Thanks to Kinmen’s location near  Xiamen, a county governed by China and accommodating 29m tourists each year, this meeting drew global attention from international corporations like MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, which representatives attending to collect information that might help them make a decision on investing in Kinmen County.

However, according to the chief secretary of Kinmen County Council Yu-Jen Chen, “the reasons for opening gambling in Kinmen are not persuasive”. The chief secretary pointed out that the gambling industry might pay to central government as little as half the amount that Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor currently does each year.

Kinmen County councillor Cang-Jiang Chen also said that “gambling only creates negative effects. The land value in Kinmen has skyrocketed due to the spreading rumours of establishing casinos.”

But Bing-Rong Lai, director of Railways and Highways Department for MOTC, argued: “We should focus more on the establishment of world-class tourism resorts. Boosting offshore island economies is the main goal of the government and opening up casinos is just one of the possible options.”

Another meeting to explain the gambling draft bill was held at the international convention centre at National Penghu University of Science and Technology in Penghu County. Veteran lawyer Paul Hsu, project manager of the plan, hosted the event and introduced the details of the draft.

Qian-Fa Wang, Magistrate of Penghu County, said: “It is difficult for an offshore island that lacks natural resources to boost the economy. As a result, the local government made a tough decision of putting casino resorts into consideration.”

However, others including a local prosecutor and the Anti-Gambling Union questioned the plans. A referendum has shown that residents in Penghu are opposed to the establishment of gambling venues.

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