The world can look forward to peace and harmony at the start of the Lunar New Year, but Chinese soothsayers say the world should also expect conflict, disease outbreaks and natural disasters later in the year.
As the world waves goodbye to the Year of the Rooster and welcomes the Year of the Dog on Sunday, believers in Chinese superstition have been consulting traditional fortune tellers, feng shui geomancers and a wealth of new books that claim to be able to predict the year's fortunes.
Feng shui expert and astrologer Raymond Lo said that according to ancient Chinese belief, dog years are characterized by a rise in the strength of fire and earth.
PHOTO: AP
"Fire sitting on earth is a symbol of support and harmony and this may bring a relatively more peaceful year with less international conflicts than in the past few years," Lo said.
60-year cycle
The Chinese calendar moves in 60-year cycles, meaning the world will experience in the new year similar events that took place in 1946.
That was the year World War II, a time when world powers were concentrating on recovering from war and creating a new world order.
"Likewise, it is expected that there will be more co-operation among countries in 2006 aimed at setting up a more effective world order for the protection of global interests, such as solving environmental issues, global warming problems, religious differences, and the prevention of epidemics," Lo said.
The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and associates each of the 12 years that form a partial cycle with an animal. The dog is the 11th in the zodiac sequence that starts with the rat, followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and ending with the pig.
Fortune-tellers base their predictions on the relationship between the zodiac animals and the characters of each animal year.
They also take into account the changing balance over the years in the five spiritual elements that Chinese philosophy believes form the core of the universe -- metal, wood, fire, water and earth.
Not all soothsayers agree on what the year heralds.
Another feng shui expert Lee Sing-tong says that things will turn worse later in the year.
"Things might look peaceful first of all, but a lot of problems will start in the middle of the year," warned Lee, a third-generation feng shui master.
He predicted worsening conflicts between China and Japan, a serious earthquake in the Middle East and a shortage of medicines worldwide.
"There will be a false impression that there will be an improvement in the political environment, peoples' livelihoods, public resources or social welfare at the beginning of the year," Lee said.
"But in the second half year, a situation of shortage will appear and this will result in serious problems in society or cause chaos," he said.
The US would pull its troops out of Iraq after autumn leading to instability in the Middle East, Lee said.
Character-shaping
For individuals, the year in which you were born is believed to shape your character.
People born in years of the dog are thought to be loyal, reliable, persistent, resourceful, unselfish and honest. However, they also tend to be introverted, nosy, anxious, pessimistic, cynical and moody, soothsayers believe.
Celebrities born in years of the dog include US President George W Bush, model Naomi Campbell, singers Mariah Carey, Cher and Kate Bush, and operatic tenor Jose Carerras.
This Year of the Dog will be especially auspicious as it is a "Double Spring" year, the Chinese calendar equivalent to a leap year, a period during which it is considered lucky for young couples to marry.
Another fortune-teller, Alion Yeo, warned of increasing intestinal illnesses or other deadly diseases between April and May.
Unlike the rooster year, whose predicted sex scandals largely didn't materialize, the dog year would come as a complete contrast due to the strong fire element, Yeo said.
"Love will burn like fire; people will be more passionate about their relationships. There is no hiding it," he said.
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
‘NO INTEGRITY’: The chief judge expressed concern over how the sentence would be perceived given that military detention is believed to be easier than civilian prison A military court yesterday sentenced a New Zealand soldier to two years’ detention for attempting to spy for a foreign power. The soldier, whose name has been suppressed, admitted to attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and knowingly possessing an objectionable publication. He was ordered into military detention at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch and would be dismissed from the New Zealand Defence Force at the end of his sentence. His admission and its acceptance by the court marked the first spying conviction in New Zealand’s history. The soldier would be paid at half his previous rate until his dismissal
RSS