SINGAPORE - The marks made by self-inking pens on ballot papers for the election will not become invisible, said the Elections Department (ELD), debunking false claims.
ELD said on Tuesday (July 7) that it was aware of false information being circulated in messages and online posts, which claimed that ballot papers and self-inking pens provided for the election have been treated such that marks made on the ballot papers will become invisible after several minutes.
"ELD would like to state categorically that this is not true," the department said in a statement.
The marks made using the self-inking pens are permanent, it said.
In fact, the ink is oil-based and water and temperature resistant, said ELD, adding that similar pens have also been used in elections in other countries like South Korea.
ELD also said the ballot papers used for this election are no different from past elections, and are printed under tight security conditions.
"It will not be possible for the ballot papers to be put through any additional treatment under such a tightly controlled environment," it said.
Self-inking pens were introduced following feedback in previous elections that some voters, especially seniors, had difficulty gripping regular pens to mark their votes.
The pens allow voters to easily mark an "X" on the ballot paper by applying pressure, like a chop.
Voters are also allowed to bring their own pens to mark the ballot papers.
"ELD is committed to ensuring voting security and secrecy, and has put in place rigorous controls at every step of the voting process to ensure this," the department said.
SINGAPORE: The Elections Department (ELD) has refuted false information circulating online that ballot papers and self-inking pens provided for voters on Polling Day have been treated so that marks on the ballot papers become "invisible" after several minutes.
The false information has been circulating online and on instant messaging platforms, the department said in a media statement on Tuesday (Jul 7).
"ELD would like to state categorically that this is not true," it said, adding that marks made by the self-inking pens are permanent.
"In fact, the ink is oil-based, and water and temperature resistant. Similar pens have also been used in elections in other countries, including the Republic of Korea."
The ballot papers used for this year's General Election are "no different" from the ballot papers used in previous elections, and are printed under tight security conditions, ELD said.
"It will not be possible for the ballot papers to be put through any additional treatment under such a tightly controlled environment," it added.
The self-inking pens were introduced to allow voters to indicate their choice on the ballot papers "clearly and easily", the ELD said.
"This arose from feedback in previous elections that some voters, especially more senior voters, had difficulty gripping regular pens to mark their votes," the department added.
Voters may also bring their own pens on Polling Day to mark the ballot papers.
The ELD said it is committed to ensuring "voting security and secrecy", and that there are "rigorous controls" at every step of the voting process.
MELBOURNE: More than five million residents of Melbourne will be locked down for six weeks after coronavirus cases surged in Australia's second-biggest city, authorities announced Tuesday (Jul 7).
State Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown would begin at midnight on Wednesday and last at least six weeks, as he warned residents "we can't pretend" the coronavirus crisis is over.
After the southeastern city detected 191 new cases in 24 hours, Andrews said there were now too many incidents of the virus to trace and track.
"These are unsustainably high numbers," he said. "No one wanted to be in this position. I know there will be enormous amounts of damage that will be done because of this. It will be very challenging."
People wearing face masks walk on Bourke Street after cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Jan 29, 2020. (File photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)
Most school students will return to remote learning while restaurants and cafes will be limited to serving takeaway food.
"There is simply no alternative other than thousands and thousands of cases and potentially more," he told reporters.
Although the lockdown covers the Melbourne metropolitan area, the entire state of Victoria will effectively be sealed off from the rest of the country from Tuesday midnight, as state borders are closed.
Police and the military are patrolling dozens of border crossings and using drones and other aircraft to surveil the vast frontier with other states where the coronavirus has been successfully contained.
Health officials last week effectively shut off some 300,000 Melbourne residents to the rest of the city until the end of July, but that has now been extended beyond their neighbourhoods.
Roughly 3,000 people were also locked in their homes on Saturday in Australia's strictest COVID-19 response to date after a cluster emerged in a high-rise public housing estate.
So far, 69 cases have been recorded across the nine densely populated towers and there are concerns the virus could spread widely, with one health official likening the crowded conditions inside to "vertical cruise ships".
A sign is seen pasted on a window at one of nine public housing estates locked down due to a spike in COVID-19 coronavirus numbers in Melbourne. (AFP/William WEST)
Cruise ships emerged as early coronavirus hotspots, with passengers and crew often packed in small cabins and at high risk of infection.
Australia has recorded almost 9,000 cases of COVID-19 and 106 deaths from the virus.
Almost all new daily cases are being detected in Melbourne, while all other regions are enjoying relaxed restrictions after largely curbing the virus spread.
MELBOURNE: More than five million residents of Melbourne will be locked down for six weeks after coronavirus cases surged in Australia's second-biggest city, authorities announced Tuesday (Jul 7).
State Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown would begin at midnight on Wednesday and last at least six weeks, as he warned residents "we can't pretend" the coronavirus crisis is over.
