挲圓仔湯

The pronunciation of 挲 (suō, “to rub”) and 湯／汤 (tāng, “a soup”) are borrowed from Japanese 相談(そうだん) (sōdan, “to consult”).

The word 圓仔／圆仔 (“a tangyuan”) is borrowed from Japanese 団子(だんご) (dango, “a dango”), which is approximation to 談合(だんごう) (dangō, “to engage in bid rigging”).

挲圓仔湯

1. (Taiwanese Hokkien) to persuade competitors to resign by offering profits, in order to reduce competitions; to engage in bid rigging

   • 每逢各種選舉或各種大小工程發包的時候，這句「搓圓仔湯」就大肆流行。 [MSC, trad.]
     每逢各种选举或各种大小工程发包的时候，这句「搓圆仔汤」就大肆流行。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2015, Oct 27, 林瑤棋, 「搓圓仔湯」的典故

     Měiféng gèzhǒng xuǎnjǔ huò gèzhǒng dàxiǎo gōngchéng fābāo de shíhòu, zhè jù “so‐'îⁿ‐'á‐thng” jiù dàsì liúxíng. [Pinyin]

     Whenever there are elections or tendering of engineering projects, the phrase “so-îⁿ-á-thng” prevails.

   • （呂天南與甲○○的關係如何？）我不清楚，但我知道他們是搓圓仔湯 [MSC, trad.]
     （吕天南与甲○○的关系如何？）我不清楚，但我知道他们是搓圆仔汤 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 臺灣高等法院臺南分院刑事判決 106年度重上更(三)字第22號

     (Lǚ Tiānnán yǔ jiǎ ** de guānxì rúhé?) Wǒ bù qīngchǔ, dàn wǒ zhīdào tāmen shì so‐'îⁿ‐'á‐thng [Pinyin]

     (What's the relation between Lu Tian-Nan and John Doe?) I don't know, but I know they are engaging in bid rigging.

   • 畢竟在今天政黨、派系競爭已經透明化的時代，心存搓圓仔湯的心理是不會被縱容、諒解的。 [MSC, trad.]
     毕竟在今天政党、派系竞争已经透明化的时代，心存搓圆仔汤的心理是不会被纵容、谅解的。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 非營利行銷：選戰實務篇, page 82

     Bìjìng zài jīntiān zhèngdǎng, pàixì jìngzhēng yǐjīng tòumínghuà de shídài, xīncún so‐'îⁿ‐'á‐thng de xīnlǐ shì bùhuì bèi zòngróng, liàngjiě de. [Pinyin]

     After all, in the era which political party and faction competition are become transparent, to have a mentality that you can tried to ask competitors to resign by offering profits will never be tolerated or forgiven.

• (Taiwanese Mandarin) 搓湯圓／搓汤圆 (cuō tāngyuán)