Penghu residents yesterday voted against the development of a local gambling industry in the second casino referendum held in the outlying county.
Residents cast their votes between 8am and 4pm at 114 polling stations across the county and tallying of votes began immediately after polls closed.
The Penghu County Election Commission announced the referendum result at 6pm, saying that with a total of 83,469 eligible voters, 6,210 voted for the proposal and 26,598 voted against, while 216 cast invalid ballots.
Photo: CNA
The voter turnout was 39.56 percent, it added.
This was the second vote on the issue, with the first held in 2009 when 42.16 percent of 73,651 eligible voters turned out for the referendum, with 13,397 voting for the casino plan and 17,359 voting against it.
Prior to yesterday’s referendum, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had said that gambling is not the only path for the development of tourism in the archipelago, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) adding that even if the vote had passed, draft legislation for the management of casino resorts at outlying islands would not have passed.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chen Meng (陳猛), the convener of an alliance that was pushing for the legalization of gambling in Penghu, said: “Voter sentiment was affected by the president’s involvement in the issue.”
Chen said that he would not push for another vote on the issue.
If Penghu is to continue developing, it can only rely on outside help, Chen said, adding that he hopes the central government would help develop the islands.
Photo: CNA
Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) said he respects the outcome of the vote.
The results clearly show that Penghu residents do not want to bet the county’s development on the gambling industry, he said.
Chen Kuang-fu said the population has increased by 2,000 households, the number of companies in the county has increased to 500 and 1 million people have visited the islands this year.
Chen Kuang-fu said the county is moving forward and he hopes the central government would amend flaws in the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), which he said is an ongoing point of contention between Taipei and the local government that arises every three years to the detriment of the county.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the result of the vote is a democratic demonstration of the public’s will regarding public policy and that such public participation in democracy is worth encouraging.
DPP spokesperson Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) said the DPP fully respects the decision of the people of Penghu County.
Yang said he believes the central government would continue to develop Penghu and take care of its residents, adding that it would do its best to help Penghu develop its tourism industry through focusing on its unique local character and to develop facilities toward that aim.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS