Monday, April 09, 2007

Premier Su Tseng-chang yesterday dismissed media reports claiming the
government would lift a ban on car and horse racing in June. The reports
cited Chang Ching-sen, vice chairman of the Cabinet-level Council for
Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), as saying that the government may
open car and horse racing in central and southern Taiwan in June. Chang said
the CEPD, under the instruction of the Cabinet, was working with the
National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (NCPFS) on a plan for
opening racing to boost the regional economy. Apart from car and horse
racing, the government would open a third category of racing, which,
however, had yet to be decided, Chang was cited as saying. Sports car racing
would be the first to get the greenlight because it would involve very
little revision to the law. Horse racing, which involves gambling and animal
rights issues, would have to wait longer because of the need to change the
gambling and animal protection laws, Chang said. The reported plan would
allow central and southern parts of Taiwan jump to the queue at the expense
of the outlying island county of Pengu, which has been seeking to set up
casinos there for years. The reports prompted a cautious response from Su,
as well as warnings from opposition lawmakers. Su said central and southern
parts of Taiwan may indeed offer good environments for legal racing and
gambling, but thorough planning will be needed. "For many issues (concerning
the racing), nothing has been done yet," said Su during a visit to the
southern Yunlin County, which the reports said was already planning a horse
racing course. Su said such a plan will also have to take into consideration
of the feelings of the Penghu people. Opposition lawmakers warned that
careful planning would be needed for opening racing. Lawmakers from the
People First Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Union pointed out that the
Cabinet, out of political considerations, previously had objected the
Legislature's proposal to allow casinos to operate on outlying islands. The
lawmakers questioned the motives behind the Cabinet's surprise U-turn now,
saying the government must not rush the plan because of the upcoming
elections. Legislator Kuo Shu-chun, a whip of the Kuomintang, said it
sounded okay to open racing as far as sports were concerned. But without
details accompanying the latest revelation, people could not help thinking
that it was yet another election gimmick. Kuo also described the plan as a
"short-sighted" policy looking for "short-term profits," as gambling would
create criminal problems. But Legislator Wang Hsing-nan, a whip of the
ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said opening racing in the central and
southern parts of Taiwan could help bridge the gap between urban and rural
areas. Vice President Annette Lu questioned the wisdom of resorting to
gambling to boost the economy. She said she hopes the talks about legalizing
gambling were not related to plots designed to to land prices.