Our Desk | Historical confusions

Renato Marques

I am sure that by now everyone in Macau has heard enough about how 2019 is ‘the’ year of multiple celebrations.

Well, hearing this over and over, like music on a loop, I started to think a little more about it, especially considering why Macau has so much to celebrate this year.

My conclusion, although resulting from a complex process, is pretty simple – Macau has nothing to do with the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of communism in China – well at least until 2049, that is…

But before you panic in the face of such a bold conclusion, allow me to explain why I think that such celebrations are supposed to belong to the domains of privacy rather than among the general public.

The issue here is people tend to confuse a country or nation, and this country or nation’s political system.

Going to a more practical example: I can love my country (the land in which I was born and of which I am a national), and at the same time, not fancy the current government or even political system that is in force in that part of the planet.

I think this should be obvious, but it is not. You see, there is no problem with not liking a particular government, leader, or political system, because all these factors change, adjust, and endure modifications with time and with the development of the society.

The confusion that I am arguing against here, and what some are attempting to engrave onto people’s brains, is that to love a country is to love the government – and this extends to the president, the Prime-Minister, and all the other leaders chosen by them.

But if this is true, what happens if some of these governmental officials fall into disgrace? Does that mean that the country is disgraceful? Not at all!

So, let us not confuse topics, and keep governance separated from the governed land. This means we should also keep celebrations apart.

Logically, Macau is and always has been located in China, but the point here is that we are not celebrating 70 years of China, as China is not a 70-year-old civilization (according to the historical records, it is actually over 3,000 years old).

At this point, you may think that since 1999, Macau territory has been officially been under the administration of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and so we must comply with PRC celebrations.

This is precisely where I disagree with this idea, although I do think it is logical that mainland officials invite Macau, as part of the country, and Macau’s people, to their celebration. But, as with any invitation, it should be up to Macau people to join the party (or not).

Have you ever tried to force someone to your party? Even if you succeeded, would you expect your guests to be happy if they are forced to attend it?

Adding to this comes another historical confusion, because if we say that we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the country that rules over these lands, it is also accurate to say that Macau was born 20 years ago, when we all know that this was not accurate.

What we celebrate in Macau in 2019 is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), which is the establishment of a new political system with new leaders and new ideas for the same piece of land.

The Macau Basic Law, a document that you have surely heard a lot about, states that in the agreements that led to the creation of the MSAR, it was decided that Macau will retain, among many elements, its capitalist economic system for 50 years. We have 30 of those years yet to come.