People deserve the government they get. Those who denounce or reject freedom and democracy and embrace profitable autocracy do not deserve our sympathy when the autocracy they embraced rears its ugly head.
Many of the well-off people in Shanghai are 海归 who had a taste of freedom and democracy overseas. Yet, for the sake of higher income, they have abandoned these ideals to 闷声发大财 in Shanghai. They thought they could live happily ever after, feeling a sense of superiority over others.
The same can happen in Singapore. When we keep surrendering our freedom and our rights and allow the government to get more and more autocratic, the day will come when wealth means nothing when you don’t even have the most basic freedom and human rights.