Under The Angsana Tree: Ho Ching responds to Taiwan's mask donation with 'Errrr'

Update 3 Jun 2020: Singapore first lady riles up Taiwanese by gloating over US protests

Ho Ching angers Taiwanese by sharing Chinese propaganda on Hong Kong, Minneapolis protests

Singapore first lady Ho Ching (何晶) has yet again drawn the ire of Taiwanese after she shared a cartoon that depicted Trump as supporting the Hong Kong protesters while condemning those in Minneapolis.

Ho first raised hackles in Taiwan in April when she seemed to express disdain that Taiwan was donating 100,000 medical masks to Singapore by sharing the news and writing "Errrr." She later modified the post to offer thanks to Taiwan, only to stir more controversy by sharing a video of a talk show hinting at deteriorating Singapore-Taiwan relations two days later.

This time, on Monday evening (June 1), Ho shared a cartoon from Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao showing people in Hong Kong smashing a shop window and Trump exclaiming "democracy!" In the next frame, the same number of persons can be seen smashing a storefront in Minnesota, with Trump shouting "thugs!"

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HO Ching Yesterday at 05:34

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Ho Ching says she owes 'President of Taiwan' a personal apology, asks readers to ignore cover photo of FB video

The cover photo of Tsai had been edited to make it seem like the words 'oral sex failure' are blown up next to her

She also asked her audience to "ignore" the cover photo used in the video.

She said: "I'm not yet au fait yet to know how to edit videos, and so just shared what came across my fb feed."

The cover photo in question has the words "mask diplomacy failure" next to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, but due to the way the words was edited, the specific phrase "oral sex failure" was blown up, making it stand out from the picture instead.

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HO Ching April 15 at 1:31 PM

Postscript

Please ignore the cover photo of the video below - I don’t agree with some of the stuff in the video with its clearly biased domestic political fights.

But i wanted to share the real story of a Singapore mother and son who clearly benefited from Taiwan’s help and support.

So please look past the the cover photo for the video - i’m not yet au fait yet to know how to edit videos, and so just shared what came across my fb feed.

I owe the President of Taiwan a personal apology, and hope to make amends in calmer times.

Meanwhile, my apologies to her.

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Ho Ching clarifies her reaction to Taiwan donating masks to Singapore

Singaporeans and Taiwanese alike have been kicking up a fuss over Ho Ching's take on Taiwan's mask donations. But was it 'mask' ado about nothing?

Personal remarks will not affect ongoing talks on Taiwan's donation of face masks to Singapore, the island's ministry of foreign affairs said on April 12 in response to the controversy over Ho Ching's reaction to the news. The ministry announced on April 7 that Taiwan would be donating a total of one million face masks to several countries, including Singapore.

Ho, the chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings and wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, then shared an article on the donation to her Facebook page on April 11, captioning it with an enigmatic "Errrr".

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Wife of Singapore PM apologizes to Taiwan after controversial comment

Ho Ching seeks forgiveness for her ‘Errrr’ comment, says she is forever grateful for Taiwan’s mask donation

After being criticized for her impolite response to Taiwan's face mask donation to Singapore, the Southeast Asian nation's first lady Ho Ching (何晶) apologized Monday (April 13) for her remark and urged Taiwanese to forgive her.

In a Facebook post published Saturday (April 11), Ho left a sarcastic "Errrr" next to a Taiwan News article titled "Taiwan to donate medical masks to Singapore." Her reaction has been interpreted by many Taiwanese and Singaporeans as ungrateful, while some others have backed Ho by explaining that the Taiwanese government failed to supply masks to Singapore when they were needed the most.

In response to speculations about Taiwan withholding surgical masks manufactured by Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engg) in January, Finance Minister Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) pointed out that the masks were exempt from the export ban and had been shipped back to Singapore on Jan. 29. He added that two production lines of ST Engg were also moved back to Singapore on Feb. 12, reported CNA.

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Ho Ching edits FB post and expresses gratitude over Taiwan’s mask donation after being swarmed by Taiwanese netizens

On Saturday (11 April), Temasek CEO Ho Ching shared an article on her Facebook page by Taiwan News about Taiwan donating medical masks to Singapore.

In the post, Mdm Ho who is also the wife of Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, had only said, “errrr….”

This drew flak from Taiwan netizens who found her caption confusing and ask her to explain the meaning of the post, adding that if Singapore doesn’t want the masks, it can reject the offer.

related: Taiwan news reports Ho Ching earnings as CEO of Temasek Holdings

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HO Ching 11 April at 00:31

Errrr ....

😄😄😃😃😄😄

To all our friends and friends of friends in Taiwan, a huge thank you to all that you have done, and please know that I’m forever grateful.

We all know we are in this together as one world - and I’m totally grateful for every one which has reached out, advised, pointed the way, and tried their best to help, sometimes successfully and sometimes not.

But that sincere effort and thought, regardless of success or failure, is what I will treasure forever.

And mistakes? Also forgiven, lah!

Meanwhile, errrrr .....

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Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Policies to be based on official statements and not based on individual statements

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has stated that its bilateral policy with Singapore will be based on official statements made by the two countries and will not be influenced by statements by individuals.

This is in light of the backlash by Taiwanese netizens over a Facebook post made by Mdm Ho Ching, wife of Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday where she wrote, “Errrr…” in regards to a news article that states Taiwan is donating face-masks to Singapore.

Taiwanese netizens have asked Mdm Ho to explain the meaning of her post and said that if Singapore is not interested in the donated masks, it can reject the offer.

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Singapore’s first lady responds to Taiwan's mask donation with 'Errrr'

Wife of Singaporean prime minister receives criticism for ungracious response to Taiwan's gesture of good will

Singaporean first lady Ho Ching (何晶) sparked a controversy Saturday (April 11) when she responded to Taiwan's donation of masks to the Southeast Asian nation with a less-than-enthusiastic "Errrr."

In a Facebook post in which she shared a Taiwan News article titled "Taiwan to donate medical masks to Singapore," Ho left the online community puzzled by her onomatopoeia. Many Taiwanese have called her out for being ungrateful and urged their government to retrieve the masks, while Singaporean netizens have apologized on Ho's behalf, saying they are just as perplexed by her reaction.

On Wednesday (April 8), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced that Taiwan would be donating over one million surgical masks to Singapore and other New Southbound Policy (NSP) countries to help slow the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The island nation has already donated millions of masks to 11 European countries and the U.S., who in return have offered sincere gratitude, reported CNA.

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HO Ching Yesterday at 00:31

Errrr ....

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Singapore Leader’s Wife Blasts Criticism on Nation’s Virus Spike

Ho Ching, head of Singapore’s state-owned investment company and wife of the country’s prime minister, blasted criticism on the city-state’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying it wasn’t alone in misreading the pandemic’s spread among patients who don’t display symptoms.

“We all underestimated the asymptomatic transmission -- not just SG, but the world over,” Ho said in a Facebook post late Friday night, using the abbreviation for Singapore. She said she’s frustrated by “I told you so” comments, adding that “hindsight is always beautiful and perfect.” While she didn’t say who the cryptic rebuttal was directed at in the post, a report that went live on Friday said Ho admitted that the government made a mistake in bringing Singaporeans home when the number of infections surged globally.

“Nope! Don’t put words in my mouth, young man!” Ho said in her Facebook post. She added that the unnamed critic shouldn’t “waste time being a back-seat driver” and should stop acting like a “smart alec, by blaming this or that person.”

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'Stop yelping like a spoilt kid,' Ho Ching tells Singaporeans upset over new FairPrice service fee

People have been roasting NTUC FairPrice for its new $3.99 service fee — and Ho Ching is not here for it

The chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings chided Singaporeans who were complaining about the supermarket chain's fees in a candid Facebook post today (April 17), telling them to "stop yelping like a spoilt kid".

Ho, who is married to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, also suggested that those who wanted their groceries delivered for free should "step up and volunteer to do delivery for the rest of us".

It came after NTUC FairPrice announced that it would impose a $3.99 service fee on all online orders from 8pm on Thursday (April 16).

