The government lotteries, including scratch-off tickets and computerized tickets, were launched on Jan. 16 this year. With multi-million NT dollar jackpots and inexpensive ticket prices, lottery sales initially created a gambling frenzy across the nation.
Housewives, laborers and office workers lined up outside street-side lottery booths to buy the government-sponsored lotto, and the jackpot winners were topics of everyday chat.
While government officials said lotto sales could generate tax income for the nation, the public hysteria about the lottery has backfired, with lawmakers demanding the government reduce the number of lottery draws from two a week to one and scholars criticizing the media's saturation coverage.
Vice President Annette Lu (
-- By Kevin Chen
10.Rice-wine hikes take their toll
Taiwan's accession to the WTO in January required the nation to hike rice wine prices from NT$21 to NT$130 per 0.6-liter bottle this year.
New 2003 tax rates are expected to bring the price of the cooking staple to some NT$150 per bottle, according to Morgan Hwang (黃營杉), chairman of Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp.
The huge price discrepancy forced Taiwanese to line up last Lunar New Year in February to buy their daily quota of rice wine, the supply of which failed to meet the suddenly-booming market demand.
The high prices also motivated many rice wine makers to brew bootleg products to sell at reduced prices, generating extravagant profits by evading the NT$90 tax. After hitting the market, the lethal bootleg rice wine claimed the lives of over 10 people in November, triggering a nationwide panic.
Joining forces with local governments, the Ministry of Finance cracked down on illegal brewers, busting some 653 illegal production facilities and confiscating 1.3 million liters of wine as of Dec. 27.
Meanwhile, the ministry has hammered out a proposed plan to cut rice wine prices to NT$60 per bottle in January by proposing revisions to rice wine taxes to the legislature for passage while simultaneously re-opening WTO negotiations with the US and European countries. The government's plan may not succeed since the US has vetoed Taiwan's proposal to lower distilled wine taxes.
As a solution, Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖), launched a novelty of do-it-yourself (DIY) rice-wine kit in mid December, which includes rice wine ingredients in three separate bottles. After the ministry allowed Taisugar's DIY production -- priced at NT$85 per bottle -- to hit the market, many copycats including a NT$60 Kinka Rice Spirit (
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