wfn.org | Christians protest against turning Taiwan into a “Republic Of Casino”

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2973 Edition

>February 16~22, 2009

Christians protest against turning Taiwan into a “Republic Of  Casino”

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

In preparation for the anti-gambling rally to be held on March 15th,  Taiwan Anti-Gambling Alliance staged a mock ceremony on February 14th,  2009 to mark the birth of “Republic of Casino”. The event was  meant to poke fun of the Ma administration for passing the Offshore  Islands Development Act, which would make gambling and casinos legal in  Taiwan’s off-shore islands.

“Republic of Casino” shares the same initials as Taiwan’s  formal name – Republic of China – and casino opponents are worried  that the legislation will sooner or later transform Taiwan into a  “Republic of Casino”.

Taiwan Anti-Gambling Alliance convener, Shih Chao-hui paid a visit to  Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) headquarters on February 10th to  meet General Secretary Andrew Chang and seek his support for the  upcoming events. Chang readily gave his support and remarked that  legalization of gambling would provide a bad moral example.

Chang also told Shih that opposing gambling was not merely a political  issue and urged all religious organizations to get involved. He urged  Catholics, Protestants, and believers from other faiths to support  anti-gambling demonstrations and prevent opportunism and greed from  taking hold of the country. Otherwise, Taiwan will become even more  corrupt and the next generation will be the ones suffering the most.

Since PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang was away on a business trip on  the day of the mock ceremony, Church and Society Committee Program  Secretary Chang Meng-yi represented the PCT at the mock ceremony.  “Who is the biggest winner in a gambling match? The person who goes  to the casino to place a bet? No, in reality, the winner is always the  banker, who represents business organizations,” she told the crowd  during her speech.

Chang Meng-yi also argued that the government’s agreement to  legalize gambling was meant to profit corporate organizations and it is  only right for the PCT to oppose such a policy.

According to Chang Meng-yi, The Ma administration likes to use reviving  the economy as an excuse, but seldom thinks of how their policies might  affect the moral values of future generations.

“If the children of pro-gambling officials in the Ma administration  told their parents that their future aspiration was to become a  professional gambler, a card-dealer in a casino, or a casino security  guard, I wonder how these officials would feel and what they would  think?” Chang said at one point.

During her trip to PCT headquarter office, Shih remarked that behind  efforts to open a casino in Taiwan’s off-shore islands, business  organizations were in reality eyeing parts of Taipei county, Taichung  county, and Kaohsiung county as possible places to open casinos. For the  Ma administration, opening a casino in Penghu Island is merely the  beginning and will serve as bait for people to slowly let down their  guard. Shih fears that once gambling legislations become loose and  people grow used to the idea of having casinos around the country,  Taiwan might become a real “Republic of Casino”.

Besides visiting the PCT, Shih also visited Archbishop of Taipei  Archdiocese Rev. Bishop John Hung Shan-chuan and received full support  from the bishop.

According to reports, Presbyterian churches and Methodist churches are  the only churches who will be actively participating in the parade next  month, along with other Christian organizations. Many religious  organizations in Taiwan, including Tzu-Chi Foundation, have not shown  much interest in participating in the parade.

During the mock parade, many participants expressed concern that the Ma  administration would continue enacting inappropriate policies in a  desperate attempt to invigorate the economy, including opening casinos.  If religious organizations cannot see past their ideological differences  or other misgivings, and unite on this issue, gambling might soon become  a serious social illness across Taiwan.

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