台湾:亚洲的下一个赌博天堂?

Cross-strait ties have improved significantly since Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, a proponent of increased engagement with Beijing, was elected in 2008. As a good-will gesture, China in the same year lifted a ban on tourists coming to Taiwan. Roughly 1.8 million Chinese citizens visited Taiwan in 2011, making them the largest group of foreign tourists to island, according to Tourism Bureau statistics.
自从提倡增进两岸关系的马英九在2008年台湾大选中获胜后，海峡两岸关系显著改善。作为一种善意姿态，同年，中国大陆放松了台湾游限制。根据台湾旅游局公布的数字，2011年，约180万中国大陆公民到台湾旅游，成为台湾最大的海外游客群体。

However, Taiwan's growing economic dependency on China is also worrisome to many because Beijing could turn off the tourist tap at will - as it did for a few months after September 2009, when the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung hosted the ** Lama over Beijing's objections.
然而，台湾对中国大陆日益增加的经济依赖也令许多人担忧，因为中国大陆可以随意收紧旅游政策──2009年9月台湾南部城市高雄不顾中国大陆的反对接待了达赖喇嘛（** Lama）之后数月中国大陆便这样做了。

Others have wondered whether Matsu would be able to compete against Macau, a gambling haven that already has a steady stream of clients from China, and expressed worries about crime and other social problems typically associated with gambling.
还有些人怀疑，马祖是否有能力与赌博天堂澳门竞争，后者已经拥有稳定的中国大陆赌客来源，他们还表示出对通常与赌博有关的犯罪和其他社会问题的担忧。

Such concerns still matter because, in order for a casino to be built on Matsu, Taiwan first has to pass the Gambling Act, a bill currently in draft form that would legalize gambling under certain circumstances.
这种担忧目前仍然会产生影响，因为，为了在马祖岛建设赌场，台湾首先必须通过《赌博法》（Gambling Act），这项将使赌博在特定情况下合法化的法案目前仍处于草案阶段。

William Bryson, an attorney at Jones Day who has been working on the draft legislation for the past two decades, argues that stringent licensing process put in place by the Nevada Gaming Commission have made the global gaming industry highly self-regulated. As long as the gambling legislation adopts the strictest provisions, he says, it won't be hard for Taiwan 'to keep the bad guys out and the good guys in.'
众达律师事务所（Jones Day）的律师威廉•布赖森（William Bryson）在过去20年中一直参与起草这项法案，他认为，内华达州赌博委员会（Nevada Gaming Commission）实施的严格审批程序已经让全球赌博业高度自律。他说，只要赌博法采用最严格的条款，台湾“将坏人挡在门外，将好人请进门来”就不是一件难事。

Calling the passage of the referendum on Matsu 'a paradigm shift,' Mr. Bryson predicted the vote would 'highly accelerate' the legislative process and even rekindle casino operators' interests in other Taiwanese islets that faded after a similar referendum flopped in Penghu in 2009.
布赖森将马祖公投通过该项议案称为“一个转变范例”，他预测该投票将“大大加速”立法进程，甚至重燃经营者在2009年彭湖的类似公投失败后对其他台湾小岛消退的兴趣。

The supporters of the Gambling Act are hoping the draft will be put in front of the legislature by the end of the year. But despite saying it respects the will of the Matsu people, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party has nevertheless promised to oppose the bill, which means legalized gambling in Taiwan could remain a distant possibility for some time.
《赌博法》的支持者希望草案可以在今年年底前提交立法院审议。但是，尽管在野党民进党称其尊重马祖人民的意愿，但其坚称将反对该法案，这意味着在台湾，赌博合法化成为现实尚需时日。