Underground Gambling Gauges Taiwan Elections 

Underground Gambling Gauges Taiwan Elections

TAIWAN – As reported by the China Post: "Underground election gambling is emerging as an important channel for gauging the popularity of candidates of various political parties in the upcoming Dec. 3 elections, as it is increasingly difficult for residents to respond to public opinion polls, according to market sources.

"The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), for instance, is collecting the latest information concerning election gambling in various counties and cities, so as to assess the chances for its candidates of winning the upcoming three-in-one elections, including county magistrates and city chiefs, members of county or city councils, and local township chiefs.

"As the ratios are high for people in Taichung and Changhua counties who decline to answer public opinion polls, the popularity rates for candidates of the DPP and the opposition Kuomintang for the magistrateship of both counties have fluctuated drastically in recent days.

"'Accordingly, we don't believe in the outcomes of public polls conducted in central Taiwan, but underground election gambling can really relay some valuable messages we can take for reference,' a ranking party official of the DPP…"