Citing its logistical advantages and a well-developed infrastructure, the Penghu County Government urged the new administration yesterday to make good on its pledge to permit casinos on the outlying island.
“We are ready for the casinos,” Penghu County Commissioner Wang Chien-fa (王乾發) said, adding that the island chain, with its location in the middle of the Taiwan Strait, had the potential to become a major shipping and tourism hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
At a meeting yesterday with industry leaders, Wang said the county hoped to exploit the introduction of the casinos to develop a more comprehensive tourist destination that could have the capacity to transform Penghu’s fishing industry into a means to boost tourist numbers still further.
“We have strong infrastructure and plots of public land that are ready for the construction of casinos,” Wang said.
“Owing to these efforts, our islands are beginning to attract investment,” he said.
Wang added that a couple of five-star hotels were expected to be opened in the near future.
Wang believed that the casinos would bring increased commercial opportunities for local residents in Penghu, which is generally seen as lagging economically compared to counties in Taiwan proper.
He said Penghu’s harbors, for example, have the potential to become international-quality.
Wang also said that Penghu has the lowest crime rate in the nation.
“Such a safe environment is very good for investors,” he said.
Many counties in the nation are vying to host the casinos, should gaming be legalized. The idea of building casinos in Penghu to help boost the county’s economic development has long been entertained as a way to reverse the islands’ decline and keep gambling away from Taiwan proper.
Some 57 percent of Penghu’s residents backed the idea in a referendum in 2003 that was just as notable for its low 21 percent turnout.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised during his “thank you” tour of Penghu on April 9 that once residents had reached a consensus on the casino issue, the central government would help facilitate the development after the related regulations were passed by the legislature.
Penghu attracts about 500,000 tourists a year, mostly from Taiwan proper, officials from the Penghu County Tourism Bureau said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS