PENGHU'S 2ND GAMBLING REFERENDUM ON 10/15|澎湖10/15二次博弈公投 鄉親跨海表訴求

Penghu voted its first casino referendum in 2009, with 56.4 percent for and 43.6 percent against. Seven years later, the same issue was brought up again, and a Second referendum will be held on October 15. Together with anti-casino groups, Penghu residents protested outside the Legislative Yuan, urging residents to vote against. Meanwhile, gambling advocates said that casinos would bring more job opportunities and medical resources to Penghu. TRANSLATED BY：ARIEL HSIEH ==Protesters== No to casinos, save Taiwan On September 26, over 30 anti-casino civic groups protested outside the Legislative Yuan to urge Penghu residents to vote against the establishment of casinos in the referendum held on October 15. Anti-casino Penghu residents seek to win the referendum for a second time since 2009. ==FU CHING-FAN, convener of Penghu anti-casino alliance== Once gambling is allowed in Penghu, there will be a"vicious broken window effect". Casinos will be allowed in Taiwan proper soon. Since the 2009 referendum on casinos, annual tourists to Penghu has jumped from around 500,000 or 600,000 people to over 1 million people. Penghu is progressing. Penghu is developing. That Casino advocates' claim that only casinos can bring development to the county is false. Civic groups also gave a skit appealing against gambling in Penghu. ==LIN WEI-LIEN, secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan== The gambling industry provides vertical integration of services. A lot of local BNB and restaurants in Penghu will thus face a great challenge. Penghu held its first referendum on casinos in 2009, which anti-casino residents won by 56.4 percent to 43.6 percent. The casino plan was rejected. Now, seven years later, the Internationalizing Penghu group petitioned a second referendum on casinos in Penghu, hoping that the gambling industry can bring more job opportunities and medical resources to Penghu. ==CHUANG KUANG-HUI, Director of Internationalizing Penghu group== Penghu saw no progression over the past seven years. We do not aim to promote casinos. This is an investment. A casino license worths over NT$ 30 billion. If Penghu has two, than it will be over NT$ 60 billion. ==SU WEN-CHANG, Spokesman Penghu County Govt.== We will remain neutral. The most important thing for us is to make the referendum run smoothly. The Penghu County government organized public hearings to seek consensus among local residents. As the referendum draws near, the controversy about establishing casinos in Taiwan's offshore islands rises again. TRANSLATED BY ARIEL HSIEH ==抗議民眾== 反賭場 救台灣 呼口號、高舉反賭標語，走向立法院正門，30多個民間團體，集結力量，要在10月15號、澎湖第二次博弈公投，投下反對票，澎湖鄉親特別搭機來台，表達訴求，再拼第二次勝利。 ==澎湖縣反賭場聯盟召集人 傅靜凡== 澎湖一旦開賭 它是一個破窗效應 很快地台灣的賭場 也即將要開放 2009年公投到現在 澎湖的觀光人數從五十萬 五、六十萬到今年的一百萬 澎湖有在進步 澎湖有在發展 而不是促賭方說的 賭場才能為澎湖帶來發展 民間團體用行動劇，大力聲援澎湖反賭。 ==台灣基督教長老教會幹事 林偉聯== 這些集團產業 會用一條龍的方式 現在很多零星小規模 在澎湖當地的民宿業者 觀光餐廳等等 都會面臨很大的挑戰 2009年澎湖舉行第一次博弈公投，反賭方以56.44%比43.56%的得票率，贏得勝利，公投案遭到否決，七年後，澎湖國際化推動聯盟再次提案連署，澎湖博弈公投捲土重來，希望第二次公投能夠過關，增加澎湖的就業機會和醫療資源。 ==澎湖國際化推動聯盟執行長 莊光輝== 七年來並沒有進步 我們要推動的不是一個賭場 它是一個投資 一張執照是三百億台幣以上 如果兩張執照是六百億以上 這樣子的投資規模 ==澎湖縣政府發言人 蘇文章== 原則上我們會保持中立 那我們最主要就是說 我們把公投的 投開票事宜給辦理好 縣府保持中立立場，也召開公聽會，凝聚共識，隨著公投時間逼近，也再度掀起離島是否設置博弈特區的爭議。 記者 林欣儀 彭耀祖 台北報導