Author of democracy study says more research needed but it won’t be him

Ieong Meng U

A local academic says that much more research is needed on the findings of his latest study that revealed widespread support for democratic ideals among Macau students – but he would not be the one to do it.

Ieong Meng U, an academic and lecturer at the University of Macau’s Department of Government and Public Administration, told the Times last week that the preferences of young people toward democracy was not the original purpose of his research and it would require further studies to verify his findings.

Published last month, Ieong’s study sampled 825 students in the city and found that the majority supported the idea of universal suffrage and had a “preference for a minimal definition of democracy.” The study also showed that most believed it was important to live in a democratic system and agreed with the view that student leaders in the neighboring territory’s Umbrella Movement were “fighting for democracy”.

Building on his previous work exploring authoritarianism and the Chinese political landscape, the paper challenged the traditional view that Macau residents – especially the youth – are more concerned with economic and quality of life issues rather than political ones.

However, Ieong insists that there is still much more work to be done.

“The questionnaire was originally about the influence of social media on young people,” he explained, adding that the revelations about widespread support for democracy were not expected. “Of course, as a political scientist, I am interested in what the youth think about democracy, but it was not the original point of my research.”

One conclusion of the study was that over 90 percent of the respondents ranked the pursuit of universal suffrage as five or above on the 10-point scale, with 10 representing the highest preference and with a mean score of 6.67.

However, according to Ieong, “we only have one dimension of understanding people’s opinion on democracy because [the study] did not look at the meaning given to democracy [by Macau people].”

The academic said that those in China and the West hold differing views about what constitutes democracy as a political form of governance. He said that studies in the mainland have shown that Chinese people overwhelmingly regard their system as democratic, but they use an alternative definition of democracy.

In the traditional concept of democracy, the will of the people is expressed via elected institutions and that supports the legitimacy of the government. However, the alternative, known as “guardianship democracy” or “performance legitimacy,” suggests an alternative view whereby the accomplishments of an administration or party can legitimize rule. Some scholars have criticized the theory as a form of indoctrination to disguise authoritarian rule.

Ieong, who specializes in the study of authoritarianism, said that he agreed that the idea of “guardianship” is “not enough to constitute democracy.” However, he insists that he does not represent the opinions of other people and “it is their freedom to interpret democracy like that.”

He argued that it is unclear which definition of democracy the Macau respondents used in their ranking on the 10-point scale.

“People in Macau want democracy not for the same reasons as in Hong Kong. In Macau, people are dissatisfied with the government, which they feel can’t address some of the social problems [in the city]. Macau people want more say in decision-making and the mechanisms behind it,” he said, adding that this did not necessarily translate to universal suffrage.

“Theoretically, performance legitimacy is sustainable, but that’s very difficult. […] There is a contradictory outcome. On the one hand, the government can say it is boosting economic development, but on the other there may be violations of individual freedoms. An example of where it has worked is Singapore.”

Although more research is needed on the topic, Ieong said there are no plans for follow-up studies. Instead, he wants to continue his research on authoritarianism and the political landscape of mainland China.

International observers have highlighted a recent rise in the authoritarian tendencies of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration.

In spring last year, Xi reversed decades of government policy by abolishing term limits for the country’s top post. The country has also upped online censorship, expanded internment and re-education camps from Xinjiang to Hainan, and is planning for the implementation of a “social credit” ranking system that will monitor the behavior of its 1.41 billion people.

Asked about whether he feels authoritarianism is on the rise, Ieong said, “I generally follow the consensus of my colleagues… the presidency in China is becoming more authoritarian – that’s the basic logic. But we need more data and perspective to see the trend.”