Bai Zhijian denies Ho’s case has political connotations

Bai Zhijian

The former director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR, Bai Zhijian, has denied the allegations of political interference in the expedition of the corruption case that is involving Macau’s former general prosecutor Ho Chio Meng, Jornal San Wa Ou reported.
Bai acknowledged that Ho Chio Meng was “inside the system,” but denied that the case could have political intervention. “Looking at the time and money that was involved, Ho’s cases could not have anything to do with politics,” he said.
However, Bai admitted that the current judicial system, as well as legislation and governance in Macau, require further amendments to reduce the occurrence of corruption-driven behaviors. “Ho is the second person holding an important senior position who has been exposed to allegations of corruption. The government must improve oversight,” declared Bai.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has been active in the Liaison Offices in both Macau and Hong Kong in order to fight corruption. “In spite of the enhanced inspection carried out by the central government, no incidents have been spotted so far,” informed Bai, who then claimed, “In fact, the Liaison Office doesn’t possess that much power. We just provide assistance to the SAR government. This is not like the departments in the mainland, wherein they have budget authority.” Staff reporter