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Editorial: Get gambling out of our elections

Gambling is very much part of Taiwan's culture. People gamble on anything and everything -- outcomes of baseball games, the fluctuations of the stock market and of course the results of elections, including which candidates and parties will win and also the margin of victory.

Under the circumstances, placing bets on the upcoming presidential election has become a feverish and widespread pastime. However, the devastating impact that such gambling activities may have in swaying the outcome of the election cannot be overlooked.

The gravity of the situation is complicated by the fact that, in view of the enormous profitability entailed, almost all dealers in such games are mafia bosses. With enormous financial interests at stake, they often resort to violence, vote-buying and perhaps even cooperation with local politicians in their efforts to sway elections in their favor.

For example, in the Ministry of Justice's crackdown that began on Wednesday, among the 30 members of the mafia arrested was a mafia leader notorious for swaying election results in the Taoyuan area through a gambling racket that took bets that ran to hundreds of millions of NT dollars.

Moreover, people who place bets often do so based on which candidate they think will win -- rather than who is the better person for the presidency, which is the fundamental spirit of voting in popular presidential elections. Betters then become loyal supporters of the candidates they have bet on and seek to influence the people around them. This further twists the basic principles of democratic voting.

Worse yet, a candidate who was trailing in popular support in the 2000 presidential election reportedly tried to change the situation by placing large bets. Although he still lost the election in the end, it would not be surprising if he or another candidate tried to pull the same stunt this year. Doing so would be in essence buying votes indirectly.

According to Minister of Justice Chen Ding-Nan (陳定南), because the presidential election is the focus of attention both here and abroad, dealers have reportedly begun running games with no cap on the amounts of the bets. Reportedly, the value of the bets placed on the presidential election thus far has reached tens of billions NT dollars. Moreover, some underground dealers have reportedly linked with dealers in Las Vegas and Hong Kong, turning their businesses into international enterprises.

The upcoming presidential election is especially attractive to both the dealers and the gamblers because it is an extremely tight race -- with the pan-blue and pan-green tickets each having a 50-50 chance of winning. The unpredictability of the presidential race drastically raises the stakes of the game, attracting the interest of gamblers and dealers.

Reportedly, there was relatively little gambling on the 1996 presidential election because the incumbent president Lee-Teng-hui (李登輝) was the predicted winner of the election all along.

Under the circumstances, we are pleased to know that the ministry has begun a crackdown, paying special attention to illegal gambling on the outcome of the presidential election. Moreover, the people of Taiwan should exercise self-restraint and not demean their hard-earned democracy by taking part in this kind of gambling.

Allow democracy to work without interference.
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