Updated Sat. Feb. 17 2007 11:31 PM ET
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070217/
pig_year_070217/20070217?hub=TopStories&s_name=
Associated Press

HONG KONG -- Sunday marks the start of the Chinese New Year and it's a lucky one
for
those starting out in life. But the rest of us are in for a rough ride. Expect
epidemics,
disasters and violence in much of the world.

"The Year of the Pig will not be very peaceful," said Hong Kong feng shui master
Raymond
Lo.

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of trying to achieve health, harmony
and
prosperity by using specific dates, numbers, building design and the placement
of objects.

The pig is one of 12 animals (or mythical animals in the case of the dragon) on
the 12-
year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, which follows the lunar calendar. According to
Chinese
astrology, people born in pig years are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal.
They are
also lucky, which is why many Chinese like to have babies in a pig year.

"Any children born in The Year of Pig will receive help from others throughout
their lives,"
Lo said.

Ronald Reagan was a pig. So are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Woody Allen and Elton
John. Not
to mention Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But a word of caution to the presidential candidate.

The pig finished last in the race that determined the zodiac's order, behind the
dog.

Other animals in the zodiac are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake,
horse, sheep,
monkey and rooster. The zodiac runs on a 12-year cycle, and each year is
associated with
the five elements that Chinese mystics make up the universe: metal, water, wood,
fire and
earth.

Therein lies the trouble.

Pig years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water,
conflicting
elements that tend to cause havoc, Lo said.

"Fire sitting on water is a symbol of conflict and skirmish," he said. "We'll
also see more
fire disasters and bombings."

He noted that the Russian AK-47 rifle, a weapon of choice among insurgents
around the
world, was invented during a pig year.

"So it will not be surprising to see more gunbattles, murder with guns and
bombing
attacks in 2007," he said.

Malaysian feng shui master Lillian Too agreed.

"I wish I could say that there won't be natural disasters, but I am afraid it
could be as bad
as last year," she said.

"There could be epidemics," she said. "I am very worried about bird flu. Eat
healthy foods
and take care of your health."

Few Chinese seemed to be worried about the warnings, though, as they prepared
for their
biggest bash of the year -- Saturday's Lunar New Year's Eve -- celebrated by
one-fifth of
the world's population.

It's an occasion to have family feasts, buy new clothes and exchange red
envelopes stuffed
with gift money.

Not everything about the future looks bleak.

Most soothsayers said the world economy will continue to boom, though they
advise
people to be cautious about their investments.

"Because of the water element in the Year of the Pig, the economy will continue
to grow,
which also paves the way for another round of interest rate hikes," said Peter
So, a
celebrity fortuneteller in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong soothsayer Alion Yeo is predicting North Korea will undergo a power
struggle
that will bring leadership changes around May. Last year, the Year of the Dog,
Yeo warned
that the North Korean nuclear crisis would worsen.

The North conducted a nuclear test in October.

Singapore fortuneteller John Lok predicted the situation in Iraq will not settle
and President
Bush will have a bad year.

He also said the next president of France may be a woman -- no surprise there
since one
of the main candidates is a woman, Segolene Royal of the Socialist party.

While the pig is beloved by the Chinese, the animal is offensive to Muslims, who
consider
it unclean. For that reason, Chinese New Year celebrations have to be handled
with care in
Malaysia and Indonesia, mainly Muslim countries with large ethnic Chinese
minorities.

For the first time in its history, Indonesia introduced a special set of postal
stamps to mark
the Lunar New Year. But concerns over Muslim sensitivities led the postal
service to drop
plans to put a large pig on the stamps. It chose a Chinese temple instead.

"We took the middle path," said Hana Suryana, director of the Indonesian postal
service.

Still, that was progress for a country where ethnic Chinese, who make up 5
percent of the
population and have long faced discrimination, once were not allowed to
celebrate the
Lunar New Year.

"That has changed now, but we still feel uncomfortable celebrating the day in a
large way
because there are some people who cannot accept that Chinese culture is a part
of
Indonesian culture," said Jhony Tan, a trader in Jakarta's bustling Chinatown.

Yusri Mohammad, president of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, said he had
no
problem with the Chinese celebrating the pig year in his country. He said
decorative
pictures of pigs in shopping malls are fine -- as long as Chinese don't start
using live pigs
or eat pork in public.