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Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has confirmed that the Year of the Cock is set to last for an unprecedented four years.
Bringing Chinese New Year forward a week, Jinping said that the change to the calendar was ‘completely coincidental’, and simply to correct rounding errors caused by several thousand years of small adjustments.
Making the announcement, the Chinese Government said that the four years was open to being extended ‘depending on events’, but they were hopeful this would be a one-off.
“Is there something else happening today?” asked Jinping when questioned by reporters from the Xinhua news agency. “I can’t say I noticed.
“We deliberately picked today because there’s nothing else happening that we’re aware of,” he added with a perfectly straight face.
“We can do the year of the Pig and the Rat next if you like. Kung Hei Fat Choi.”
Chinese officials said they were delighted at the way the rest of the world is embracing the Year of the Cock, and especially by the large New Year celebrations taking place in the USA today.
