wfn.org | Taiwan Church News: Anti-gambling alliance protests alleged merits of casinos

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

>Taiwan Church News

>2971 Edition

>February 2~8, 2009

Anti-gambling alliance protests alleged merits of casinos

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, representatives from Taiwan  Anti-Gambling Alliance paid a visit to Taiwan’s Control Yuan, one  of the five branches of government, to file a petition against the  Penghu Islands county government for breaking a promise to invite the  organization to the county’s first public forum held after the  passage of the Offshore Islands Development Act. The organization called  the county government “one of the biggest con artists in  Taiwan” and vowed to stage a big anti-gambling protest rally on  March 15th to protest the county government’s actions.

On January 22nd, delegates from Taiwan Anti-Gambling Alliance gathered  on the doorsteps of the Control Yuan and held up banners with messages  such as “Legalizing gambling = Disaster for the nation” and  “Opening casinos = Opening the floodgates of immorality”.  They protested that though the county government claimed to welcome  opponents of Offshore Islands Development Act to voice their views  during the first open forum organized by the county on this matter, only  organizations that supported the Act, such as tourist organizations and  a few scholars, were invited to the forum. Organizations such as  Anti-Gambling Alliance were not notified of the event, making the local  government’s promise to respect opposing views merely a charade.

The Offshore Islands Development Act legalizes casino gambling on  offshore islands if a casino plan is approved by local residents in a  referendum. Taiwan Anti-Gambling Alliance claims that the county  government’s tactics aimed at stifling dissent so that local  residents only hear one side of the story and receive partial  information is no different than scams fabricated by con artists aimed  at misleading listeners. These tactics not only violate impartial policy  administration, but also reveal a lack of transparency in public forums.  The organization is demanding the county government to release details  of the time and location of every public forum on the administration of  the Offshore Islands Development Act.

Several religious groups, including Christians, Catholics, Buddhists,  Taoist, and I-Kuan Tao, have joined Anti-Gambling Alliance to oppose  building casinos in either off-shore islands or Taiwan proper. The  leader of the Alliance, Ven. Chao Hwei, who represented Buddhists, said  that claims by the Penghu county government that casinos would generate  over 5 million tourists and $2 billion NTD (about $60 million USD) in  tax revenues every year for Penghu were outright lies aimed at luring  the public.

Ven. Chao Hwei urged President of the Control Yuan Wang Chien-shien, who  is allegedly a Christian, to conduct an investigation on the county  government’s dealings. She emphasized that the county should  maintain a neutral stand on the Offshore Islands Development Act before  a local referendum is held, otherwise, it would violate referendum laws  and risk charges on government misconduct.

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