During a Legislative Assembly (AL) session this week lawmaker Au Kam San was critical of the fact that despite Macau constantly talking about “Love the Country and Love Macau,” the city does not have a museum to fully reflect the region’s history.
In Au’s opinion, Macau has dozens of themed museums but none of them fully reflects Macau’s history and culture. Au, in particular, addressed the Macao Museum.
This museum currently has three permanent exhibitions divided into ten periods, which include Prehistoric Age Macao; International Commercial Activities; Administrative, Management and Defensive Measures; and Urban Development and Macao Handover.
Au commented that only the Prehistoric Age Macao and the International Commercial Activities exhibitions actually involve history in spite of the big temporal gap between the two periods.
“Macau’s opening, which is urban history, indeed started because of Portuguese occupation. How was it started? How did the Portuguese arrive in Macau? The first sentence of the preface of the Basic Law says that Macau, including the Macau peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, has been part of the territory of China since ancient times and it was occupied gradually by Portugal from the middle of the 16th century. What exactly is gradual occupation? Should Macao Museum’s exhibition also reflect this aspect?”
“I can say that tourists or local residents alike will have no clear understanding of Macau’s history and culture even if they walk through all Macau’s museums,” Au commented.
Replying to the lawmaker, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) president Mok Ian Ian argued that Macao Museum is effective at “reflecting Macau’s history.”
Meanwhile, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Ao Ieong U said that the museum is considering adding more content related to Coloane and Taipa.
The local government is also studying ways to enhance the public’s knowledge about Macau’s history after 1840.
“Between the First Opium War and the Joint Declaration of the Government of Portugal and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the question of Macau, there is a long period,” lawmaker Sulu Sou commented. He then asked how the local government is helping local pupils learn about Macau’s history.
Lawmaker Agnes Lam also believes that Macao Museum’s exhibition needs an upgrade.
Secretary Ao Ieong confirmed that the Macau SAR government aims to create a system of cultural and museum interaction to create a base for education on Loving the Country and Loving Macau. JZ
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