Hong Kong — Famous actor Chow Yun Fat is not active on social media but he often appears on the social media accounts of fellow Hong Kong celebrities. On Tuesday (May 18) the veteran actor turned 66 and to commemorate the special occasion, several celebrities paid tribute to Chow.
Adrian Wong, daughter of Felix Wong, was one of the first to wish Chow a happy birthday. Wong and Chow are regular jogging mates. Adrian Wong, 31, posted a photo of herself with Chow on Monday. She wrote: “Happy birthday to Fat Gor in advance.” Fat Gor is Cantonese for Big Brother Fat.
Adrian Wong was one of the first few who wished Chow Yun Fat happy birthday. Picture: Instagram
Wong’s birthday was on May 2. She pointed out that she and Chow are Tauruses, according to The Straits Times.
On Tuesday veteran actress Louise Lee celebrated Chow’s birthday with a huge birthday card showing the caricatures of Chow and 15 of his jogging mates. In the card, actors like Michael Miu and Lo Hoi Pang as well as actresses Margie Tsang and Nina Paw were included.
On the card were the words, “Jogging every day. Go Go Go. Happy birthday to Fat Gor.” Lee, 70, disclosed in the post that the card was made by Miu’s wife, actress Jaime Chik.
Chow has not been seen on the big screen since he starred in the crime thriller Project Gutenberg (2018) with singer-actor Aaron Kwok. Chow’s next movie is Be Water, My Friend, with the release date yet to be confirmed.
Born on May 1955 Chow Yun-fat is a Hong Kong actor known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the action movies A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled, and in the West for his roles as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. He mainly stars in drama films and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor in Taiwan./TISG
Singapore— The Ministry of Health (MOH) directed the POFMA office to issue Correction Directions to social media platforms and SPH Magazines Pte Ltd on Thursday (May 20) over a false statement online concerning a Covid-19 variant that is said to have originated in Singapore.
The online statements on Facebook, Twitter and HardwareZone forum (which is under alleged SPH Magazines Pte Ltd) implied that a new and previously unknown variant of the virus started in Singapore and/or risks spreading from Singapore to India.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office was instructed by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung to issue General Correction Directions to these online media platforms.
This type of direction requires them to communicate, publish, broadcast or transmit a correction notice to their users in Singapore.
MOH wrote, “There is no new ‘Singapore’ variant of COVID-19. Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids’.
“The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated from India.
“The existence and spread of the B.1.617.2 variant within India predates the detection of the variant in Singapore, and this has been publicly known and reported by various media sources from as early as 5 May 2021.”
Furthermore, MOH is advising the public not to speculate and/or spread unfounded rumors regarding Covid-19, but to obtain information and updates from the MOH website.
Corrections and clarifications on the matter were also published on the Government’s Factually website.
SPH Magazines told CNA that it put up the notice on HardwareZone forum by 1.20 am on Thursday, in compliance with the POFMA Office direction.
CNA quotes a representative from SPH Magazines as saying: “We’ve carefully reviewed the direction and are legally compelled to issue a correction notice from the Singapore Government to all people using Facebook in Singapore.”
The social media giant has also responded to the Correction Direction by issuing a notice for users in Singapore that read, “You may have seen info the Singapore government has determined to be false. Facebook is required by law to notify you.”
Twitter has also acted similarly, telling CNA “In line with our values around openness, transparency and trust, this request will be reflected in Singapore’s section of the Twitter Transparency Report, which we publish twice-yearly.”
On Tuesday (May 18), India’s Hindustan Times and NDTV carried reports about a Singapore variant of the Covid-19 virus, based on tweets from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who claimed that the new strain is “extremely dangerous for children” and may cause a third wave of infections in India.
India, May 20 — India recorded 276,110 new cases of the coronavius disease (Covid-19) in a 24-hour span, the Union health ministry data showed on Thursday morning. The total tally of the viral infection now stands at 25,772,440. Thursday’s numbers show India continues to maintain a downward trend in daily Covid-19 cases after the number of cases hovered above 300,000 in the deadly second wave of the infection.
On Thursday, the country recorded 3,874 deaths due to Covid-19 which pushed the overall toll up to 287,122. It was slight drop in number after recording the highest number of fatalities over the last few days. On Wednesday, 4,529 people succumbed to the deadly Covid-19 in highest spike in death toll so far.
While the daily number of Covid-19 cases are falling steadily, health officials are still concerned about a spike in related fatalities. In ANI reported, a public health expert, Dr VK Monga, said, the trend may continue to rise for another week at least, before it begins to settle down in proportion to the number of daily cases.
