Off the wire
• China Focus: Chinese economy learning to avoid rocky start  • Trading on Hong Kong Stock Exchange  • Hong Kong stocks close 0.39 pct lower  • Former vice mayor of Longyan in E. China under probe  • Herbicides raise resistance to medical antibiotics: study  • Foreign exchange rates in India  • North China province tackles official shortage after corruption war  • Majority of Filipinos support regional integration:president  • (Sports Focus)Strong legacy, modern infrastructure and proven reliability presented to IOC Evaluation Commission as visit begins  • China's imported iron ore prices continue to drop  
You are here: 　 Home

Orchid named after Singapore's founding PM Lee Kuan Yew

Xinhua, March 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

An orchid named after late former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was on Tuesday presented to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Istana on Monday.

Lee Kuan Yew passed away Monday morning at the age of 91.

National Parks Board CEO Kenneth Er and National Orchid Gardens nursery manager David Lim, who bred the flower, presented it to Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday.

Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, accepted the hybrid flower which produces flower sprays of up to 10 flowers each.

The hybrid is the result of a cross between a native orchid, the arachnis hookeriana, and another Hawaii orchid in the Vanda series similar to Vanda Kwa Geok Choo, which is named after Lee Kuan Yew's late wife who died in 2010.

The orchid can be seen by visitors to the wake in the main hall of Sri Temasek, where Lee Kuan Yew's casket lies on Tuesday. The public can see the orchid in Parliament House when the founding prime minister's body will lie in state there from Wednesday to Saturday.

As for the private wake, it's estimated that about 2,500 visitors from local organizations are expected to convey their condolences on Tuesday. Endi