For years, Tsai Ching-yun, a 53-year-old man who runs an electronic appliances store in Magong City, Penghu's capital, eked out a living selling TVs and DVD players to the small population on the archipelago southwest of mainland Taiwan. Like many young people, his two daughters have moved to mainland Taiwan due to the scarcity of jobs. Efforts by the local government to boost tourism in recent years have only been moderately successful due to the islands' strong winds, cold winters and relatively remote location.

Local government officials in the Penghu County of Taiwan have set aside plots of public land in anticipation of investment from foreign firms once laws governing the establishment and operation of casinos are enacted, which could happen as soon as this week. Penghu is an archipelago of 90 small islands 50 kilometres off of the west coast of Taiwan with local Magistrate Chien-Fa Wang stating that the local government’s plans to introduce resort-style casinos and develop a tourism industry had remain unchanged.