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Dear Prime Minister, what do you think of your wife’s Facebook posts?

Do you find them helpful, do you give a thumbs up?

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, you know better than anyone else that your wife Ho Ching is a most compulsive social media user. Her never-ending mishmash of social media shares and posts give Singaporeans – and even foreigners – plenty to chew over.

Take her recent post of a cryptic “Errr…” in response to news that Taiwan was donating face masks to Singapore. That was not the first time she caused a bit of a ruckus. PM Lee, did you go “Arghh” when you saw her “Errr…”? Or when she posted a cheeky photo of a monkey making a rude gesture. Was that targeted at anyone?

And how did you react when your wife posted a spirited defence of seven-figure pay of politicians, arguing that Singapore’s political salary system is unique as it does not include perks or pension? PM Lee, what ran through your mind when you saw that?

related:
Kenneth Jeyaretnam encourages S'poreans to keep guessing about Ho Ching’s salary
Netizens call for transparency over Ho Ching’s salary;dissatisfied by Temasek’s statement

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Temasek CEO, Ho Ching makes nearly 200 posts a day on Facebook – why?

Just last week, Temasek CEO and wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Ho Ching, got into a little spot of trouble with a Facebook post she made about Taiwan donating medical masks to Singapore.

In a post on Saturday (11 April), Mdm Ho shared an article by Taiwan News about the donation and she accompanied that with a caption that originally said, “Errr….” This drew flak from Taiwan netizens who found her caption confusing and ask her to explain the meaning of the post, adding that if Singapore doesn’t want the masks, it can reject the offer.

The issue unfolded over the weekend with Singaporean netizens defending Mdm Ho’s ambiguous comment, Taiwanese netizens demanding a clarification, as a pro-People’s Action Party (PAP) fanpage referencing Mdm Ho’s post to insinuate that the Taiwan government was keeping these stocks of masks from Singapore. Two days later on Monday, Mdm Ho decided to edit her post to clarify her original comment.

related: Shouldn’t there be OB markers for what a PM’s spouse post online?

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Making Sense of Ho Ching’s Facebook Page

Did you know that butterflies drink turtle tears? Until yesterday, I didn’t even know that turtles cried. But thanks to Mdm. Ho Ching, I now understand where herbivorous butterflies get their daily sodium fix. This is just one of the many nuggets of knowledge that Ho Ching posts to her Facebook feed – the most random but fascinating collection of internet content ever assembled by a public figure in Singapore.

If you follow her, you can learn about China’s expanding naval capabilities, bricklaying robots, Ipoh’s revitalised hipster cafe scene, and even the temperature of Uranus. (This is not a joke.) Despite being named by Forbes as one of the most powerful women in the world (and certainly the most powerful woman in Singapore), we know absolutely nothing about Mdm. Ho Ching beyond the basic facts. No mainstream media outlet has ever profiled her and she is rarely mentioned in news reports except in PM Lee’s company. We do not know what her political opinions are, what her vision for Singapore’s future is, or even her favourite food.

After being CEO of Temasek for 14 years, PM Lee’s spouse and the person responsible for everyone’s monies remains a complete mystery. Except on social media, where she shares often and without inhibition. So what better way to learn about Ho Ching than by reading everything on her Facebook page?

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Ho Ching’s refreshingly chill approach to social media culminates in sharing of Pornhub meme

Spam on, you powerful woman, you

Unlike her husband — who holds the most powerful position in the country — the Prime Minister’s wife Ho Ching has a rather refreshingly lax approach to her social media postings.

If one were to look at her personal (and verified) Facebook page, it would seem that she loves to spam links to various videos, articles and memes without a care for public relations at all — an amazing feat considering that every single aspect of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s own social media presence is clearly curated. The same goes for the rest of the ministers and various politicians under him — they can (most times) be so inoffensive and sterile to the point of being bland.

That’s why Ho Ching’s own posts are comparatively interesting. Politically incorrect jokes even make it to her feed — like this one about Pornhub (sadly blocked in Singapore, mind you). Bless her gleeful, carefree heart.

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Ho Ching's refreshingly chill approach to social media