Celebrating the first day of the Chinese New Year, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday personally handed out 15,000 "lucky" red envelopes, each containing two crisp NT$100 bills, to thousands of people who came from around the country, lining up the whole night in front of Chen's old house in his hometown in Tainan County.
Thousands of neighbors and visitors yesterday descended on Hsichuan village (
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-I, TAIPEI TIMES
A line extended for over 6km, as people waited to receive the red envelopes from Chen's own hands.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-I, TAIPEI TIMES
Many people drove down from northern Taiwan, hoping that the president's envelopes would bring them good fortune in the new year. A young mother even flew in from the offshore island of Kinmen with her children to line up for the red envelopes.
Chen Hsin-yu (
"I have been standing here since Tuesday noon waiting for the first red envelope," the young man said, "and I believe that it will bring me good luck for the whole Year of the Snake." Chen received the red envelope, which had printed on the front "Chen Shui-bian and Wu Shu-chen (
A man surnamed Tu, who lives in Taipei County, also joined the line on Tuesday afternoon with his family, and got five envelopes.
"We will keep these envelopes and the money as a memento," Tu said during an interview with a TV reporter.
Lunar Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in the Chinese-speaking world.
Parents have to give their children red envelopes with money inside, which are to reward children for their good behavior over the past year.
Chen returned home by helicopter at around 9:25am and then stood for over three hours passing out envelopes to everyone who came.
All 15,000 red envelopes were distributed by around 1:00pm, causing some people to return home empty-handed.
In total, the president gave away NT$2 million.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
Taiwanese prosecutors charged Tokyo Electron Ltd for failing to prevent staff from allegedly stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets, escalating a dispute involving two Asian linchpins of a chip industry increasingly vital to national and economic security. Prosecutors indicted the Japanese company on four counts of contravening the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法), they said in a statement yesterday. They’re asking a local court to rule in favor of their request for Tokyo Electron pay a fine of up to NT$120 million (US$3.8 million) for failing in its duty to prevent the alleged
RSS