新加坡的概况（2）

Singapore is a unitary multiparty parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, and governs on the basis of a strong state and prioritizing collective welfare over individual rights such as freedom of speech. 

The 150-year old Singapore Botanic Gardens is a star visitor attraction for the sophisticated traveller as well as the local resident. This Gardens possesses an array of botanical and horticultural attractions with a rich history and a wonderful plant collection of worldwide significance. Complementing these unique resources are sensitive developments providing visitors educational and recreational facilities.

Boat Quay is a historical quay in Singapore which is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River on its southern bank.

It was the busiest part of the old Port of Singapore, handling three quarters of all shipping business during the 1860s. Because the south bank of the river here resembles the belly of a carp, which according to Chinese belief is where wealth and prosperity lay, many shophouses were built, crowded into the area.

Though serving aquatic trade is no longer Boat Quay's primary role, the shophouses on it have been carefully conserved and now house various bars, pubs and restaurants. Therefore Boat Quay's social-economic role in the city has shifted away from that of trade and maritime commerce, and now leans towards more of a role accommodated for tourism and aesthetics for the commercial zone of which encloses the Singapore River. It is the soft front to the composolitian banking and financial sectors lying immediately behind it.

Boat Quay is also the name of the road along the quay, which has since been converted into a pedestrian mall.