Macau residents lack global political awareness

Agnes Lam (second from left)

Local residents lack awareness of how international policies could impact Macau and its economy, said Agnes Lam, president of Macau Civic Power, yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the organization’s roundtable yesterday at Macau Art Garden, Lam said controversial policies and administrative orders – particularly by newly elected U.S. president Donald Trump – could cause further friction between Washington and Beijing.

The scholar questioned whether such tensions would affect the gaming industry and bemoaned the MSAR’s lack of a mechanism to inform concerned residents about how the territory might be affected in the future.

Citing her belief that controversial administrative orders, such as the travel ban to some Muslim countries, could affect residents, Lam said, “We don’t see them [local government officials] doing anything publicly or making public announcements.”

“We have an American interest here so people will kind of we are going to be affected. I think all these kinds of international affairs in the news [are] somewhat affecting Macau,” the scholar told the Times.

Lam also doubts that the region is sufficiently prepared for crisis management, as she believes that residents are not well-informed about international affairs. 

“The government, officials [or] public announcements – we don’t see that they are doing anything publicly.”

The group also discussed whether the region is actively promoting the diversification of the region’s economy and whether it focuses on promoting the cultural industry.

The civil organization president argued that although the region’s gross gaming revenue has improved, the industry – on which Macau’s economy is heavily dependent – may not always be a reliable source of economic growth.

“In that case, we need to be well prepared if anything happens. We need to have some kind of mechanism to deal with that kind of economic crisis,” she said.

The president also argued that the reliance on gaming revenue could compromise attention that should be given to “community economy.”

“Those small [companies] are important, because when something happens – when investors go away, we need to rely on local businesses. [But] are local businesses strong enough to support the local economy?” 

The scholar further stressed that the MSAR needs a mechanism to access information on how the society would be affected by international policies.

“We don’t have the mechanism to access the information. Is the government doing any kind of control or preparation? We don’t have that.”

Citing the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, Lam asked whether the killing has anything to do with the territory’s internal security, since Kim lived in Macau, and whether police authorities have enough manpower to “work on that area.”

“Do we have a threat? Are we in some kind of danger? We don’t know.”

Lam stressed that residents lack interest in global affairs, noting that the local citizens view such matters as soap operas and dismiss political tensions.

Yet she gave the government the benefit of the doubt, saying, “Maybe the government doesn’t want to make the public feel they are in danger or anything, so they don’t tell.”