A man proposed to his girlfriend immediately after winning NT$1 million (US$35,935) from a lottery scratch card following a visit to an Earth God (土地公) temple in New Taipei City during the Lunar New Year holiday, the lottery shop in Jhonghe District (中和) said yesterday.
The couple decided to try their luck at the shop after praying for good fortune at the temple and seeing a cartoon-style icon of the deity at the shop, the store owner said.
After winning, the man thanked the local deity for “sponsoring” his forthcoming wedding, the owner said.
The couple, who are in their 30s, could not at first believe they had won the Taiwan Lottery Co scratchcard lottery, which has been running since Jan. 4 and has a top prize of NT$20 million, the owner said.
They left the shop in disbelief and returned a few hours later to ask the shop owner to help them confirm it.
The woman said she was grateful to the Earth God for making her a bride this year, adding that she plans to have a baby next year.
To celebrate the Lunar Year of the Tiger, Taiwan Lottery Co added NT$880 million in prize money to the jackpots of several lotteries.
Major lotteries, such as Lotto 6/49, Super Lotto and BINGO BINGO, have boasted much larger jackpots as the sum of NT$880 million is the biggest increase in prize money in five years, the company said.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
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