Anti-gambling activists yesterday condemned Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers for attempts to change the law and allow casinos to be built in Taiwan proper, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has broken its promise that casinos would be established on outlying islands first.
The current draft of regulations presented by the Executive Yuan for the management of casino resorts (觀光賭場管理條例) only lists the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) as the legal basis for the establishment of casinos.
However, KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) has proposed to expand this legal basis by adding the phrase “and other relevant acts” in the first article of the draft.
KMT Legislator Chen Ken-te (陳根德) also proposed amending the International Airport Park Development Act (國際機場園區發展條例) to allow casinos to be built within the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project, an urban planning development surrounding the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Chen, one of the two presiding chairpersons at the legislature’s Transportation Committee, is scheduled to host a public hearing on the proposed amendments on Wednesday. Meanwhile, lawmakers in the transportation, economics and judiciary committees are scheduled to have a joint review session for the proposed amendments.
Buddhist master Shih Chao-hwei (釋昭慧) said the government has always wanted to have casinos built in Taiwan proper and not on the outlying islands. She also said that the Offshore Islands Development Act was nothing but hype.
“The airport must maintain security at all times, and any accident taking place at an international airport could potentially be turned into an international event,” Shih said. “Crimes happen both inside and outside casinos, and I would condemn the Ma administration if it allows casino resorts to be built there. Where does he stand on airport security? Is the government building the Taoyuan Aerotropolis just so that they can build casinos?”
Shih added that although the Singaporean government imposed a casino entrance fee of SGD$100 (US$80) to prevent the city-state’s citizens from entering casinos, Singapore has seen an increase in gambling addiction.
She said that the gambling industry had affected not only Singaporeans, but also low-income foreign laborers who hold foreign passports and are able to gamble.
Gary Yeh (葉智魁), a professor in the department of tourism, recreation and leisure studies at National Dong Hwa University, said the government kept saying it is following Singapore’s casino business model, as if that was a perfect example. The truth is, he said, that the Singaporean government does not disclose some crucial statistics that would show the actual state of affairs since casinos were opened in 2009.
The Singaporean government decided to raise penalties for the nation’s two casinos from NT$24 million (US$800,000) to NT$17.4 billion following a series of violations of government regulations. Taiwan, on the other hand, has planned for maximum fines of NT$15 million, he said.
While Singapore saw GDP growth of 14.9 percent in 2010, Yeh said, the country’s GDP growth fell to 4.9 percent in 2011 and 1.3 percent last year. This shows that having a casino does not necessarily lead to economic growth.
Though the Singaporean government hoped to attract more international visitors with its casions, Yeh said statistics showed that the casinos received most of their revenue from Singaporeans, which was exactly the scenario the Singaporean government had tried to avoid.
Yeh also said draft regulations governing the management of casino resorts would allow the establishments to keep 86 percent of their revenue, with central and local governments sharing the remaining 14 percent. He said that the draft act was corporate-friendly, as it sets a very low tax rate for casino backers.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS