Misleading ballot wording could sway the result of Penghu’s referendum tomorrow on legalizing casinos, anti-gambling advocates told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday, promising to pursue legal action to nullify the results if the referendum passes.
Posing with their arms crossed in the shape of an “X” to symbolize a “no” vote in the referendum, environmental advocates and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said they were concerned that the “shortened title” of the referendum — “Do you agree to establishing special tourism zones?” — would confuse voters.
The group said they were surprised when they saw the ballot for the first time on Wednesday, with the title listed directly above the box where voting stamps are placed, while the word “casino” is only mentioned in the full referendum question further down the page.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Previous referendums on Penghu and Matsu were simply titled a “referendum on gambling.”
“Agreeing to establishing ‘special tourism zones’ and ‘casinos’ are two fundamentally different things,” DPP Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said.
The local election commission should have rejected the title under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which bans content that might cause voters to misunderstand the plebiscite’s purpose, Wu said.
“This referendum would not be taking place if it were not for plans to set up casinos — that is the entire purpose of the referendum authorized under the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例). Those who proposed holding a referendum do not have a right to formulate it in a way that is misleading,” Wu added.
Penghu’s election commission on Wednesday said it had no authority to ask the groups who initiated the referendum to change the wording.
Wu said anti-gambling advocates would file a lawsuit to nullify the referendum if it passes, based on provisions of the Referendum Act, which allows for nullification in the event of illegal behavior by the local election commission or others that is sufficient to influence referendum results.
The news conference was followed immediately by a separate press conference, which saw DPP officials and legislators stand with young Penghu residents to urge young voters to return home to vote against legalizing gambling.
DPP Legislator Yang Yao (楊曜) of Penghu was notably absent, with Wu stating he had not been invited to avoid “putting him in a tough spot.”
Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) of the DPP, who has said he would maintain a neutral stance throughout the referendum process, drew criticism yesterday from some DPP legislators.
“Chen Kuang-fu has been extremely irresponsible, because he was the one who prodded a hornet’s nest, only to demand that the party central clean up the mess,” DPP Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said, attributing the holding of the referendum to the commissioner’s “inexperience” and passivity.
Voting is to take place tomorrow and can pass by a simple majority regardless of turnout under special provisions of the Offshore Islands Development Act.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is also the DPP chairperson, on Wednesday reiterated the party’s opposition to the opening of casinos in Penghu County.
DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) quoted Tsai as telling a DPP Central Standing Committee meeting that the party’s position has not changed, and that Penghu should focus on developing tourism rather than rely on gambling for local development.
Additional Reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at