In a pretty surprising turn of events, teen dissident and resident rabble rouser Amos Yee managed to qualify as an actual political refugee and has since received asylum in the United States.
Jailed twice in Singapore after insulting Lee Kuan Yew and various religious groups through expletive-laden rants on YouTube, the 18-year-old fled to Chicago last December to seek asylum. After months in detainment at the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility in Woodstock, Illinois, he was granted asylum by U.S. immigration judge, Samuel B. Cole.
“Yee has met his burden of showing that he suffered past persecution on account of his political opinion and has a well-founded fear of future persecution in Singapore,” the judge said in the decision.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) didn’t have an immediate response to the decision, but it’s since published a lengthy statement on the development. And boy, is it legit passive-aggressive.
In it, MHA listed the things against Christians and Muslims that Yee said in his rants — and asserted that Yee was rightfully convicted after he pleaded guilty to the charges of hate speech.
The clincher, however, was when MHA stated that the United States was totally fine with hate speech.
“The US adopts a different standard, and allows some such hate speech under the rubric of freedom of speech,” the Ministry wrote. Oof.
It went even further.
“It is the prerogative of the US to take in such people who engage in hate speech. There are many more such people, around the world, who deliberately engage in hate speech, and who may be prosecuted. Some of them, will no doubt take note of the US approach, and consider applying for asylum in the US.”
Damn, bruh. Read the whole statement on the MHA website.
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