Penghu residents vote against casinos on the archipelago
Many cite concerns about gambling-related crime and the long-term viability of a casino
Residents of Taiwan's Penghu County yesterday rejected the idea of a opening a casino on the outlying islands in the country's first binding local referendum.
Residents of the outlying archipelago worried about gambling-related crime and feared the remote island would not attract enough tourists to keep the casino in business.
Taiwan's government in January revoked a long-standing antigambling law and allowed the building of casinos in remote counties to help stimulate their economies.
But residents of the islands voted down the proposal yesterday for a privately run resort and casino.
Penghu county authorities wanted to open the resort in 2014.
A total of 17,359 votes, or 56.4 percent of the total valid ballots, opposed the proposition, while 13,397 supported it. There were 298 invalid ballots cast.
Forty-two percent of Penghu County's 73,651 eligible voters participated in the poll.
Why PAP never organise a referendum to seek the opinions of the population whether they want to open casino or not?
They don't show respect to the people.