Feature: Locals adapting to new normal during CNY

Senado Square (Eva Bucho/MDT)

The real stories of Macau in miniature, cast light on the life changes in Chinese New Year in 2021 as the pandemic rolls into its second year.

SUKI (tourist guide)

This is unquestionably the most nightmarish Chinese New Year (CNY) for Suki, a single mum with a 7-year-old daughter. She has been unemployed for nearly a year since the first half of 2020.

Suki, a local university graduate and tourist guide in Macau, who does not want to disclose her real identity, lost her job soon after the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak hit the city in 2020.

While others are splurging on CNY food and gifts, she has been scraping by, on the brink of being tapped out. Over the past year, Suki had been toiling away, racking her brains, to drag herself out of the state of joblessness — but still, to no avail.

“I sent my resume for 1,000 job applications, including as a clerk, salesperson, casino staff and so on. But I’ve only got two interviews by far,” she said. To Suki’s disappointment, she has not secured any job from the only two chances she has been given. She is still jobless during this Spring Festival.

The year of 2021 marks a new year of adversity for the city’s enterprises and tourist practitioners, particularly those who earn a living by giving tours to overseas tourists. Since the entry ban for foreigners into Macau was imposed in March 2020, the income of most tourist guides has plummeted to zero.

Suki has been among them. Even though she has no income, she still has to make her monthly mortgage repayments of  of upwards of MOP20,000, which has already drained her savings. She thought CNY would bring in an influx of tourists and help her turn the tide. However, after the SAR government issued an entreaty advising people not to travel during the festival, she knew there would still be bumps in the road.

There was a time she even thought of moving to mainland China to save on the cost of living, but she dropped the idea as she wants her daughter to grow up and receive schooling in Macau.

Days before the Lunar New Year begins, Suki has gone to mainland China, preparing to spend the festival with her family — to seek a slight sense of comfort and joy amid the ongoing turmoil.

Mr. Leung (owner of local ginseng and dried seafood shop)

The Spring Festival has long been a period to rake in some good fortune for Mr. Leung, the second-generation owner of his family-owned ginseng and dried seafood shop in Macau.

But this year is surely different for his shop, which was established in 1995 and is located near the Complexo Municipal do Mercado de S. Domingos, the usual go-to area for locals to purchase New Year groceries.

“Our revenue during CNY has dropped at least 50% this year. The drop was predominantly driven by the decreased number of our mainland clients,” Leung told the Times.

But he was glad that local customers had not cut down their budget for dried seafood this CNY, at least at his shop.

He knew that the consumption intention would plunge for this festival, and he therefore bought two-thirds fewer products from wholesalers.

Covid-19 has had an adverse impact on Leung’s family business, which has still kept afloat up to this CNY — as Leung said, ginseng and dried seafood are still considered as = essential food items for some locals.

Andy Chan (student)

Andy Chan, 28 born and raised in Macau, enrolled himself into an English studies and Linguistics Master’s degree program at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University last year.

Ever since the Covid-19 outbreak, Chan has been attending virtual classes via zoom.

Up to this year’s CNY in 2021, he has still not had a chance to meet his classmates in person.

“Absent the pandemic, I would have been in Hong Kong to meet friends or traveling abroad during this year’s CNY,” he said.

Prior to the pandemic, Chan dropped into Hong Kong almost every weekend, as most of his social circle and education is rooted in this neighboring city. He regards himself as being stranded in Macau since the mandatory quarantine measure was imposed in March 2020.

This year, Chan and his parents skipped the traditional shopping activity during the Spring Festival on account of a tight work schedule.