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.
Animal rights groups voiced their objection to horse racing, saying cruelty to animals must not be tolerated.
"Horses are not suitable for racing. Many break their legs during racing and are crippled," Chen Yu-min, director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
"When they can no longer race, they are put to death or sold to slaughter houses," Chen was cited as saying.
"The government has failed to boost the economy, and now it is suggesting horse race gambling. We can hold a public debate to see if the public supports it or opposes it," she said.
Shih Chao-hui, a Buddhist nun involved in animal rights campaigning and a staunch anti-gambling advocate, also objected to the government's plan.
"Studies have shown that in places where gambling is legalized, the gambling industry alone thrives while other businesses decline," she told the dpa.
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