After the southeastern city detected 191 new cases in 24 hours, Andrews said there were now too many incidents of the virus to trace and track.
"These are unsustainably high numbers," he said. "No one wanted to be in this position. I know there will be enormous amounts of damage that will be done because of this. It will be very challenging."
People wearing face masks walk on Bourke Street after cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Jan 29, 2020. (File photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)
Most school students will return to remote learning while restaurants and cafes will be limited to serving takeaway food.
"There is simply no alternative other than thousands and thousands of cases and potentially more," he told reporters.
Although the lockdown covers the Melbourne metropolitan area, the entire state of Victoria will effectively be sealed off from the rest of the country from Tuesday midnight, as state borders are closed.
Police and the military are patrolling dozens of border crossings and using drones and other aircraft to surveil the vast frontier with other states where the coronavirus has been successfully contained.
Health officials last week effectively shut off some 300,000 Melbourne residents to the rest of the city until the end of July, but that has now been extended beyond their neighbourhoods.
Roughly 3,000 people were also locked in their homes on Saturday in Australia's strictest COVID-19 response to date after a cluster emerged in a high-rise public housing estate.
So far, 69 cases have been recorded across the nine densely populated towers and there are concerns the virus could spread widely, with one health official likening the crowded conditions inside to "vertical cruise ships".
A sign is seen pasted on a window at one of nine public housing estates locked down due to a spike in COVID-19 coronavirus numbers in Melbourne. (AFP/William WEST)
Cruise ships emerged as early coronavirus hotspots, with passengers and crew often packed in small cabins and at high risk of infection.
Australia has recorded almost 9,000 cases of COVID-19 and 106 deaths from the virus.
Almost all new daily cases are being detected in Melbourne, while all other regions are enjoying relaxed restrictions after largely curbing the virus spread.
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is offering voters a “false choice” by asking them to choose between a strong government that can lead Singapore through the COVID-19 crisis and more opposition representation in Parliament, Workers’ Party (WP) chair Sylvia Lim said on Tuesday (Jul 7).
Ms Lim was responding to Mr Lee’s lunchtime online Fullerton rally on Monday, where the Prime Minister called on voters to give the People’s Action Party (PAP) their full support to get through the pandemic and the economic challenges facing Singapore.
Speaking to reporters at a market near Rivervale Plaza in Sengkang, Ms Lim said: “Yesterday, PM Lee gave an e-rally at Fullerton … he’s asking for all voters nationwide to give him and his party a very strong mandate so that they can handle COVID-19 effectively. Now, I think this is a false choice being presented to voters.”
Ms Lim said that there are “robust democracies” around the world, including Taiwan and New Zealand, that have managed the COVID-19 outbreak well.
“In New Zealand, in fact, the prime minister’s own party doesn’t even have a majority of the MPs in Parliament,” Ms Lim said.
She added that Singaporeans will come together when they know there is a need to: “They will support the Government in handling the COVID-19 crisis, regardless of who they vote in to Parliament.
“So I would like to emphasise again, our view is that the PM is giving voters a false choice – that there is no reason why the Government will not be effective in tackling COVID-19, and at the same time, with a Parliament which does not consist of only elected PAP MPs.”
The Workers' Party (WP) chairman, Sylvia Lim, secretary-general Pritam Singh and the candidates for Sengkang GRC, during a walkabout at Rivervale Plaza on Jul 7, 2020. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
WP chief Pritam Singh also responded to Mr Lee’s comments about how the opposition parties have not come up with plans to get Singapore out of the COVID-19 crisis.
“I think it’s a very convenient thing for the Prime Minister just to brush everybody with the same paintbrush, but it’s chapter one of our manifesto and that should tell you how significant COVID-19 is as an issue for the Workers’ Party,” he said.
He added that the party has posted responses to points made in Mr Lee’s Fullerton e-rally on its Facebook page, mainly with points from the party’s manifesto.
WORKERS’ PARTY “PHILOSOPHY” FOR TOWN COUNCIL MANAGEMENT
The Workers’ Party is contesting a total of 21 seats this election in four Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), including the new Sengkang GRC, as well as two single-seat wards.
Ms Lim and Mr Singh were in Rivervale to lend support to the WP Sengkang GRC team, comprising lawyer He Ting Ru, 37, equities analyst Louis Chua, 33, economics professor Jamus Lim, 44, and Ms Raeesah Khan, 26, who is the founder of NGO Reyna Movement. Three of the four in the team are contesting in their first General Election.
They are up against a PAP team of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Ng Chee Meng, 51, Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min, 50, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Amrin Amin, 42, and newcomer Raymond Lye, 54.
