DPP lawmakers Yeh Yi-jin (
"The amendment is scheduled for its second reading and it's quite possible that it could become law before the [current legislative] session ends on Jan. 18," Yeh said.
"If it becomes law, investigators will have great difficulty cracking down on video games involved in gambling and it concerns us that more and more people, especially teenagers, will then begin to indulge in gambling."
The law, which took effect on Feb. 3, 2000, outlaws video-game parlors. The amendment is designed to legalize the parlors while continuing to ban only video games that involve gambling.
Chang said the scandal involved lawmakers from different parties but that it was inappropriate for her to name them at this stage, "because we still need their support to pass other bills before the end of the session."
She said that any liberalization of the law would invite unlawful gambling.
"These colleagues of mine accepted sums ranging from between NT$500,000 and NT$3 million from the parlor owners. That's why they expedited the review process and are trying to pass the amendment before Jan. 18," she said.
KMT lawmaker Hsu Shu-po (
"The bottom line for this law is to eliminate any form of video game involving gambling," Hsu said. "As a result, there won't be a problem in regard to gambling. Also, under the amendment, once a player spends more than NT$1,000, he or she will be entitled to a gift worth NT$200 from the parlor.
"I think they have greatly misunderstood. Plus, by my estimation, if the amendment is passed, 1,000 job opportunities will be created nationwide. Of course we should endorse a bill like this."
DPP lawmaker Cho Jung-tai (
"They have not provided a list of the lawmakers they are accusing -- nor details of how much money was involved," Cho said. "That being so, they should not have made the accusations in public."
PFP lawmaker Chou Hsi-wei (
"As a PFP legislator," he said, "I must follow the party's policy and that's why I did not vote in favor. But people in the business called me to complain ... But I will do the right thing despite the threats and pressure that I'm suffering."
Video-game parlors abound in Taiwan despite the law and are widely suspected of regularly bribing officials to prevent their closure.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS