Chinese business magnate, founder and executive chairman of the e-commerce Alibaba Group, Jack Ma
Following a controversy sparked by the New Macau Association (ANM) in relation to the government’s partnership with the mainland technology-led giant Alibaba Group, the government stressed that the partnership – via direct contract awarding – was done in accordance with existing legislation.
In a statement issued by the Government Information Bureau yesterday, the government insisted that the absence of a tendering exercise was in conformity with existing regulations, as the project is considered to be beneficial to Macau.
The statement recalled that after publishing the Five-Year Development Plan, the government initiated a research and analysis process regarding digitalization development, while searching for the best possible candidate among eligible companies in the market to provide support services to implement this policy.
After more than six months of discussions and exchanges, the government decided to sign a Framework Agreement with Alibaba Group, which was conducted on August 4.
The budget for each specific project to be developed under the Framework Agreement will be supported by the government’s budget for each respective fiscal year.
In the 2017 fiscal year budget, the government allocated a total of MOP500 million to foster the development of the city’s information technology sector. According to preliminary estimates, the SAR is set to allocate about MOP200 million in the next two years to implement related projects.
Last week, the ANM called for the government to halt its cooperation with the technology giant, fearing that a government monopoly on big data and cloud technologies would imperil liberal democracy.
The association demanded that the government take steps to ensure that residents remain informed of any statistics derived from data obtained by smart city technology. The group also recalled Alibaba’s business issues with an express courier where data exchange contracts were violated.
In response the government defended its move, noting that Alibaba Cloud – a unit of Alibaba Group – has strong big data processing capabilities, citing its experience in technology-based governance.
“Macau pays great attention to information security, regional security and data security, as these are understood to be key issues relating to national security. In this regard, Alibaba Cloud is a widely-recognized service provider in the Asia-Pacific region,” the statement noted.
The government said it will have ownership of the entire facility, its equipment, systems, platforms, algorithms, and – in particular – of any data collected and stored in the cloud computing data center.
“Alibaba Group will only provide technical support, without having access to any government data, which is to be stored in Macau and not be transferred overseas,” the statement added.
In a TDM Forum held on Sunday, a member of the Construction of World Tourism and Leisure Centre, Lai U Meng defended Alibaba Group, noting that it has a proven track record of providing the innovative technologies that are needed for this project.
“It includes the articulation, integration, maintenance, and it’s complex. Cloud computing and big data platform is an advanced technology. Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Alibaba would be the overall responsible,” Lai told the press, as cited in a TDM report.
Although the region’s privacy watchdog is backing the project and has vowed to ensure the safety of residents’ personal data, some residents who attended the forum doubted the advantages of the partnership.
“It sets the direction of cooperation between the SAR Government and Alibaba, as well as the implementation of the actual projects in the areas of focus, which would be applied and approved independently,” the commission member explained.
Further, the government’s statement emphasized that there is no need to change its existing systems as Alibaba’s cloud platform and big data management systems are compatible with different systems. LV
Agreement with Alibaba stirs doubts
The president of a local consumer association, Cheang Chong Fai, expressed doubts over the government’s transparency regarding the agreement the MSAR government has signed with Alibaba. In Cheang’s opinion, the government should have compared Alibaba with other companies before signing the agreement. He said that the government at the beginning of its discussion with Alibaba, should have reported to the public. He also noted that, until now, the government has not publicized related information regarding the agreement, and that such behavior is escaping the public’s attention.
