Hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Sunday in a large-scale demonstration in opposition to the MSAR’s controversial RMB100 million (around MOP123m) donation to Jinan University. Some analysts say that this act is severing the government’s credibility with Macau’s youth.
The demonstrators are demanding the withdrawal of the donation to Jinan University and the resignation of Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On over the scandal. The CE is being accused of using his ties to the Mainland education institution to facilitate the monetary transfer.
“Thousands of people showed up on the weekend, most of them young people who will be the future of Macau,” social affairs commentator Larry So told the Times. “The point is very clear: young people do not trust the government.”
The lack of government transparency in the issue is causing a credibility problem for the government, the analyst surmised, which is alienating young people in the MSAR.
However the activism is not solely in response to the donation, but rather the culmination of a dissatisfied and disengaged youth who feel that the government is not listening to them.
“This is not the only issue that the public cares about. Over-
expenditure on public works and a lack of transparency [over government decisions] are major issues too,” said lawmaker Pereira Coutinho, who did not attend the rally.
“There is collusion between the government and private enterprise in Macau that needs to be addressed,” he added. “We need to upgrade the CCAC’s [Commission Against Corruption] ability to crackdown on the private sector in particular” he noted, suggesting that otherwise residents will continue to feel isolated from the political process.
“Trust is a necessary ingredient in any society for societal development. The government gravitates toward the rich and powerful and [in the process] alienates the young people and forces them toward anti-establishment ideas,” agreed Larry So. “The government now has a credibility issue.”
While organizers say that as many as 3,300 may have attended the demonstrations on Sunday, the police put their estimate at just 1,100. Nevertheless the hundreds of protestors chanting, “Chui Sai On, resign!”, present an unwelcome challenge to the government after the Government Spokesperson Office and the Macau Foundation tried to downplay the issue last week.
On Sunday, a large police presence beside Nam Van lake prevented the crowd from approaching the government’s headquarters on the grounds of a court order issued on Friday. They also claimed that the march constituted an “illegal demonstration.”
“The police are trying to scare us by saying that it is an illegal assembly,” New Macau Association (ANM) president Scott Chiang told the Times, “I expect that they are preparing a case against us.”
ANM were one of the principal organizers of the demonstration. They are calling for the withdrawal of the donation to Jinan University and for the resignation of Chui Sai On.
“We consider the demonstration a success,” Chiang declared. “However, none of the demands have been enforced yet, so that’s why we will continue our efforts.”
In response to the demands articulated by ANM, lawmaker Pereira Coutinho agreed that the donation should be withdrawn though he thinks it is unlikely that the CE will resign.
“[The donation] should be withdrawn. I requested that a week ago and I also insisted that the government answer the questions I submitted to them [regarding the issue] within 30 days,” said Coutinho. “I don’t think that the Chief Executive will resign. It’s not the first time that people have called for it [Chui’s resignation].”
However Larry So believes that these demands are part of a bargaining strategy: “When you bargain you always ask for more. You can use drastic slogans to get people behind the cause.”
“[These demands] are not even a threat; they are slogans… it is only propaganda,” he added.
Asked about the traditional view of political apathy in Macau, ANM president Scott Chiang confidently stated that residents are not as complacent as has been suggested.
“People in Macau douse themselves in the illusion that we have always been apolitical but this is not true […] Some of the young people were not satisfied with yesterday’s demonstration (with just taking a walk); they want something else done. The ‘energy’ has not been released yet,” he explained to the Times.
“What we [ANM] want is a more organic social movement, and what I mean by ‘organic’ is that people go out [to demonstrate] because they feel strongly about this issue,” and not because it is being led by a particular group, added Chiang.
On the other hand, Larry So cautioned against Macau adopting the kind of political activism that occasionally grinds Hong Kong to a halt.
“I don’t want to see the same things here in Macau as those happening in Hong Kong,” he cautioned, adding that it really doesn’t suit the MSAR.
Coutinho remarked that the weekend’s demonstrations seem to be textbook Hong Kong.
“This could have happened in Hong Kong,” he said. “People have resigned [there] for less. For example the former Hong Kong Financial Secretary [Antony] Leung, who resigned in 2003 after he was accused of knowingly buying a car shortly before raising the taxation on motor vehicles.”
“Actually, this is a very important analogy and one that I hope Macau pays more attention to,” added Coutinho.
“The government should now take this as a lesson: they should enact the necessary measures to see how many members of the Executive Council are holding similar posts and this should be made public [knowledge],” he concluded.
journalists allegedly censored
Last Friday, the Macau Journalist Association published an announcement on its Facebook page with accusations of censorship over the news reports concerning the Macau government’s donation to Jinan University. According to the announcement, some journalists of Chinese language media outlets were requested not to mention the names of certain governors in their reports; some were assigned to other work instead of following the Macau Foundation story; and some journalists’ reports involving content that expressed doubts over whether or not the government was corrupt were cut. The association believes that such incidents were the result of governmental manipulation, in addition to the self-censorship present within the media industry. The announcement condemned the intervention as a violation of press freedom, as well as being a show of disrespect towards the journalist profession.
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