Lawmaker warns authoritarian rule will trickle down to Macau

Au Kam San (left) and Ng Kuok Cheong

Lawmaker Au Kam San has expressed his hope that Macau society will be more alert to the threats that, in his perception, are posed by authoritarian politics and threaten to trickle down into Macau.

Au Kam San, together with lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong, will take part in a forum tonight at 8.30 p.m. to debate the topic of China and Macau under authoritarian rule.

Yesterday, during a phone interview with the Times, Au said that “authoritarian politics, under the command of Xi Jinping, increase[s] the difficulties for China’s and Macau’s future in terms of [the development of] democratic politics or protection of freedom and human rights.”

“There is no need to discuss mainland China, [which] has always been under a [authoritarian system]. [The room] for Macau to fight for democracy or freedom might have been weakened,” said Au, adding that “it is already far away from reaching universal suffrage for both the Chief Executive and the Legislative Assembly elections. Even committee members from municipal organizations [which will be established by the government] will be appointed by the government itself.”

“The recent talks about the state interest and security, and the move to put the constitution law above the Basic Law, [indicates] a narrower room for [democratic] politics,” said Au.

“Recently, [China] started saying that the Basic Law is produced based on the Constitution law, whereby the latter stands higher than the former. The [rights that are protected by the Basic Law] might be narrowed down gradually as well. […] The Secretaries [visited Beijing] to get training in matters of state security. Later, it will be department directors going there, and then it will be the division heads of public departments.”

When discussing these matters, Au mentioned that the mutual recognition of driving licenses between mainland China and Macau is one of the steps exhibiting this ‘narrowing down’ of Macau’s rights.

Another example mentioned by Au was the transferring of the authorization of the demonstration from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau to the Public Security Police Force.

Au believes that this action will deteriorate the public’s rights.

However, in Au’s opinion, the local government does not have the capability to become an authoritarian government on its own.

“I believe that, in Macau, [the government] is not executing works based on a planned [schedule]. It is mainly about the mindset. When [the government’s] mindset is narrowed down, the whole society’s and people’s mindsets [gradually get constrained] when things happen,” said Au, adding that “currently, […] Macau has not enough [powers] to implement authoritarian politics, [but] Macau belongs to China, and China’s authoritarian politics will eventually involve the SARs and their principal officials. Under tough working methods, Macau will naturally interpret all matters in a tough way as well.”

Au explained that when the government chooses to appoint the members of the city’s future municipal organizations  (instead of allowing part of the committee members to be voted by the public) that is an expression of working under a constrained mode rather than an authoritarian policy.

When talking to the Times, Au said that his office held a forum on May Fourth in past years, in memory of China’s May Fourth Movement, but this year marks the first time the forum features a new and specially selected topic.

“Through this forum, [we] don’t seek fierce reactions [from the public]. But [I] hope that, through this forum, more people will pay further attention to this matter [authoritarian politics]. Even though [people] do not have the ability to confront, hopefully they can improve their awareness about all things.”

National security ‘education’ is a hot topic

National security promotion is a hot topic in Macau today, with legislators and community leaders on all sides keen to be seen abiding by Xi Jinping Thought, the latest political theory advanced by the Chinese Communist Party.

President Xi Jinping is urging the whole country to conduct what the Party calls “national security education” and enhance community awareness on the topic.

“National security is of paramount importance for the people to live and work in peace and for realizing the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation,” he outlined on the country’s first National Security Education Day in April 2016, according to state media.

National security promotion involves co-opting the civilian population to fulfill their patriotic duty and be on the lookout for anything that could undermine the country’s stability.

Among its themes are an obligation to love the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party; a rejection of separatism; and counsel against the unwanted, degenerative influence of foreign culture.

A Macau exhibition last month, jointly organized by the local government and the Liaison Office, aimed to educate Macau residents in such matters.

It drew praise from lawmaker Mak Soi Kun this week, who naturally called for the local government to include the content in Macau’s school textbooks. Even fellow lawmaker Pereira Coutinho fell in line, saying that local residents needed to learn more about China’s state security and their obligation to safeguard it.

But the line between national security education and government propaganda is blurred. Since the establishment of National Security Education Day, government-sponsored pamphlets and animated shorts have raised eyebrows inside and out of China for their anti-foreigner prejudice.

In 2016, a comic titled “Dangerous Love” was distributed on the mainland telling a fictional story of a Chinese civil servant who agrees to provide confidential information to her “handsome, romantic, cultured foreign boyfriend” who turns out to be a spy intent on stealing state secrets.

Last month, several animated shorts were released with the same warning against “foreign infiltration” and propagation within China of “Western notions of trade unions” and human rights. Daniel Beitler