and the daughter cried that she was being victimised, but her victims heard her not, nor did the people of the great nation.
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#
BilaLila on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 7:04 pm
As a non-Christian, I think homesexuality is bad and against my religion. But having said that, I will not interfere with what people do with their lives. You can be a good Christain by going to church and preaching all this to your followers but you have no right to judge people who don’t follow your religion and have no qualms about how they choose to behave regarding their sexual preferences.
Well said!
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I am a christian and against my religion too. We do not judge but only the Almight God the creator. In the bible in my religion…Homosexuality is a sin and the city of Sodom ( I am sure this word sound familar to all)destroyed by God for this sin. Everyone need to be responsible for their own choice and action as we do not judge anyone. When everyone wanted to stone a lady prositute..Jesus call on any person that do not have sin may cast the first stone..surprisingly..NO ONE dare as all have sin lah. So good luck and God bless and forgive all sinner.
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cheat said: XiSd Tay – I made the comment in my capacity as a male! You are revealing your hypocrisy with such reply..you heart not sincere but with ill-intents. just bcos this lady shared her views difference from yours!.
Yo there, you are reading my reply wrong again! I was referring to her suitability to be taken as my bride, nothing to do with her views at all. I DID NOT read her speech and thus your allegations of ‘just bcos this lady shared her views difference from yours’ is non-existant.
Allow me to quote from frutte: ‘you have no right to judge people who don’t follow your religion and have no qualms about how they choose to behave regarding their sexual preferences’.
In this case, you can marry her 10 times over if you want to but you have no right to impose upon others to marry her and how others choose to behave regarding their bridal preferences.
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@cheats on Wed, 16th Sep 2009 11:47 pm :
The bible and the threat of hell does not scare atheist.
If you really will marry that woman, I can only say good luck to you with her as your wife and Thio Su Mien as your mother in law.
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Hi Cheats,
The way you behave is similar to Thio. You claimed that you do not force your religion on anyone but you keep mentioning about the bible’s teaching which not everyone shares the same view.
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Hi Kim,
That my religiou views and upbringing. You have every rights not to share same view. I respect your decision but I do not go around shooting off from a loud mouth with personal insults just bcos you or someone do not share other people views.
That demoratic is all about. You want to be Adam and Steve?..that your perosonal choice and good luck to you lah.
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The next thing TLA will push is abortion, followed by abstinence and finally Creation, like her ilk in the USA. Pig of a drama queen.
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