Kwan Tsui Hang confirms retirement from AL

Lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang has confirmed to the Times she will not run in the upcoming Legislative Assembly election, stating that she will refuse the position even if invited by the Chief Executive (CE) to be one of the seven appointed CE lawmakers. She nevertheless believes that the CE will not, in fact, issue an invitation.

Explaining the reasons for her decision to the Times, Kwan said, “I am already in my 60s, and I have been in the AL for 21 years. It is time [for me] to stay back in order to let promising young people make their contributions to the AL,” adding that “[her] working ability is also not comparable to [that] of young people.”

Kwan also expressed a few of her hopes for the current AL election. “I noted that this AL election has many pairs, with this number being the biggest among all [past elections]. […] The AL election is one of the relatively important political events in Macau. I hope that voters participate actively, and that the election turns out to be a really fair competition. […] I also hope that the related governmental departments can ensure that it [the election] will be an honest one.”

According to official data, this year’s election will welcome a total of 25,138 new voters who will cast their ballots for the first time. For the younger cohort (18 to 24 years old), the percentage of local residents registered to vote is slightly under 50 percent; for older citizens (50 to 64 years old), the percentage of registered voters is about two-thirds.

When asked for her opinion on young people’s lack of enthusiasm in voting for the AL election, Kwan responded that the situation is not exclusive to Macau.

“In fact, young people [in general] feel rather indifferent [to politics]. […] Hong Kong and other places also have to deal with this,” said Kwan.

“Maybe young people do not have a deep understanding of the AL election, or maybe they feel that [the] AL’s related work has a weak connection to what they do. It is not a good phenomenon. I believe, as time goes by, that young people will realize the importance of having a vote in their hands.”

Nevertheless, she believes that young people do not pay enough attention to politics. She also expressed her “absolute disagreement” with the argument that change cannot be brought about by voting, stating that every individual votes for their representatives so that there can be a balanced competition in the AL.

The upcoming AL election will see several young people running for a position, a development that Kwan views favorably.

“Overall, I feel that it would be good for Macau’s political culture progress having more young people involved in these activities,” she said.

She also believes that further political progress for Macau begins with education. “Our students, especially our middle school students, [should] learn about the relationship between politics and the society,” Kwan said. “If they can learn about this relationship, they learn about the connection between politics and livelihood. This kind of education broadens the knowledge of young people.”

She also believes the government itself can contribute to Macau’s political progress. “The government should do more work on civil education and on publicity because, personally, I think that the government basically has done nothing for publicity, which leads Macau people to not know that much about what the political system is and what an election consists of.”

According to Kwan, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau could increase their efforts in raising public awareness, and the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau should provide some basic training to students regarding the political systems of Macau and its neighboring regions. “I think the residents need to learn these things gradually. Otherwise, [we] know nothing about elections, making it difficult for them [voters] to effectively use the vote in their possession.” 

Kwan also discussed her 21 years of contribution to the AL, expressing her gratitude towards the people who supported her, including her friends and voters. “They gave me an opportunity to participate in politics, to supervise the government from the source and to make contributions to Macau’s development,” said Kwan, adding that she gained more than she lost during the time she served in the AL.

“There were disappointments,” she admitted, adding that she will arrange a specific occasion to disclose further details to the media, where she will also discuss her future expectations for the AL.

Kwan added that she will “gradually fade from social activities.” However, she remarked that “as a Macau citizen, if the government has policy issues in need of public consultation, I think I will participate as much as possible.”