Taipei - The Taiwan parliament on Monday started a debate on legalizing gambling on offshore islands as hundreds of protestors rallied outside parliament to block the passing of the bill.

The government hopes lift the ban on gambling for the Penghu Islands off Taiwan's west coast so that Penghu can build casinos and lure foreign tourists.

"Gambling is a devil disguised as an angel!" "Don't use offshore islanders as guinea pigs!" the protestors shouted outside the parliament building, waving placards and arguing with police who tried to disperse them.

"To legalize gambling on the Penghu Islands, the government needs to hold a referendum in the whole country, not only on Penghu, and parliament should hold a public hearing to hear what the public think about it," Shih Chao-hui, a Buddhist nun, said.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) told its lawmakers to veto the bill, which is expected to come to a vote Monday afternoon.

"To rescue Penghu's economy, the government should give the islands assistance, not give them a casino," DPP lawmaker Pan Meng-an said.

Parliament Speaker Wang Jin-pying said Taiwan wants to copy Singapore's model of developing the leisure industry and building casinos is only part of the package.

"Taiwan is a plural society. We respect all opinions. If we adopt Singapore's model of establishing a special tourism zone, building casinos is only part of the zone," he said.

The government said the majority of the 90,000 Penghu islanders support the move.

The Penghu County government is already amassing 30 billion Taiwan dollars (909 million US dollars) in private investment to help develop massive casino resorts.

Penghu plans to build a 120-hectare international vacation village which would contain a 2,000-room hotel, a duty-free shopping mall, an international convention centre, as well as golf courses and casinos, with construction scheduled to kick off in 2011.

Penghu is an archipelago with 90 islets about 44 kilometres off Taiwan's west coast. The local government proposed legalising gambling on Penghu in 1994, but the bill has been blocked in parliament due to opposition from many parts of society. (dpa)