Leong questions gov’t on more money spent with Jinan University

Lawmaker Leong Veng Chai has yet to give up on the case of the government’s donations to Jinan University.

The donation from the Macao Foundation to the Jinan University, announced in May and totaling  RMB100 million, led to several protests. These included a demonstration by several associations and organizations that called for the donation to be canceled and for Chief Executive Chui Sai On to step down.

Leong recently criticized a dinner paid for by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on behalf of the Jinan University alumni association a few months later (November), and the justifications given by MGTO head Helena de Senna Fernandes for the expense.

According to Fernandes, this dinner would have cost at least MOP710,000, and the MGTO had paid for it by order of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam. In addition, according to the MGTO head, there was no budget limit.

In a written enquiry to the government, Leong hinted that there are other public services or departments that might have supported other costs related to donations to the same university. He went on to request that the government state exactly how much the MSAR had spent on and behalf of Jinan University, and exactly which services were involved in such payments.

Leong also called on the government to explain the “tightened rules” Senna Fernandes spoke of for “future financing approvals” and whether the same rules apply to both local and overseas institutions. RM