Political commentator Eric Sautedé
Political commentator Eric Sautedé said yesterday that the electoral platform of Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng mostly closely resembles a “shopping list” in that it is lengthy but contains no timeline specifics.
Sautedé said that, without timeline goals, Ho’s electoral promises – including his headline administrative reform objective – “mean nothing.” In this sense, they were no different from the goals of the previous administration.
Speaking to the Times on the sidelines of a French Macau Chamber of Commerce event, the political scientist remarked, “I remember the previous administration in 2014. [They were] always saying that we have an incremental approach to democracy and to universal suffrage, and it was so incremental it was almost a lie.”
Back in August, pro-democracy group New Macau Association said that Ho had promised not to completely rule out the introduction of universal suffrage during his tenure. However, this promise did not impress the commentator, who noted, “as long as you don’t give a date or a timeline, what does it mean to say that universal suffrage is not impossible?”
Unlike in Hong Kong, where the city’s Policy Addresses usually list a timeline and goal for concluding projects, Macau’s annual addresses do not provide such timelines.
“If you look at the agenda that was put on his platform, it’s very thin – it looks like a shopping list,” said Sautedé. “I think it’s just for show. […] No milestone, no how, no nothing,” he stressed.
The expert further criticized that Ho spent more time meeting with the people that made up the 400-member election committee, rather than reviewing how his agenda would be implemented.
Speaking about the prospects for democratic reform in the current five-year government term, the political scientist said that the Chief Executive had only mentioned democracy once in his platform, implying that such reform would not be a priority.
For Sautedé, Ho’s dislike of pro-democracy elements such as lawmaker Sulu Sou is obvious. Ho presided over the Legislative Assembly as its former president during the controversial suspension of Sou in late 2017. He was also seen as the hand behind the dismissal of legal veterans Paulo Taipa and Paulo Cardinal, who had advised the legislature on Sou’s suspension.
“I think that this is not a positive heritage from his years in the assembly,” said Sautedé.
For some, the new administration of Ho is dubbed as a “new game in town,” with some noting that he is more outspoken than the previous administration. This is evident in his choices of secretaries.
“It’s very clear, these guys are running the show [including] Wong [Sio Chak] and the new Secretary for Justice and Administration [André Cheong],” said Sautedé. Commenting on his choice of secretaries, the political scientist noted, “it’s brand new and [raises] a lot of question marks.”
Sautedé said that the posting of André Cheong as Secretary for Administration and Justice was unexpected. The former head of the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) was said to be frustrated back in 2014 when he became the commissioner for CCAC, as he had long wanted the job of Sonia Chan, the former top official for administration and justice.
“He had all the credentials […] but he did not belong to the 12 guys who were sent to study in China and then were sent to Portugal in the 1980s and 90s to take the important roles in Macau.”
Meanwhile, the appointment of Ao Ieong U as the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture came as a surprise for Sautedé. He believes that her main role was to put things straight in a timely and orderly manner. He recalled that the Identification Services Department, which she formerly headed, is one of the most efficient departments in the SAR.
“Honestly speaking, Ho thought we need to streamline and make the administration more efficient and if there is one person who really embodies the efficiency of the government, it’s certainly her,” he said.
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