Tuesday was the first day back to the work in the Year of the Sheep.
On a New Year’s gathering at the Presidential Office Tuesday, President Ma Ying-jeou laid out his vision for the New Year.
The president said Taiwan saw 3.75% economic growth last year. The stock market also closed at a 15-year high before the Chinese New Year holiday. Ma expressed his hopes for the New Year.
"I hope we will all work together this year and see the economy get better. As we all do our part, we can look forward to creating new and greater accomplishments," Ma said.
Ma spent much of the Chinese New Year visiting temples and giving out red envelopes to citizens throughout Taiwan. He said that one woman who rushed to shake his hand had waited 50 years for an opportunity to shake the president’s hand.
The president was well received during the New Year holiday. Some people stood in line for 5 days to shake his hand and receive a lucky red envelope from him.