Dr Monga attributed prolonged hospitalisation and Covid-19 complications as the reason behind the surge in deaths. “A large number of patients are still admitted in ICU in various hospitals… and because of the complications of Covid-19 and prolonged stay in hospitals, they may lose the battle, thus resulting in increased figures of death,” Dr Monga said.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a meeting with district magistrates of 10 states with a high Covid-19 caseload to review the situation. During the meeting, the 54 district magistrates are expected to apprise the Prime Minister on the ground management of the infection in their respective states. The chief ministers of these states are also expected to be part of the interaction.
This is the second meeting PM Modi will hold with the district officials on the Covid-19 situation. The first meeting took place on May 18, when PM Modi met held a virtual meeting with 46 district magistrates from nine states
Earlier, the Union health ministry listed 10 states that are contributing the most – as much as 74.46 per cent – to India’s daily tally. According to the ministry, these states are Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
On the vaccination front, the cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached 18.58 crore. A total of 18,58,09,302 vaccine doses have been administered through 27,10,934 sessions, as per the provisional report by the health minist on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Centre approved the first home test for Covid-19 on Wednesday, allowing people to buy a kit that costs Rs.250 and gives results within 15 minutes. The kit has been manufactured by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions Ltd and it is a rapid antigen test (RAT).
According to the guidelines by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the kit should be used only by those who have Covid-19 symptoms or had close contact with an infected person.
Singapore—On Thursday (May 20) TheStraits Times’ former editor Leslie Fong wrote an opinion piece entitled, “What lies beneath the unhappiness over Covid resurgence in S’pore?” to explain the disappointment some have felt over the Government’s failure to prevent the entry of the B1617 variant from India.
Mr Fong used a Greek word, thumos, which has been defined as the inner force motivating someone to act in fear or resentment when they feel dismissed by others who think little of their perspectives.
“Anecdotal evidence and open expressions of disaffection in the social media space would suggest that there is certainly unhappiness that early calls for a pause to arrivals from high-risk countries had gone unheeded,” he wrote, adding that those who have complained have felt their “honest misgivings” have been met with silence or were deflected by those in authority.
Mr Fong also wrote that the oft-repeated reminder of how much the country depends on migrant workers has been a sore point with Singaporeans. He claims they do not understand that migrant workers fill jobs that locals do not want, including those in the construction and nursing sectors.
He noted that there are also those who have expressed “exasperation” over dependants of employment pass holders being allowed into the country.
Mr Fong asserted, however, that the thumos some are expressing is not xenophobic or racist, but merely a desire to have the Government secure the Singaporeans’ safety first.
He ended his piece by writing that this thumos is not necessarily negative, deeming it “in all likelihood, a plaintive cry for meaningful engagement on the part of the authorities, beginning perhaps with an honest acknowledgment that the issue could have been handled better.”
Calvin Cheng’s rebuttal
Former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng responded to Mr Fong on his Facebook account shortly afterwards.
“This writer spent many words and an explanation of a Greek term whingeing about what others have for weeks (been saying) in far simpler terms.”
Mr Cheng explained that travel restrictions can’t apply to just one country, because by the time a variant has been found, it has already spread to other countries, in the same way that the original Covid virus was able to spread.
“You must restrict to all countries, if you want to restrict,” he added, “If you need to ask why Singapore cannot be like Greater China, Australia or New Zealand, stop reading now. You have failed the basic IQ test.”
The former NMP also wrote that Mr Fong had suggested a ban on computer programmers and their dependents, but Mr Cheng said what is needed in Singapore is actually to reduce dependence on low-cost manual workers.
“On the contrary, we need more high-value employment pass holders like…computer programmers.
“And for high-value foreign employees, they have privileges to bring in children and parents.
“Not all. The more you earn, the more privileges you have.”
He also pointed out that the dependants have gone through a difficult process “that involves many many refusals, and trying again and again. In a fluid situation, we do not immediately shed them like ballasts in a storm.”
According to Mr Cheng, the country’s safe entry measures had been sufficient, and that a more transmissible variant would have broken through them at some point.
He added that some high-value expatriates have already been cut off from their families after Singapore banned travel directly from South Asia for non-Singaporean citizens and permanent residents. Others have got stranded without pay, or are in danger of losing their jobs, which he calls reprehensible.
“Our long-term pass holders are also members of the Singapore family,” wrote Mr Cheng. He ended his post by writing, “I agree that the Government is not explaining the above enough. They have only focused on migrant workers. But sooner or later they will say what I have just said.”
Vietnam – The story of a grandpa hand-drawing a certificate for his grandchild who did not get a school certificate because she missed classes for ill health has touched the hearts of many netizens.
One Lê Hoàng Bảo Anh, residing in Tây Ninh Province, Vietnam, took to Facebook on May 15 to share the sweet gesture extended by his father to his daughter.
According to his post, his daughter had come home from her kindergarten with a “sad puppy face”, telling her grandpa that she did not get a certificate at school.
