Taiwan was autocratic until merely a generation ago (and holds the questionable achievement for the longest sustained period of martial law by any government), in South Korea half of its democratic elected heads of state are in prison, and Japan has been governed virtually by the same party since the post-war era.

They have the rule of law, they have elections, all of those countries are characterized by, in reality, a very monocultural, depolitized, bureaucratic system of government. Live in Singapore in reality is no more or less 'democratic' than live in Japan or Taiwan or SK.