Letter to the Editor | ‘For the past 21 months, I, like many others, have been in a Kafkaesque purgatory’

Recently in response to a written enquiry by legislators Mak Soi Kun and Zheng Anting, the Secretary of Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, addressed their concern over the increasingly delayed renewals of resident’s permits by saying that the talent acquisition in a post-Covid context must be executed with considerable care.
While I appreciate that the secretary is trying to be pro-active and consider the future success of Macau, it is worth noting that the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM)’s administrative incompetence needs to be addressed first. The backlog of pending cases is not just a clerical issue. People’s lives – citizens of Macau – are connected to these cases. My life is attached to this case. This isn’t just an inconvenience; it undermines the long-term credibility of the government.
I have been living in Macau continuously for 11 years. I have been a “temporary-resident” of Macau for eight years (even if the law states that after seven years of continuous residence as temporary resident one becomes permanent). Yet, for the past 21 months, my life as a Macau resident has been on “pause.” I have not been able to renew a Macau-based banking credit card, renew my mobile phone contract, or renew my driver’s licence. With thanks to the IPIM, I am a “kind of” resident. This is no longer acceptable.
For the past 21 months, I, like many others, have been in a Kafkaesque purgatory. When asked for the status of the approval process, IPIM always replies with, “still under approval process, almost complete.” It wasn’t until last week when my legal counsel acquired my file after formally requesting it that we saw that no action had been taken on the file for two years.
So, when I read that legislators say that the backlog of renewals is being addressed, I can’t help but be sceptical.
How can the secretary expect us to take his words seriously when he suggests that “if our cases are not being addressed in a timely manner, that we should speak to the Chairman of IPIM, Benson Lau Wai Meng, but that ‘legal principles and regulations cannot be abandoned in the process.’” IPIM has failed to maintain its basic administrative functions. It is these opaque processes that undermine faith in government and the rule of law. If anyone should be reminded to “not abandon legal principles” it is least of all the residents, who are trying to get the government to live up to the standard it has set for itself. Without it, we collectively encourage precisely the kind of bad behaviour from IPIM’s previous leadership that has recently been on trial in the courts.
During the initial outbreak of Covid-19, the swift, decisive actions of our Chief Executive and his government’s transparent communications across several channels, including for example the app “Telegram,” has been commendable. The hard choices made to close the casino floors for a couple of weeks and implement safety standards are a vanguard for the rest of the world. Macau has shown the world what leadership looks like.
It is now time that the government uses this innovative thinking to address its immigration policy and administrative failures. If Macau is going to return to a new normal in a post-Covid era, it will be with the support of individuals from the global community.
Macau’s history is global; it is also its differentiator. Macau has much to contribute to the growth of China. Its connection to the global Lusophone community is directly tied into the “one belt two roads” initiative. The upcoming digital banking revolution of blockchain, the intersection of western and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the hospitality and leisure industry are all noted examples. Macau, isolating itself behind unscientific xenophobic policy, does not help. Macau’s future as a diversified economy lies in its ability to embrace talent from around the world. That starts by addressing and reforming its immigration residency processes.
My challenge, hope and expectation for the government are to function as promised. I invite Secretary Lei Wai Nong to recognise that the status quo is no longer helping Macau. The future of Macau depends on it.

Jesko von den Steinen
Macau, Nov 1, 2020