His father then promised her that he would draw one for her, which he got started on right away.
He was able to create a detailed certificate, complete with a seal and signatures.
The certificate reads, “Grandpa grants this certificate to Lê Hoàng Bảo Ngọc for being a good girl that loves her parents and grandparents.”
Photo: FB screengrab/Lê Hoàng Bảo Anh
Bảo Anh disclosed that he and his daughter’s mother have separated. He would often leave his daughter with his parents while he worked as a driver, hence the girl became very close to her grandparents.
He also explained that the five-year-old was always frail and missed classes for ill health.
Members of the online community commented that the drawing might seem trivial to others but memorable to children. They were reminded of their grandparents and their treasured moments together./TISG
Singapore — As Mr Goh Chok Tong turned 80 on Thursday (May 20), he said his birthday wish was “to stride on to be a nonagenarian”, a person who is between 90 and 99 years old.
In a Facebook post, the former Prime Minister and Emeritus Senior Minister shared a photo of himself with his cake that had the words, “Standing Tall at 80”.
“I seek good health, warm family relationships, genuine friendships, purpose through serving the country and community, and tranquillity in the process”, Mr Goh wrote.
He thanked everyone for their birthday wishes and said he was “touched that so many of you care, including people whom I have never met”.
“You have stood tall with me. Now, I hope you will continue Standing Tall with Singapore. I wish all of you good health and more good years,” Mr Goh wrote.
Earlier this month in a rather odd post, Mr Goh shared photos of himself in what looked like a park. In the accompanying caption, he wrote: “As I crawl towards 80, I paused on the way towards my destination.”
“No, I did not need to use a walking stick. I took one along just in case as I had a backache on Friday”, he added.
In January this year, the former Prime Minister noted on social media that “Every day is a bonus,” despite suffering from radiation dermatitis as a result of the radiotherapy he received to remove cancer cells.
That month, Mr Goh also indicated that he plans to try to live till at least 93, much like his Malaysian counterpart, Dr Mahathir Mohammad. He wrote about the former chairman of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Mahmud Awang who died on Jan 4 at the age of 93. “When asked how he kept so slim and fit, he explained he “curi makan”. He meant eating sparingly, even for food which he liked”, Mr Goh added.
“From now on, I will have to “curi makan” to increase my odds of living till 93 like him”, Mr Goh quipped.
At the end of last month, Mr Goh’s good friend Progress Singapore Party (PSP) founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock turned 81. /TISG
Hong Kong — Being humble is a trait Andy Lau was known for but he was never really down-to-earth. A video clip is circulating online from the talk show A Date with Luyu where the Heavenly King recalls the time he was reprimanded by Chow Yun Fat for having the wrong mindset for a newbie. It happened in 1982 when Lau was still a rookie and he was offered a meaty role on the Ann Hui-directed movie Boat People.
Chow Yun Fat was supposed to play the role and he turned it down which puzzled Lau, so he asked why. Chow was already a huge star across Asia and he told Lau that he did not take on the role as he was afraid of being blacklisted in Taiwan. During that period, due to political reasons, Hong Kong actors who worked in China were banned from working in Taiwan and Boat People was to be filmed in Hainan, according to 8days.sg.
Chow Yun Fat asked Andy Lau who does he think he is. Picture: Instagram
Upon hearing Chow’s explanation, Lau reacted by saying, “But I’m important too!” Lau thought that his career was just as important as Chow’s and that he should be concerned about getting blacklisted in Taiwan too. Lau said that Chow was so upset at his outburst that he responded: “Who do you think you are? You’re so new to the industry, you should be grabbing such a good opportunity!”
In the end, Lau took the role and it was a decision that paid off as the role is said to have launched Lau’s movie career. Not only was he nominated for Best New Performer at the 1983 Hong Kong Film Awards, it helped him clinch his first lead movie role in On The Wrong Track.
Born on May 18, 1955, Chow Yun Fat is a Hong Kong actor known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the action movies A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled, and in the West for his roles as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. He mainly stars in drama films and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor in Taiwan./TISG
Singapore – The police have issued a statement clarifying that they were helping, not bullying, an elderly woman who was not wearing a mask.
Viral posts have been circulating about policemen surrounding an old woman at Block 743 Yishun Avenue 5 on Monday evening (May 17), reported The New Paper.
The posts alleged the police officers “clustered (around) an elderly auntie that took off her mask because she was feeling breathless” and even “scolded” her after she put her mask on.
Some claimed that a female passer-by stepped in to ease the situation as the video showed the interaction between her and the police officers.
The police said they were aware of the posts circulating online about the incident.
The police emphasised that the allegations were false and the authorities were investigating the circulation of the falsehoods.
According to the police, the 85-year-old woman who was not wearing a mask seemed lost at the location and the officers were trying to help her.
“With the help of a member of the public, it was subsequently established that the elderly woman, believed to have dementia, resided in a nearby block, and her domestic helper was contacted to bring her home,” the police statement noted.
The police officers bought food for the old woman in case she was hungry, as the incident occurred at dinner time.
One of the officers also offered her a mask and helped her put it on.
After she was handed over to her domestic helper, no further police assistance was needed.
The police advised the public not to spread unverified information, or make false assumptions, and be responsible when posting or sharing information online.
An Instagram user who recorded footage of the incident posted an apology for his misinterpretation. He had initially assumed the police were being harsh on the old woman and criticised their behaviour. However, he has since acknowledged his mistake, and made the necessary clarifications.
Photo: IG screengrab/ nichology
Phuong Le Ha is an intern at The Independent SG/TISG
India — More assistance related to the coronavirus crisis in India is flowing from Canada, including a donation from an indigenous community in the western province of Manitoba.
The Manitoba Metis Federation, which is the government of the indigenous people there, has announced a donation of 50,000 Canadian dollars to help India during the crisis.
Federation president David Chartrand said, “People are dying from lack of oxygen in India. Our hearts go out to all the families who have lost loved ones. The Indo-Canadian community in our province has a well-deserved reputation for generosity towards their neighbours. Now, that their families and friends in India need our help, it’s our chance to return the favour.”
Chartrand pointed to the scale of the devastation in India as he said, “Over 270,000 people have died from Covid-19 in India. That is enough to wipe out the entire Metis population in Manitoba twice over.”
Chartrand made the pledge during an online ‘Oxygen for India’ fundraiser organised by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce or ICCC on Sunday.
Chartrand said that while the Metis were not a rich people, it was in their “DNA as Metis people that if we see our neighbours struggle, we need to help”.
“Like the Metis, people in India highly value and respect their elders and seniors, who we know are extremely vulnerable to Covid-19. We need to help protect their families and communities. If you can, I encourage all Metis citizens, and indeed all Canadians, to donate to Oxygen for India,” he added.
Meanwhile, the province of Ontario which has already despatched 3,000 ventilators to India, will send another 2,000. Premier Dough Ford said he had “directed our folks to ship another 2,000 (ventilators)” and expected that a “whole planeload” with supplies will arrive in India soon. Ford also made the announcement at the ICCC fundraiser.
Singapore — Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Hazel Poa wants to add a provision to the Road Traffic (Amendment Bill) for the safety of migrant workers.
The Progress Singapore Party member proposes to add a provision to the Bill to repeal section 126(1)(a) of the Act and to mandate that workers can only be transported in vehicles with passenger seats.
Speaking in Parliament on May 11, Ms Poa proposed financial assistance be extended to businesses that find it hard to comply with this provision.
She said: “In July 2010, a Parliamentary Question was asked of the Minister for Transport (MOT) to consider legislating that employers must transport their workers on buses. The Minister replied that we should allow the measures to improve workers’ safety on lorries to take effect and study their effectiveness before concluding that they are insufficient before concluding that they are insufficient and going for a ban.
“The proposed measures include fitting lorries with canopies and side railings and increasing the deck space per seated worker, and have been in place for 10 years.
“Despite these vehicle-related safety measures, driver-related measures, enforcement and penalties and public education, fatalities and injuries from workers being transported on lorries are still seen,” she said.
“It is clear that the current measures for transporting workers as passengers on goods vehicles are not enough and must be improved. The Government has taken strong action in the past in reaction to deaths that could have been prevented,” said Ms Poa.
Ms Poa cited the fatal school bus accident in 2008, after which seat belts for small school buses were made compulsory in 2009. To cope with the increased cost, the Government gave out S$22 million in financial assistance for small buses to be retrofitted with seat belts.
“We should now similarly prioritise human lives over increased costs. Financial assistance for businesses with difficulties complying can be explored. We can also explore whether there is spare capacity in the form of tour buses now under-utilised that will make this a good time to implement new measures,” she argued.
“The workers affected are primarily migrant workers, who form one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. The neglect of their protection and welfare has long been a bone of contention in our society. Reactive responses only when death occurs in traffic accidents, domestic helper abuse or dormitory infections are not enough. The pandemic has shown us how choosing the easier or cheaper path can come back and bite us eventually,” she said.
“It was announced on May 10 that the MOT will review this issue taking into account all views and suggestions.
“Can MOT let us know how much time is needed for this review? Lives are at stake here and we hope for speedy action to be taken,” she asked
“On the issue of safe transportation of workers, PSP would like to highlight that this would be a good time for a holistic review of all the areas related to the protection of migrant workers, such as dormitory conditions, recruitment costs, job mobility and strengthening enforcement of breaches by employers for example,” she said.
Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG
