Singapore’s Ho Ching sparks social media stir with US vs Hong Kong protests post

The wife of Lee Hsien Loong shared a cartoon from Singapore media contrasting Donald Trump’s reaction to protests in the US and Hong Kong

China’s Global Times lauded the post, but it has attracted criticism in Hong Kong, Taiwan and from some social media users in Singapore

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Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, pictured in 2017. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:30pm, 3 Jun 2020Updated: 4:56pm, 3 Jun 2020

A cartoon shared on Facebook by the wife of Singapore’s prime minister, which contrasts President Donald Trump’s reaction to the ongoing protests against racism and police violence in the US with his comments on anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong, has become a talking point in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Ho Ching, the wife of Lee Hsien Loong and who heads state investment firm Temasek, on Monday reposted a cartoon by Singaporean political cartoonist Heng Kim Song, which was first published in the city state’s Chinese language daily broadsheet Lianhe Zaobao.

It depicts how Trump had called for “democracy” as Hong Kong protesters smashed a shop window, but called protesters who were doing the same in Minnesota “thugs”.

The post has been liked more than 3,700 times and was highlighted by Global Times – a state-owned tabloid affiliated with People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party – which ran a story about it on Tuesday highlighting US officials’ starkly different reactions to the two sets of protests.

Users of Chinese microblogging site Weibo flocked to posts on the topic, with some saying Ho “deserves praise” for sharing the cartoon.

The Global Times story, which was shared by Sina News of Chinese technology giant Sina Corp, pointed out that Ho risked incurring the wrath of “many chaotic people in Hong Kong”, harking back to how she had rubbed some the wrong way in September by sharing a post in support of the city’s police.