Our Desk: Surpresa!

João Pedro Lau

Last week, I asked my friends on Facebook what time I should start queuing outside the Portuguese Consulate to get my citizen card renewed so that I wouldn’t need to make an appointment and wait for god knows how many months. “5 a.m.,” one suggested; “No, better at 4. Last time, I was almost the last one, even though I went there at 4,” another said. Well I guess that means I am stuck with the option of making an appointment and hoping that my passport will not expire before I get my new citizen card.
But a week later, as if the patron saint of ID renewals had granted my wish, the Portuguese Consulate announced that it had launched an online registration system that allows users to make appointments for ID renewals. It took me only five minutes to sign up and another 10 minutes to make the appointment for two weeks later. “Incredible” is not even close to how I would describe this experience.
If you did not use the services of the Portuguese Consulate in Macau before, you may not understand my surprise at this user-friendly registration system. For many Portuguese citizens in Macau, the consulate is infamous for its inefficiency and its staff’s rather snobby attitude. I have heard from time to time that people would rather apply for an MSAR passport because they simply do not want to go through the ordeal. Now that the consulate has decided to provide a more efficient service, I wonder if it has also made improvements to the manners of its staff; this is a question for which I will find out the answer soon.
The “revolution” to the ID renewal procedure is one of many changes in the Portuguese consulate I have observed in these two years since the new consul-general, Vitor Sereno, came to town. Mr Sereno seems to be really keen on engaging with Macau society, and has been present at many community events. In my opinion, he is really doing his job of promoting and representing Portugal in Macau, and I hope that Lisbon is going to keep him in Macau longer so that he can improve the consulate even further.
Meanwhile, if there is one suggestion I can give to Mr Sereno, I would say that he should put more effort into connecting with those Portuguese citizens in Macau like me who are of non-Portuguese descent.
Although I am a Portuguese citizen, this identity for me is nothing more than an extra passport. I cannot speak Portuguese; I do not know any Portuguese cities other than Lisbon and Porto; and I cannot name the President and Prime Minister (I can swear in Portuguese and cook the traditional Macanese dish of Portuguese chicken though, if those help).
It used to be a non-issue for me, until I started enjoying some of the benefits of being a Portuguese passport holder, such as entering Europe without the need to queue for immigration. And then I started to think: if I am benefited by this identity, shouldn’t I know more about it?
Therefore, I think it would be great if the consul-general is willing to work on connecting with people like me, highlighting this special identity and what it can bring to Portugal, China; and to us personally. For example, we can become commercial nexuses between Portugal and China, and thus supply the goods, services and technologies that the two countries need from each other, and help their economies, as well as that of Macau.
I hope that Mr Sereno will keep up his good work and continue to surprise us with more reforms.