New protest against hazardous material warehouse

Aspect of the protest

A group of residents held a rally in the streets of Macau yesterday afternoon, continuing the call to prevent the building of two warehouses to store hazardous materials in the Concordia Industrial Park, surrounding the Cotai residential area.

An estimated 500 demonstrators gathered at Tap Seac Square before marching to the government headquarters.

The residents’ representative, Edith Mak, told journalists the rally is in response to the government’s silence over the concerns previously expressed in letters to the government.

“After all the events [we have held] and [after the] handing of petitions to the government, we have not yet received any satisfactory response from either Secretary [for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do] Rosário or from the Chief Executive,” Mak said, adding, “What we want to hear is that the plan to build the warehouses in the Industrial Park will be withdrawn.”

In addition to the fact that the government has not shown any signs of reversing the decision to build the hazardous materials warehouse near a residential area, Mak said that that the government has also not disclosed any information about the public consultation, or how the government came to decide on these two locations as “the most suitable ones” for the warehouses.

Mak recalled that no representative of the Seac Pai Van residents was ever consulted or called to express an opinion on the selected plots of land.

She added that the residents “welcome an open discussion [on the topic] but we have not yet been invited to be part of any process, talks, seminars or meetings on this matter,” and urged the government to disclose “how many unused land [plots] are available to be considered for such facility.” She also mentioned that “if they think there are no land [plots], then we have far less information than them. They are the central body where the land information is centralized. We would like to know land information and discuss [other] possibilities and better locations for such facilities.”

Edith Mak

If the government insists on ignoring calls from the group, Mak warns, “we will insist and we won’t rule out the possibility of another demonstration and another assembly, and [even] to escalate this matter to neighboring cities to get more people aware [of the problem], not just people in Macau.”

Mak says seeking help “from the Central Government, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other neighboring cities” is a possibility being considered. “I believe this is not just about the location of the [hazardous materials] warehouse in a place that affects people’s livelihoods, but it’s also about the lack of transparency in the processes of public consultation and all information about land. This is a big societal issue,” she said. “We suspect that [it has to do] with the continuous support [from the government] to the industry, lowering their logistical costs [at the cost] of peoples’ basic right to live safe and concern free.”

When questioned by the Times on recent meetings held by the Secretary for Security, who tried to clarify warehouses’ safety, Mak replied: “The only safer solution is to eliminate any possibility of accidents happening due to the existence of such a facility, and that [can] only happen with the cancelation of this project.”

According to statements from the Public Security Police Force, authorities followed the rally with around 50 officers dispatched to guarantee public order, noting no problems occurred during the demonstration.