With such a disastrous 2020, many are hoping that the “ox would turn the heavens and earth” (牛轉乾坤, a pun on a Chinese idiom signifying a reversal of fortunes used as a Lunar New Year of the Ox greeting). According to Taiwan’s soothsayers, however, don’t bank on it.
The 2021 Good Luck Bible (2021開運聖經) predicts another calamitous year for the world, full of natural and human disasters ranging from bad harvests to political crises and surging unemployment. Meanwhile, the prognosticator Wisdom Tsai (蔡上機) foretells large-scale international scandals, increased bullying by stronger countries and a continued shift toward authoritarianism. Major financial emergencies
Shadow hangs over Olympics once more after virus surge
The rollout of vaccines might be too slow to convince governments and participants
that the Tokyo Olympics in July would be safe
By Max Zimmerman, Ayai Tomisawa and Yuki Hagiwara / Bloomberg
The fate of Tokyo’s postponed Olympics is once again mired in doubt after Japan declared a second state of emergency for metropolitan areas as COVID-19 cases soar to new levels.
Japan is one of several countries where the virus has made a comeback in winter months, with Tokyo finding a record 2,447 cases on Thursday last week. The discovery of a new and possibly more infectious strains in the UK and South Africa has also alarmed governments around the world.