Teachers, soldiers and public servants in Penghu County were the most opposed to the casino plan for the island county, a recent public opinion poll showed.
The Penghu County Government has advocated building casino resorts in the county after the Legislative Yuan adopted amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) in January that would allow casinos on the nation’s outlying islands.
However, a poll conducted by Toko University’s Department of Travel Management showed that county residents who work in the public sector are worried about the negative impact of the casinos.
The survey showed that 43.4 percent of soldiers, public servants and teachers opposed the casino plan, while 71.3 percent of workers were for it, department of travel management chair Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) said.
Overall, 60 percent of respondents supported casinos, while 36 percent were against them.
Aside from employees in the public sector, a high percentage of retirees from the public sector also opposed the casinos, he said.
Looking into the causes of the difference in opinion, Wang said that with a declining fishing industry and agriculture, many laborers or farmers hoped casinos would create more jobs and encourage youths to return to Penghu.
For their part, public servants were concerned about the negative impact that large casino resorts and tourists would have on social security and the ecosystem.
The situation could be observed at the 37 town hall meetings held across the county earlier this year.
The county government’s casino plan was welcomed in rural areas, but met strong criticism in Magong City (馬公), the seat of the county government and the largest city in Penghu. It is also the city with the greatest number of soldiers, public servants and teachers.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS