Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday visited a Taiwan Lottery store in New Taipei and bought some lotto scratch cards, which she said are a business that help fund public welfare.
She said 50 percent of the earning from sales of the scratch card lottery goes toward social welfare, 45 percent toward the country's National Pension scheme and 5 percent to the National Health Insurance.
"I want to tell everyone that buying Taiwan Lottery tickets really helps public welfare," Tsai said at the store in the city's Banqiao District.
In addition, the operation of lottery stores is limited to certain groups of people, namely those with a disability, members of indigenous tribes, and people from low-income single-parent families, she said.
This means that the lottery also helps provide employment for the disadvantaged, said Tsai, who won NT$100 (US$3.24) on the lottery scratch cards she bought at the store.
"We must work hard to take care of the disadvantaged so that everyone can have a better new year," Tsai said, noting that the sale of lottery tickets usually spikes during the Lunar New Year in Taiwan.
According to the Taiwan Lottery website, the company has raised some NT$4.7 billion in funds since it started operations in 2007. As of July 2017, the money had helped more than 5.5 million underprivileged people through public welfare and charity projects run by social welfare and charity groups in Taiwan, the website said.
