Taiwan Church News
3425 Edition
October 16 – 22, 2017
Topical News

Civilian Group And Lawmakers Say ForAn Imminent Casino Referendum In Kinmen

Reported by Lin Yi-yin

On October 28, Kinmen, an off-shore island of Taiwan and located near Fu-Jien Province of China, is set for her first casino referendum.

The civilian organization, Taiwan Anti-Gamble, and many DPP lawmakers held an unitedpress conference on October 12in Legislative Yuan(Taiwan’s congress) to remind Taiwan society a seriouslynegative impact Kinmen would endure once referendum is passed.

As the complicatedissues of security, environment, water, electricity andinfrastructure would go beyond the capability of Kinmen as a small off-shore island to imagine, many officials of central government acrossdiverse departments were invited to report their views about the implementation of a casino at Kinmen. Most officials raised waryconcerns about any casino project on Kinmen island.

Mr Chiu Chiu-Pin, a section chief of National Development Council, stressed thatKinmen should not be overdeveloped because this island has been positioned as aSmart & WiseTechnology Island in a future national plan. To march toward a sustainable society, there should be a finebalance between islandenvironment and economics demands, Mr Chiu insisted.

Translated by Peter Wolfe