Inside Asian Gaming

November 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 11 Penghu By contrast, Kinmen, which lies only a few kilometres offshore from the Chinese Mainland, appears keen to get moving with the scheme. Last month, the Kinmen county government reportedly held the first meeting of a steering committee to discuss details. Kinmen votes next Under Taiwan’s current system, Kinmen will also need to hold a referendum before anything can happen. Environmentalists say Penghu and Kinmen have unspoilt environments. Pro-gaming lobbyists say they’re chronically underdeveloped. In both cases, it’s because under the isolationist policy in place until 1992, Taiwan turned them into island fortresses against a possible invasion by the PRC. President Chiang Kai-shek reportedly stationed 100,000 troops on Kinmen in a series of underground tunnels and bunkers and there was a curfew after dark. There’s little sign yet, though, that divisions at national political level on casinos have been resolved, despite the big parliamentary majority recorded when the enabling legislation was passed at the beginning of this year. That parliamentary ‘yes’ may have been more an indication of the ruling government’s party loyalty and voting discipline than about genuine enthusiasm for the casino initiative, say some commentators on Taiwanese politics. While Penghu is in the middle of the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen—153 square kilometres in area—is only a short distance from Xiamen in Fujian province. Since 2001, a boat service has linked Kinmen with the Chinese Mainland. It’s been reported that in the last eight years, more than two million PRC residents have made the hour-long trip. Kinmen county is now pressingTaiwan’s central government inTaipei to build a bridge costing NT$10 billion (US$310 million) between the two places.