Misleading ballot wording could sway the result of Penghu’s referendum tomorrow on legalizing casinos, anti-gambling advocates told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday, promising to pursue legal action to nullify the results if the referendum passes.
Posing with their arms crossed in the shape of an “X” to symbolize a “no” vote in the referendum, environmental advocates and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said they were concerned that the “shortened title” of the referendum — “Do you agree to establishing special tourism zones?” — would confuse voters.
The group said they were surprised when they saw the ballot for the first time on Wednesday, with the title listed directly above the box where voting stamps are placed, while the word “casino” is only mentioned in the full referendum question further down the page.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Previous referendums on Penghu and Matsu were simply titled a “referendum on gambling.”
“Agreeing to establishing ‘special tourism zones’ and ‘casinos’ are two fundamentally different things,” DPP Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said.
The local election commission should have rejected the title under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which bans content that might cause voters to misunderstand the plebiscite’s purpose, Wu said.
“This referendum would not be taking place if it were not for plans to set up casinos — that is the entire purpose of the referendum authorized under the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例). Those who proposed holding a referendum do not have a right to formulate it in a way that is misleading,” Wu added.
Penghu’s election commission on Wednesday said it had no authority to ask the groups who initiated the referendum to change the wording.
Wu said anti-gambling advocates would file a lawsuit to nullify the referendum if it passes, based on provisions of the Referendum Act, which allows for nullification in the event of illegal behavior by the local election commission or others that is sufficient to influence referendum results.
The news conference was followed immediately by a separate press conference, which saw DPP officials and legislators stand with young Penghu residents to urge young voters to return home to vote against legalizing gambling.
DPP Legislator Yang Yao (楊曜) of Penghu was notably absent, with Wu stating he had not been invited to avoid “putting him in a tough spot.”
Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) of the DPP, who has said he would maintain a neutral stance throughout the referendum process, drew criticism yesterday from some DPP legislators.
“Chen Kuang-fu has been extremely irresponsible, because he was the one who prodded a hornet’s nest, only to demand that the party central clean up the mess,” DPP Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said, attributing the holding of the referendum to the commissioner’s “inexperience” and passivity.
Voting is to take place tomorrow and can pass by a simple majority regardless of turnout under special provisions of the Offshore Islands Development Act.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is also the DPP chairperson, on Wednesday reiterated the party’s opposition to the opening of casinos in Penghu County.
DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) quoted Tsai as telling a DPP Central Standing Committee meeting that the party’s position has not changed, and that Penghu should focus on developing tourism rather than rely on gambling for local development.
Additional Reporting by CNA
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS