All aboard but Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong

Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong

Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San rejected an invitation from the Central Government to participate in a four-day visit to Beijing and Hebei that started yesterday.
While 31 of the 33 invited local lawmakers flew to the mainland after being asked by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council,  the New Macau Association (ANM) lawmakers stayed, becoming the first ones to turn down the central government. They justified their decision by commenting that the trip would be “a waste of time as it’s not specifically related to political reform or livelihood issues”, according to Ng Kuok Cheong, as quoted by TDM.
“This trip has nothing to do with political reform. If the purpose of this trip was to activate political reform and listen to Macau residents’ opinions, then I would be more than happy to participate,” he said.
The program of the SAR lawmakers’ visit includes meetings with officials in both Beijing and Hebei. Speaking at the airport before departing  for Beijing, the president of the Legislative Assembly Ho Iat Seng indicated that he disagreed with the decision of the ANM lawmakers, since he hopes that this visit will enhance communication between the SAR and the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, of which he is a member.
Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong decided to stay in the SAR to work on their daily tasks and as usual, they held a Sunday forum at Iao Hon Park on issues related to social welfare and livelihood.
Au Kam San, on the sidelines of the Sunday event, agreed with his bench partner that the trip to the mainland will not help to solve the social issues faced by Macau citizens. “If there were specific topics or issues we needed to focus on, then we would be happy to participate in the trip. However, the purpose of this trip is only to visit the standing committee and to tour Beijing and Hebei.” RM