Jason Chao assures project not a ‘thunderbolt plan’

Jason Chao

Jason Chao, former vice- president of the New Macau Association (ANM) yesterday stressed that his upcoming project – a civil platform to monitor election fairness – is a result of his “deep reflection on the development of Macau civil society.”

Speaking to the English and Portuguese language press yesterday in an informal meeting, the activist reiterated that Macau’s civil society activism remains lethargic when compared to that of Hong Kong.

Chao, who announced his resignation from ANM last week, recalled that there are human rights groups in Hong Kong who oversee elections and produce reports about the fairness of elections, offering a public service which Macau lacks; thus he wished to fill the gap.

“[In] the Chinese-speaking media, we know that the mainstream media are heavily biased. So we run our [ANM] own media outlet to fill the gap of disseminating information to the public,” Chao said. 

In the Legislative Assembly (AL) election later this year, the co-founder of LGBT rights group Rainbow of Macau will play the role of monitor – which he claimed was non-existent in previous elections.

The pro-LGBT activist failed to secure a seat at the AL during September 2013’s elections.

Yesterday, Chao claimed that he experienced an abuse of power at the hands of Public Prosecutor general Ip Son Sang when he allegedly imposed political censorship over his election platform.

“I should take a role in monitoring the election so that’s why its time for me to play a more independent role,” he stated.

Questioned by reporters, Chao declined to reveal details of his plans for his election monitoring project, noting he would reveal information only during the scheme’s launch.

“You will know what I’m going to do, stay tuned,” he told the press, remarking additionally that it is not a “thunderbolt plan.”

He assured the press that he would not run an election guidance platform similar to the controversial “thunderbolt plan” Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting mapped out.

“I’m not going to run the same kind of election guidance platform as Benny Tai did in Hong Kong. […] I dislike that model. Please be assured that I’m not running a kind of voting guidelines based on the suggestion of the likelihood of being elected,” the activist clarified.

Meanwhile, Chao hoped he could form a team to launch the project, although he gave assurances that in the absence of a team he would go forward with the plan.

Chao also assured that he would publicize information gathered throughout the project, including candidates who will refuse to be monitored.

When questioned how the project would be executed if turnout is low, Chao said: “That’s the little secret I need to keep from public knowledge for the time being but you will see.”

The activist will run the project until the end of election day, but assured that after its completion, he is unlikely to return to the association of ANM, despite the fact that he has been a member of it for 11 years.

Meanwhile Scott Chiang who was present at the meeting implied that he would run for this year’s AL election.

He gave a vague comment, saying, “the king ought to get on his horse and fight the battle even if he’s not the best warrior in the whole kingdom, right?”

“ANM has been seeking a foot-
hold in the assembly for 24 years, I see no circumstances [that] has changed that now,” Chiang added.

Activist diagnosed with asperger

Jason Chao revealed that he was recently “diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.” The activist cited his medical condition as one of the reasons that lead him to withdraw from running in the next election.  Asperger syndrome is considered a milder autism spectrum disorder. “In Macau, reaching out to a broad community is essential to winning a seat and I’m not a good fit for this role. In order to come to a decision, we have to take a lot of factors into account and I have to admit that is one of the factors,” Chao said.