Year of bloodshed predicted
2004-12-30 15:48
Taipei - A Taiwan astrologer has predicted that 2005 will be a year of bloodshed for the United States, but peace between Taiwan and China.
"Terrorism will reach its peak in 2005 so the US will suffer more deadly terrorist attacks than the September 11 attack," Professor Yu Hsueh-hung, 54, said this week.
"Osama bin Laden did not launch the attacks before the US presidential election because he was waiting for the election result. If John Kerry won, bin Laden would adopt different tactics. But since Bush has won re-election, he will launch the attacks," Yu said.
Bin Laden is likely to launch the attacks on the US after the Chinese New Year holidays - a week-long festival starting on February 9 next year.
He said the attacks have been delayed because Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has just died and it is not suitable to mount the attacks now.
"Unlike the 9/11 attacks which hit only several targets in the US, this time there will be many attacks, mainly in the US but also in Europe," he said.
Yu based his prediction on the 1 500-year-old Tui Bei Tu (Push Back Chart) which predicts China and the world's future and is China's equivalent to French prophet Nostradamus's Centuries.
According to Tui Bei Tu, the chi - or energy - of the world completes a cycle every 60 years. Sixty years ago, the year 1945 saw the end of World War II but also the fiercest of fighting between Japan and the Allied Forces.
Terrorist attacks
The terrorist attacks will cause panic in the US and hurt its economy, but the information technology (IT) industry in California will boom because Americans, scared by the terrorist attacks, will stay home - reading, studying and making purchases online.
While many companies will go bankrupt because of the terrorist attacks, war-related industries - iron and steel, gold, oil and the futures market - will benefit from them.
The terrorist attacks will lead to the re-arrangement of US overseas-based troops and a re-distribution of global sphere of influence - both political and military.
The terrorism-caused war will last until the third quarter, possibly August. After 2005, there will be several years' peace in the world because the terrorists need a rest.
In the war between the US and the terrorists, there will be no winner.
While the US will be seized by terror in 2005, Asia will be an oasis and Asian countries will enjoy peace and stability.
"China will not be involved in the war, but will continue its robust economic growth. Taiwan-China ties will improve and Taiwan may even lift the ban on postal, transport and trade links with China," Yu said.
- SAPA