Law scholars say ‘second system’ needs further building

Scholars from Macau’s law schools and research institutions have praised the current government’s administrative accomplishments over the past five years, and suggested a further construction of systems in accordance with the Basic Law.
A symposium held last week by the One Country Two System Research Center of the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) debated the recently released government work report. Nearly twenty professors and scholars exchanged their opinions on the administration’s performance and the challenges that face Macau, as well as the Work Report itself.
Wang Yu, from the symposium host institute, took the stance that, “only building the systems can ensure Macau’s lasting peace and stability.”
“System construction is the main problem that’s been facing the MSAR government in its implementation of the ‘one country, two Systems’ model and ‘Macau People Govern Macau’ policies,” he stated.
“The current government has been fully aware of the importance and urgency of this issue, and has made considerable progress on building systems,” stressed the scholar. “However, there are areas where the system construction is blank, lagging behind, and lacking efficacy.”
According to Prof Wang, some systems that are mentioned in the Basic Law have been absent in the administration, such as a non-governmental municipal body.
The scholar also argued that some existing systems inherited from the pre-handover period are not in line with the spirit of the Basic Law, and should be modified promptly.
Furthermore, several academics indicated that although some current systems are established in accordance with the Basic Law, they have been ineffective. “Inadequate consultations in major decision-making processes have occurred from time to time; sometimes there are serious administrative omissions whilst administrative inefficiency is also a prominent issue; the accountability system for top officials also needs to be implemented,” said Prof Leng Tiexun, the Research Center’s deputy director.
In addition, IPM professor Ji Chaoyuan indicated that the Work Report shows an inadequate long-term vision, and fails to specify the MSAR government’s coordination with the Central Government for further preferential policies. IPM professor Yang Yunzhong also suggested that, “the government needs to prevent the negative effects emerging from the rise of residents’ democratic awareness.” Brook Yang