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Government keeping tabs on poll gambling

The government is keeping tabs on illegal gambling syndicates and pirate radio stations that could influence the outcome of the presidential election, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said yesterday at a press conference following a Cabinet-level meeting on maintaining public order.

"Premier Chang [Chun-hsiung (張俊雄)] instructed ministers whose ministries are related to the matter to make preparations to ensure voting and vote counting on March 22 proceed smoothly," Chen said.

The authorities will focus their efforts on stopping the dissemination of inaccurate information via pirate radio stations and gambling syndicates trying to influence the result of the election, Chen said.

The meeting, convened by Chang, was attended by Interior Minister Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Jinn-wang (王進旺), National Police Administration Director-General Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Justice Minister Morley Shih (施茂林), among others.

Lee told the press conference that 62,518 police and 32,051 civilians would be on duty on election day, with 47,159 of them stationed at the nation's 14,401 polling stations to ensure the security of voters and the safe transportation of the ballots.

The high-profile arrangements for guarding the presidential candidates and running mates of both camps, as well as the incumbent president and vice president, will last until one week after the election, Lee said.

In related developments, Lee said the ministry also briefed the premier on its performance on maintaining the nation's social order last year.

"We did an excellent job last year" Lee said.

"The number of violent crimes dropped by 26.29 percent compared to 1998, the lowest in the past 10 years," he said.
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