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.
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