The President of the New Macau Association (ANM), Kam Sut Leng, believes that the Macau government should “relax a bit,” instead of being concerned about Macau’s potential internal instability.
Kam expressed her thoughts during a phone interview with the Times, when she was asked to comment on the absence of three authors from Macau’s upcoming Literary Festival.
Kam started by noting that she did not have a deep understanding of the situation, and that the Macau government should have a better understanding of the region and acknowledge that “Hong Kong and Macau have differences.”
“Actually, there are big [differences between Hong Kong and Macau]. I think Macau should rest assured. […] They [the government] can relax about Macau. […] They should have confidence in their own administration and policies,” declared Kam, adding that “these insecurities arise because they are not confident in themselves. They are afraid people might cause a little chaos, which they wouldn’t know how to handle.”
Regarding the Literary Festival incident’s effect on Macau’s image in the eyes of the world, Kam believes that “there will be some sort of impact.” She thinks people might perceive Macau as a controlling society, with a strict and highly political culture. Kam feels other cases, such as the banning of Hong Kong lawmakers and journalists from visiting the city, might also contribute to this effect. JZ
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