Penghu residents yesterday voted against the development of a local gambling industry in the second casino referendum held in the outlying county.
Residents cast their votes between 8am and 4pm at 114 polling stations across the county and tallying of votes began immediately after polls closed.
The Penghu County Election Commission announced the referendum result at 6pm, saying that with a total of 83,469 eligible voters, 6,210 voted for the proposal and 26,598 voted against, while 216 cast invalid ballots.
Photo: CNA
The voter turnout was 39.56 percent, it added.
This was the second vote on the issue, with the first held in 2009 when 42.16 percent of 73,651 eligible voters turned out for the referendum, with 13,397 voting for the casino plan and 17,359 voting against it.
Prior to yesterday’s referendum, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had said that gambling is not the only path for the development of tourism in the archipelago, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) adding that even if the vote had passed, draft legislation for the management of casino resorts at outlying islands would not have passed.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chen Meng (陳猛), the convener of an alliance that was pushing for the legalization of gambling in Penghu, said: “Voter sentiment was affected by the president’s involvement in the issue.”
Chen said that he would not push for another vote on the issue.
If Penghu is to continue developing, it can only rely on outside help, Chen said, adding that he hopes the central government would help develop the islands.
Photo: CNA
Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) said he respects the outcome of the vote.
The results clearly show that Penghu residents do not want to bet the county’s development on the gambling industry, he said.
Chen Kuang-fu said the population has increased by 2,000 households, the number of companies in the county has increased to 500 and 1 million people have visited the islands this year.
Chen Kuang-fu said the county is moving forward and he hopes the central government would amend flaws in the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), which he said is an ongoing point of contention between Taipei and the local government that arises every three years to the detriment of the county.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the result of the vote is a democratic demonstration of the public’s will regarding public policy and that such public participation in democracy is worth encouraging.
DPP spokesperson Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) said the DPP fully respects the decision of the people of Penghu County.
Yang said he believes the central government would continue to develop Penghu and take care of its residents, adding that it would do its best to help Penghu develop its tourism industry through focusing on its unique local character and to develop facilities toward that aim.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS