Inside the underground mall adjacent to Taipei’s renowned Lungshan Temple, a chubby white bird pecks at a box of orange and red envelopes under the watchful gaze of his owner Chin-yuan Chang.
He picks at one and then another and finally decides on an orange envelope, which he pulls out with his small beak.
Chang opens the envelope to pull out a card and lays it out next to two others to form a triptych of predictions for the world in the upcoming Year of the Ox, which officially begins on Friday.
“This [first card] is good. It denotes upward movement. In terms of work, it means there will be an opportunity for promotion. Since we’re asking about the entire world, it means the whole economy will go up. However, as the economy…