The Workers' Party (WP) candidate for Sengkang GRC, Jamus Lim, speaking to the media during a walkabout at Rivervale Plaza on Jul 7, 2020. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
The PAP team has emphasised that they have a track record in running town councils, and said that they will be setting up a new town council for the GRC to develop more facilities for the more than 120,000 residents there.
Addressing reporters’ questions on what the WP team has to offer Sengkang voters at the municipal level, Mr Singh said that if the team wins in the election, they will first get the feedback from residents about potential areas of improvement.
“I think what’s more important at this point is for the Sengkang voters to understand what is the philosophy of town council management that the Workers’ Party brings,” he said.
“We know town councils are political but in our operational work at the town council … all the MPs have drummed into our staff to remember that they don’t represent only WP supporters in a constituency, they represent everybody – and so that philosophy must continue … I will make sure it does.”
The Workers' Party (WP) candidate for Sengkang GRC, He Ting Ru, speaking to the media during a walkabout at Rivervale Plaza on Jul 7, 2020. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
Ms He, who leads the WP Sengkang team and is contesting in her second election, said that there are many young families as well as multi-generational families in Sengkang, and that residents are “very concerned” about the cost of living and their livelihoods given the COVID-19 situation.
“We’ve talked to quite a few residents who either lost their jobs or been temporarily laid off … they’ve expressed concern that some of the (support) schemes – either there’s a lack of awareness of these schemes or they feel they’re not really getting the sort of support that they need,” she told reporters.
Some residents have also voiced worries about an opposition party taking over the town council duties in the area, she said.
“We can assure residents that Workers’ Party MPs have had experience taking over town councils in the past, and taking over the role of MPs in a previously PAP-held ward,” Ms He said.
“We will work very closely and even sit on various national level agencies to make sure that all these facilities do get built and get completed in accordance to plan … we will always act in the best interests of Sengkang residents.”
YOUTH “SHOULD NOT COUNT AGAINST US”: HE TING RU
When asked about the relative youth of the WP team in Sengkang, Ms He said it is a “natural fit” for the GRC because as young parents themselves, they understand the concerns of young families in Singapore.
“I don’t think that’s something that should really count against us … If you look at the team individually and collectively, we do have a lot of experience both internationally and locally, in all sorts of diverse fields, so I think we do bring quite a lot to the table,” she said.
The Workers' Party (WP) candidate for Sengkang GRC, Raeesah Khan, during a walkabout at Rivervale Plaza on Jul 7, 2020. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
When asked for updates about police reports which had been made over Ms Khan’s social media posts in the past, Mr Singh said that neither he nor Ms Khan will make further comments at the moment so as not to prejudice police investigations.
Ms Khan had apologised on Sunday for her “insensitive” remarks made online regarding race and minority issues, but the PAP on Monday asked the WP to clarify its stand on her candidacy.
“Certainly, I think there will be a review of this as I mentioned previously,” Mr Singh said.
MELBOURNE: Hundreds of police officers and army troops are being deployed to enforce the closure of the busy border between Australia's two most populous states as officials grapple to contain a fresh coronavirus outbreak.
The state line between New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, which is highly porous and stretches hundreds of kilometres, is scheduled to close at 11.59pm on Tuesday for the first time in 100 years.
Underscoring the need for decisive action, Victoria state reported a record number of new COVID-19 infections last Thursday, taking the national tally to a three-month high.
"There will be a significant military and police operation going on to monitor all cross-border activity," NSW Police Minister David Elliott warned. "There's serious fines and indeed, a jail sentence, to anyone that wants to push the envelope."
People caught crossing the border without permission via any of the 55 roads that are heavily used by commuters, school children and road freight, or several river and wilderness crossings, will face penalties including a fine of AUS$11,000 (US$7,700) and six months imprisonment.
Daily travel permits will be granted to people who live in border towns and cities but with the closure just hours away, the application system was still being developed.
Kevin Mack, the mayor of Albury, a border town on the NSW side, said with an estimated 50,000 car movements across the state line every day "it will be a nightmare for everyone."
The border closure was announced on Monday in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Melbourne, the Victorian capital.
It prompted authorities this week to reinstate strict social-distancing orders in more than 30 suburbs and put nine public housing towers into complete lockdown.
People walk in the city centre on the first day of New South Wales' further eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in Sydney, Australia, Jul 1, 2020. (REUTERS/Loren Elliott)
Victoria was responsible for 191 of the 199 new cases reported nationally on Tuesday, the biggest one-day rise since early April, excluding last week's addition of historical data from cruise ships.
Australia has now recorded almost 8,800 cases and 106 deaths, far below many other countries, but the Melbourne outbreak has worried officials. Some Australian media reported on Tuesday that Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews was considering reimposing some broader lockdown measures across the state.
The closure of the border is a blow to Australia's hopes of cushioning the fall as the country heads into its first recession in nearly three decades, thanks to social distancing restrictions that were imposed in March and have been largely lifted.
