Shop owners badgered by raggedy ‘God of Wealth’

Shop owners badgered by raggedy ‘God of Wealth’

2026-02-25

During the Lunar New Year, it’s common to see people dressed as deities going door to door for donations. But on Tingzhou汀洲 Road in Taipei, a series of strained encounters with the God of Wealth has sparked complaints. According to local business owners, a man in a raggedy costume showed up at their shops, ringing a bell in one hand to pressure shop owners to make a donation. Those who refused to pay were met with unrelenting bell ringing until they coughed up the cash. While some accept it as part of the Lunar New Year traditions, others wonder whether the whole practice is even legal.

A person in a lousy deity costume marches down the road. On one hand, a bell. On the other, a basket. The mission? Begging for alms. But something’s not right.

Shop owners say it’s quite traditional for the God of Wealth to show up during the Lunar New Year. But if he comes, he better had made an effort to look good, instead of looking a mess and badgering businesses. That’s right, if you don’t give this one money, he’ll stay at your door making a racket with his bell.

Wu Wen-yi
FTV reporter
The shabby God of Wealth came down here on Tingzhou Road, asking shops on both sides for money.

Member of public
Would give cash
If they’re begging for alms, I give them. It’s a Taiwanese tradition.

Member of public
Would not give cash
At this time we aren’t doing so well, so we wouldn’t give him money. We can barely feed ourselves. If he just stood there, we’d pay him no mind.

It’s quite common to see people dressing up as deities to ask for donations over Lunar New Year. Some people are willing to cough up the cash. But others are concerned that it’s all a scam. Is this really a traditional custom? Or just a modern-day cash grab?

Liao Ta-yi
Folklore expert
Back in the day, information wasn’t widely accessible, and living conditions weren’t as good. Temple committees would appoint people to take out baskets with incense to collect donations from the public. With the passing of time, some people dress up as deities, but we can’t know if they are legitimate or not.

So is it for real? Or is everyone getting duped? Experts say that such behavior is unlikely to constitute as fraud. But if the visitor won’t take no for an answer, it could be illegal.

Lee Yu-sheng
Lawyer
If a person begs for money in a public place and refuses to stop after being told off, they would be in violation of the Social Order Maintenance Act. If their begging involves forcing a shop to give them money, they may even be guilty of the crime of coercion under the Criminal Code.

So if you encounter a deity on the street, don’t be shy to refuse to give them cash if you don’t want to. If the situation escalates, you can always call the police to spirit them away.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#lny #tradition #begging #alms #donation #charity

不給錢就搗蛋! 扮神沿路要錢討不成猛搖鈴喧鬧

2026-02-25

新春期間，台北市的汀洲路上，有人裝扮財神爺或土地公，挨家挨戶化緣，但神偶的服裝破舊，打扮不夠專業，不給紅包，還會在店門口不斷搖鈴，製造大量的噪音，就有店家抱怨，讓人很反感，喜氣的事，變得很不吉利。

穿著土地公神偶服裝，一手搖鈴鐺、一手拿籃子，挨家挨戶化緣，引發爭議。

有店家店家直呼，新春期間扮財神爺，本來是喜氣的事，但至少也該用點心、穿著整齊，而不是隨便打扮一下，就到處向店家要錢，更誇張的是，如果不給個紅包，還會一直停在店門口搖鈴，製造噪音。

[[民視記者吳玟誼]]
“我們實際來到汀州路這邊，可以看到兩邊的店家林立，當時就有人扮演土地公，挨家挨戶來跟店家要錢。”

[[民眾]]
“來化緣我們都給他，台灣的習慣。”

[[民眾]]
“現在時機不好，我們就不可能贊助啊，自己都吃不飽，他就站著啊就不走，我們就不理他。”

大過年，街頭常出現扮演土地公或財神爺，向民眾化緣，有些民眾願意給錢，但有些人就擔心，會不會是假扮神明、真騙錢，真的有這樣的習俗嗎？

[[民俗專家廖大乙]]
“古代因為資訊不發達，還有生活比較欠缺，廟方委員都會有代表人，拿個香籃給一般的蒼生佈施。就時代的進步，有些人就會裝扮濟公、土地公，真假我們不曉得。”

真真假假恐怕難以求證，專家表示，這樣的行為，也較難構成詐欺，只是如果神偶非要錢到手才肯走的話，恐怕就會觸法。

[[非本案律師李育昇]]
“行為人在公共場所乞討金錢，如果不聽勸阻，將違反社維法。而如果他的乞討行為，有強迫店家給予金錢的情形，甚至還可能會涉犯刑法的強制罪。”

民眾碰上神明當街化緣，可自由選擇要不要給錢，若真的被強迫，就只能報警「送神」了。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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