Editorial | The Times turns 14 amidst anxiety and fear

Paulo Coutinho

We enter our 14th anniversary with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we rejoice for such an achievement in a place and an era so full of historical news and events – here in this gaming town, in China and the world. On the other hand, we can’t help but feel anxiety and fear well over one year into the Covid-19 pandemic, economic hardships and political upheavals.
Almost a year and a half after the new coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, its origins are still unknown and reason for controversy and discussion all over the world, especially between the U.S. and China. No conspiracy is fact until it is proven by science and investigators. This is a matter of intelligence and security as it is of health and science. But the investigators, especially those of the WHO, should be granted access to all the available evidence.
Another cause for alarm is the poor rate of vaccination in Asia – and that is causing constant setbacks in solving the health crisis for herd immunity is our only hope to end the pandemic. In Macau, in particular, it’s a shame that we have achieved so little so far. The community at large shows little interest in the jabs because of the minimal cases of infection here and other non-sensical reasons. But the government’s slow development of the vaccination program, making it more easily available, didn’t help either. There are tens of thousands of jabs that will miserably be destroyed after they expire.
There is also anxiety in our industry following the TDM case of editorial interference and, in general, the growing sense of self-censorship fueled by politics of fear – in a time when the local press, published mostly by SMEs, is enduring major financial difficulties. Not only hundreds of jobs are at stake, the freedom of the press is, and so are our fundamental rights.
With the continuous support of our readers, advertisers, partners, and friends that helped us reach this day, we shall overcome. Congratulations: It’s your anniversary too.