反賭博合法化聯盟

The gambling sections of the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) should be eliminated, opponents of gambling said yesterday, as Kinmen prepares to hold its first referendum on allowing casinos.
“Even though President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has promised to oppose the construction of casinos during her term, we are deeply disappointed that the Legislative Yuan has yet to abolish the provisions in the Offshore Islands Development Act allowing casinos,” Alliance Against the Legalization of Gambling executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said while leading about a dozen people in shouting slogans outside Taipei NGO House in the city’s Zhongzheng District (中正).
A referendum proposal sponsored by Kinmen County Councilor Tsai Chun-sheng (蔡春生) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won approval this week after successfully passing a signature threshold on its second attempt.
A county-wide vote on whether to “set up an international vacation area to stimulate Kinmen’s economy and open up its future, and within it develop 5 percent for tourist gambling” is scheduled for Oct. 28.
The Offshore Islands Development Act allows for the possibility of commercial gambling at offshore casinos, but requires prior approval by means of a special local referendum.
Local referendums are exempt from the strict turnout requirements that apply to national plebiscites and require only a simple majority to be valid.
Ho criticized the approved referendum question for being convoluted and unclear.
“Because the question could easily confuse Kinmen residents, we will appeal to the Central Election Commission to overturn the decision of Kinmen’s local election board,” he said, while demanding that the Legislative Yuan abolish the referendum-enabling provision of the Offshore Islands Development Act during the current extraordinary legislative session.
“Everyone thinks that allowing the construction of casinos on offshore islands should not pose a problem because of the distance from Taiwan proper, but that position ignores the interests of Kinmen people, including potential effects on crime and youth,” Thousand Kilometer Trail Association president Chou Sheng-hsin (周聖心) said.
She added that she was not worried about Kinmen residents voting to approve gambling.
“Our hope is to use this opportunity to help more people understand the issue and even to get rid of the provisions on gambling in one swipe,” she said.
A referendum in Penghu last year saw a large majority opposed to allowing gambling, while a referendum in Matsu in 2012, where residents voted in favor, has not resulted in the construction of a casino, as the Legislative Yuan has failed to pass enabling legislation.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in 2015 stated that direct links between Kinmen and China would be put at risk if the offshore county were to approve gambling in casinos.