Taiwanese city rejects casino plans

Residents of Kinmen voted against casinos in the territory in a referendum held this weekend.

Taiwan.- The referendum on the legalisation of gambling in Taiwan that was scheduled for Saturday ended on a negative note for casino supporters as residents overwhelmingly voted against the facilities.

The referendum that was initiated by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kinmen County Councilor Tsai Chun-sheng asked local residents if they were in favor of supporting an international holiday resort complex with a small space dedicated to gambling. The Kinmen County Election Commission released the results later that day and indicated that among the 24.368 people who participated in the election, only 2705 voted in favor of a casino.

Last week, anti-gambling activists and religious representatives gathered to urge Kinmen residents to vote against legalised gambling. Taiwan Coalition Against Legalized Gambling executive director Ho Tsung-hsu, had said: “People in Penghu have voted in two separate referendums to reject legalised gambling. If people in Kinmen [County] also choose to veto the legalisation of gambling, it would de facto abolish Article 10-2 of the Offshore Islands Development Act, which forms the legal basis for opening a casino on outlying islands.”