President Lai embarks on 3-day tour across Taiwan for Lunar New Year

Taipei, Jan. 29 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) embarked on a three-day journey across Taiwan on Wednesday to make public appearances and give out auspicious blessings and gifts to the general public in celebration of the Lunar New Year.

Lai's trip is in observation of the Lunar New Year custom of paying visits to bring auspiciousness.

In the spirit of the Chinese cultural festival, the focus of Lai's three-day trip centers around a pilgrimage across various temples to better spread prosperity through gifts and also pray for blessings upon Taiwan from the gods on behalf of the nation.

The first two stops of the president's public appearances were to Taipei's Bangka Lungshan Temple in Wanhua District and Dalongdong Baoan Temple in Datong District.

At both locations, Lai gave out "red envelops" containing NT$1 (US$0.03) made with limited availability.

The gifts also showcase drawings of dogs and cats by Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴).

Aside from verbal blessings to members of the general public, Lai also delivered speeches addressing topics such as Taiwan's economy and development in a positive tone to boost morale.

Lai's Wednesday schedule subsequently took him to other temples in New Taipei, Keelung and Tainan.

In the southern city, Lai said that the central government will work with Tainan to help the areas affected by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Jan. 21 and its series of strong aftershocks throughout last week.

Locations such as Tainan's Yujing and Nanxi districts sustained strong aftershocks which resulted in the relocation of at least 116 people by Tuesday.

Throughout his Wednesday itinerary, Lai could be seen in a red hoodie with "Taiwan" written across.

The clothing was released by the Presidential Office in collaboration with the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

On his Facebook page on Wednesday, Lai said he wanted to share the passion and energy of baseball with the nation.

He also said he had recently visited a public event held by the Taiwan Professional Baseball Players Association in Taipei. There, he exchanged opinions about the development of sport in Taiwan with association members and athletes, he wrote.

Seeing young baseball players' pure love for the sport, Lai said he deeply felt the energy and hope that baseball conveys.

"In the new year, we will continue to love baseball and continue being 'Taiwan the best,'" he said.