A pair of legislative committees passed draft regulations yesterday that would allow gambling on Taiwan's offshore islands such as Kinmen and Penghu.
In addition, changes to "The Offshore Islands Development Act" would allow all Taiwanese to travel to China through offshore islands.
Currently, under the "small three links," only residents of the Kinmen and Matsu island groups may travel to China.
Lawmakers say the revisions to the Act would help stimulate the economies of the nation's offshore islands.
The draft changes were passed by the Finance and the Home and Nations committees.
Chen Ching-pao (陳清寶) and Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤), KMT legislators from Kinmen and Penghu, were among the lawmakers advocating the revisions yesterday.
In Chen's proposal, the decision whether to legalize gambling would be left up to a majority vote of an island's residents. A decision to abolish gambling could be achieved in the same manner.
The lawmaker's plan also envisions casino operators paying 10 percent of their gross to an island's local government and "offshore construction funds." In addition, at least 50 percent of a casino's employees would have to be local hires.
But not everyone was satisfied with yesterday's proposal.
Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平), director of the Government Information Office, said he regretted the legislative committees' move, as the Cabinet was planning a similar measure.
"Executive departments are evaluating and establishing a proposal for the legalization of gambling on offshore islands," Su said. "We hope that the Legislative Yuan can wait for the executive departments' proposal."
Proposals to introduce casinos to Taiwan's offshore islands have been controversial. At the end of last year, the Development and Evaluation Commission said it was evaluating the possibility of legalizing gambling on off-shore islands.
In March, Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya (張博雅) said that she and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) agreed that casinos should be allowed on offshore islands.
Those remarks sparked heated debate among environmentalists, scholars and religious leaders about whether the government should roll the dice on legalized gambling.
But gambling isn't seen as the sole way to solve the economic problems of the nation's offshore islands.
Some hope tourists bound for China could give the islands a much-needed boost.
Lin Chung-cheng (林忠正) said yesterday that anyone from Taiwan should be allowed to travel to China through an island participating in the "small three links." Currently, just residents of the Kinmen and Matsu island groups may go.
Lin said making the change would help Taiwanese reduce transportation costs, in addition to stimulating the economies of off-shore islands.
Chen agreed that the revision would be beneficial. "The main purpose of implementing the small three links was so that goods and Taiwanese travelers would pass through the offshore islands instead of Hong Kong and Macau," Chen said. "But the Cabinet has been conservative" in allowing a greater flow of goods and tourists, Chen said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
RSS