Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching has been turning into quite a trendsetter of late.
Ever since she brought that quaint dinosaur-print pouch (designed by autistic student Seetoh Sheng Jie) to the White House, all eyes have been trained on what bag she’ll bring next in her diplomatic expeditions.
For PM Lee and Ho Ching’s lunch with Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in their Imperial Palace last week, she brought a different bag — one that seems to possess a powerful story behind it as well.
How did the prime minister’s wife describe her bag? Why, through the medium of poetry of course, on Facebook. It’d be more appropriate if she wrote in Haiku — but we doubt she’d be able to fit the story in three lines.
For the significant portion of the population who can’t bother with verses, allusions and meters, here’s the translation:
The bag had a previous owner named Yoko. Yoko actually brought the bag along during her own meeting with the Japanese royal couple. Used only once, the bag was kept in a special paulownia wooden box after Yoko passed away a couple of years ago. Masamoto — presumably Yoko’s husband — saw the news of Ho Ching bringing the dinosaur-print pouch to the White House. Moved by her gesture, he brought Yoko’s bag to Singapore and gifted Yoko’s bag to Ho Ching. Ho Ching promised to bring the bag with her whenever she visits the Emperor and Empress of Japan. She fulfilled the promise.
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