Group demands gov’t prepare for ‘imminent war’

Macau People Power has demanded the local government create measures and instructions in preparation for an “imminent war,” and have called on the Macau authority to announce the plans within three days.

Yesterday, two members of Macau People Power delivered a petition of complaint and concern to government headquarters.

Ian Weng Hong, a spokesperson from the group, urged the media to take their proposals seriously and report .

In the petition, Macau People Power explain that the world has been affected by “pivotal, unpredictable and incontrollable incidents” since the end of last year, .

Given these global problems, the association believes that the world has already entered a “dangerous and explosive era,” and that a “nuclear war may come anytime.” The group suggested that the local government should prepare for impending warfare.

“What if a war really [breaks out]? What if Macau is really bombed? What measures will the government take? The government should consider it,” said Ian. “It is time for the government to consider the matter and, within three days, present measures and instructions to keep Macau residents alive during a war.”

Aside from the concerns of war, the association also demanded improved living standards for Macau people.

They claimed that they were highly concerned about Macau residents’ disquiet, and they promoted several measures to “regulate” Macau’s food market.

Macau has maintained a capitalist system under the “one country, two systems” policy. Ian said that Macau appreciates a free economy, and allows goods and service providers to determine prices freely. However, there are flaws in such a liberal economy.

In particular, the association accused some business operators of manipulating food prices and thus harming livelihoods.

Ian gave the example of local vegetable and meat prices, saying that there are big discrepancies in price between street markets, supermarkets and vendors. People without the correct information go to the wrong suppliers and are frequently ripped off by expensive food products, according to Ian.

Macau People Power proposed two solutions to regulate food prices.

As part of the first solution, the government would unify vegetable and meat prices. As for the second solution, local authorities would remove barriers from the vegetable and meat supply chains. The association believes these two measures will prevent supermarkets, vendors, wholesalers and associations from profiteering.

“We don’t think that the government should ignorantly allow the price to be determined freely by the market. We […] recommend the government to unify the price of vegetables and meat,” the petition reads.

“The SAR government should firmly eliminate all unnecesary steps in the supply process, including stopping the unresonable [profiteering] of the wholesale and the concerned business chambers,” Ian said.

Recently, the local community has been closely watching the city’s pork prices.The local government met with representatives of supermarkets, including San Miu, urging pork suppliers to lower prices.

Thursday, San Miu finally reduced the price of pork by 7% to 10%. Prices in street markets are frequently higher than in supermarkets.

The Association of Chicken and Pork Merchants Iong Hap Tong (Iong Hap Tong) is the organization currently handling Macau’s import of pork and chicken.

Macau People Power consistently makes unique proposals to the government. Earlier, the association wanted the government to remove Iong Hap Tong from the supply chain in order to make pork prices go down.

It also asked the Macau government to consider a second cash handout for 2020.

“From the opinions we have collected [from our members], the government can either give two cash handouts in two different phases or give two cash handouts in a one-off stint in April,” said Si Tou, head of the association.