BORDER CHAOS
For businesses on the border, which last closed during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1919, it also poses an immediate logistics headache.
"About a quarter of my staff like me live in NSW, and cross that border every day to come to work," said Paul Armstrong, who runs a petrol station in Wodonga, a border town on the Victorian side. "I don't know if they are going to be able to get in."
The closure also comes during school holidays in both states, a peak travel time for many families.
Ray Bell, owner of the Twofold Bay Motor Inn in Eden, a coastal town on the NSW side of the border, said he received 37 cancellations overnight, including five guests who were forced to leave early to make it back home.
Outside of the border towns, Victoria residents will be able to apply for a permit, but will need to prove a special need for their travel. Freight transporters will be free to cross the border without a permit, but will be subjected to random stops.
TAIPEI: The imposition of a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong has sent chills through Taiwan, deepening fears that Beijing will focus next on seizing the island.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 after nationalist forces lost a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, fleeing to the island which Beijing has since vowed to seize one day, by force if necessary.
"The law makes me dislike China even more," 18-year-old student Sylvia Chang told AFP, walking through National Taiwan University in Taipei.
"They had promised 50 years unchanged for Hong Kong but they are getting all the more heavy-handed ... I am worried Hong Kong today could be Taiwan tomorrow."
Over the years China has used a mixture of threats and inducements, including a promise Taiwan could have the "One Country, Two Systems" model that governs Hong Kong, supposedly guaranteeing key civil liberties and a degree of autonomy for 50 years after the city's 1997 handover.
Both Taiwan's two largest political parties long ago rejected the offer, and the new security law has incinerated what little remaining faith many Taiwanese may have had in Beijing's outreach.
Some now fear even transiting through Hong Kong, worried that their social media profiles could see them open to prosecution under the legislation.
The law "makes China look so bad, distancing themselves even further from Hong Kongers, not to mention people across the strait in Taiwan", Alexander Huang, a political analyst at Tamkang University in Taipei, told AFP.
"HONG KONG TODAY, TAIWAN TOMORROW"
Beijing has taken an especially hard line towards Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), ramping up military, economic and diplomatic pressure.
Tsai views Taiwan as a de facto independent nation and not part of "one China".
But the pressure campaign has done little to endear Taiwan's 23 million people.
In January, Tsai won a second term with a historic landslide and polls consistently show a growing distrust of China.
A record 67 per cent now self-identify as "Taiwanese" instead of either Taiwanese-Chinese or Chinese - a 10 per cent increase on the year before - according to a routine poll conducted by the National Chengchi University.
In 1992, that figure was just 18 per cent.
A woman in Taipei walks past a billboard promoting democracy for Hong Kong. (Photo: AFP/Sam Yeh)
In recent decades Taiwan has morphed from a brutal autocracy into one of Asia's most progressive democracies.
Younger Taiwanese tend to be especially wary of its huge authoritarian neighbour.
Social media is filled with messages of support for Hong Kong's democracy movement. Some back Taiwanese independence, or highlight China's rights abuses in regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang.
Wendy Peng, a 26-year-old magazine editor who said she often shared pro-Hong Kong democracy messages on social media, said she would now avoid visiting the city.
"The national security law makes me wonder how far would China go. Right now I don't see a bottom line and there's probably none. I think it's possible they will target Taiwan next," she said.
UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION
Peng's fears are not unfounded.
As well as allowing China's security apparatus to set up shop openly in Hong Kong for the first time, Beijing's security law claims universal jurisdiction.
Article 38 says security crimes can be committed anywhere in the world by people of any nationality.
Hong Kong police have made clear that support for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet or Xinjiang independence is now illegal.
University employee Patrick Wu, 31, said he would now avoid even transiting through Hong Kong.
"It's like a blanket law, whatever China wants to define and interpret," he told AFP. "I don't know if the 'Likes' or messages I have left on social media will be prosecutable."
Last week Chen Ming-tong, the minister for Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, accused Beijing of aiming to become a supremely powerful "heavenly empire" by ordering "subjects all over the world" to obey its law.
Lin Fei-fan, deputy secretary-general of the ruling DPP, warned that "regular Taiwanese people" might now face arrest in "manufactured cases" if they went to Hong Kong.
He cited China's jailing of Taiwanese NGO worker Lee Ming-che under the country's own subversion laws.
Lee was arrested in 2017 during a trip to China and held incommunicado for months before his eventual fate was made public.
Sung Chen-en, a political commentator and columnist in Taipei, said Beijing's new security law "creates a great uncertainty about what can be said" far beyond Hong Kong's borders.
"If everyone is watching his own expression of opinions, it creates a chilling effect on democracy," he told AFP.
"If everybody is exercising constraint, there is no freedom at all."
