The Alliance Against the Legalization of Gambling yesterday protested in front of the Agency Against Corruption following the results of a referendum last weekend which favored the construction of a casino resort on Matsu and said the agency must investigate the possibility of vote-buying during the referendum campaign.
The alliance’s executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳), accused Weidner Resorts Taiwan — the developer behind a planned casino resort on the island — and Lienchiang County Government of deceiving residents by making unrealistic promises, such as promising monthly subsidies of NT$80,000 for Matsu residents, saying the promises were tantamount to vote-buying.
Ho said Lienchiang County Commissioner Yang Sui-sheng (楊綏生) published several articles in local newspapers to promote the casino proposal before the referendum took place and he even used public funds to buy ad space in newspapers which were designed to promote the proposal, which Ho said violated the administrative neutrality principle.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei Times
Ho also said Yang used the Matsu Daily, a mouthpiece of the county government, to promote the alleged advantages of the establishment of casino resorts and to influence the residents’ decision.
Ho described the popular poll as a “cheating referendum.” The alliance delivered a letter of complaint to the agency, urging it to launch an investigation.
Ho added the alliance would also file a suit with the Central Election Committee requesting that the referendum be nullified
Residents of Matsu on Saturday voted in favor of the construction of casino resorts on the outlying islands. Fifty-six percent voted in favor of the initiative, while 42 percent opposed it.
The groups said they planned to launch another referendum in three years to keep the gambling industry out of Matsu.
“In fact, the result of the referendum was not surprising,” said Buddhist Master Shih Chao-hui (釋昭慧), convener of the Alliance Against the Legalization of Gambling.
“If not for the effort of the alliance to raise anti-gambling awareness on the islands, the opposition would have secured less than 20 percent of the total votes,” she said.
The referendum and the project are not only meaningful to the residents of Matsu, but also to people in other parts of Taiwan, the master added.
If a casino resort is allowed to be established in Matsu, more casinos would be built in other regions in the country in the future, she said, adding that is why the alliance is planning to stage an anti-gambling referendum in three years.
The Referendum Act (公民投票法) stipulates that, whether a referendum proposal is adopted or vetoed, no more proposals may be raised on the same matter within three years.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS