Authorities axe group’s environmental protection activities

A series of ongoing activities organized by the group Macau for Waste Reduction , which is dedicated to waste collection for recycling, have been disrupted by the police authorities.
In a letter, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) informed the group that all the activities planned which would make use of public spaces, namely a waste collection point at Ocean Gardens in Taipa and another in the surroundings of the UNESCO Center of Macau in NAPE, could not be held as the events constitute an assemblies, which cannot be organized as they may “cause great harm to public health and public security.”
The events were initially scheduled to happen this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and occur as a continuation of a series of activities that the group, which advocates for environmental protection, has been organizing for almost two years.
The activities call for citizens to bring their recycling items and drop them at the stations according to the materials they are composed of, to facilitate their recycling and prevent them ending in waste landfills or being incinerated.
The head of the organizing group, Capricorn Leong, confirmed to the Times that this was the first time that an event from the group has been prevented by the police authorities.
“Normally we just hand in the ‘notification’ [to host the event] then they give us back a ‘receipt’ stating that the notification was ‘well received’ and the activity can go on. This is the first time they have declined,” she noted, saying that this happened “after I already had the ‘well received’ document in my possession.”
Despite this complication, the group does not plan to change their strategy of hosting this type of event in public squares and areas such as parks or gardens.
“For this time the Portuguese school will be the replacement spot that we found after receiving the rejection. We will try to continue to run the afternoon session and to collect as many recyclables as possible,” Leong said, adding that she will continue to “submit the notification document [to the police] for July” and for the upcoming events, which are normally hosted once a month.
On the topic, lawmaker Sulu Sou responded immediately via social media platforms, reaffirming that, according to Macau laws, the only situation where the authorities can act to stop an assembly is “in case the assembly has a purpose that opposes to the law.”
Sou once again criticized the methods used by the police, that follows the banning of the June 4 vigil at Senado Square, noting that authorities cannot continue to use the Law on the Prevention, Control, and Treatment of Infectious Diseases to ban all privately held activities, and especially those that aim to benefit the population and Macau by supporting environmental protection and recycling activities.
In humorous reference to the public activity held on June 5 by the Macao Youth Federation which gathered dozens of people in a parade in support for the approval of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, Sou said that maybe the group [Macau for Waste Reduction] should have a banner expressing support for recycling, together with an “anti-waste” slogan. He added that they should also rent an open-top tour bus to carry out their activities, hinting that this would not be targeted by the police. The humorous remarks related to the recent events in which the authorities have been accused of having double standards in their evaluation and law enforcement.

A foretold problem
The previous notifications to the police authorities to host many events in public spaces, including demonstrations, were transferred from the former Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) to the PSP, when the IACM was replaced with the current Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM).
The transference of competences and the attribution of such power to the police was, at the time of its discussion at the Legislative Assembly in early April 2018, a very hot topic with democrats who heavily criticized the bill precisely for transferring powers that were under the municipal competence to the police.
At the time lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong noted that the most relevant aspect of any public assembly or demonstration is with the use of public space and “that is the reason that has always been under the [supervision of the] municipal authorities.”
Ng also noted the lack of public consultation by the government on the matter, saying that he did not understand how the change of power from the IACM to the PSP could simplify the process.
“Why are we passing this [responsibility] to the police? What is the reason that justifies the need for this [change of] attribution?” Ng asked, noting the absence on the government side of any representatives from the police or the security secretariat.
Au Kam San shared the concerns of Ng saying, “This law [the previous one] is 25 years old. What were the difficulties and problems faced in its application? I can’t see any problems that justify [the need] to change this law. There is no strong reason to change it and with the urgency [in which it is presented to the AL], this needs to be explained.”
José Pereira Coutinho was another lawmaker who opposed the change, remarking that such a transfer of powers “is not a simple one and needs to be explained.”
“We want to know why, as well as what the procedure will be like,” he remarked.
Besides the three lawmakers that voted against the bill, several others, including Agnes Lam, Song Pek Kei, and Kou Hoi In, have expressed concerns and disagreement with the changes to the new law.
Song agreed with Lam when she recalled how, in other regions, the task of approving or refusing the use of public spaces is always done by the municipal departments who then, when necessary, report to the police.