Paulo Taipa (center)
More than one hundred friends, including several jurists, lawyers and scholars, gathered in an old Taipa village restaurant on Saturday night to bid an emotional farewell to legal adviser Paulo Taipa, who was dismissed from the Legislative Assembly (AL) last August, along with colleague Paulo Cardinal.
As of today, AL President Ho Iat Seng has failed to present a plausible reason for abruptly ceasing the collaboration of the two advisers, who are both very knowledgeable about local legislation and widely respected in the legal fraternity and the community in general.
A “sense of incredulity” was present during Taipa’s speech at the farewell event. “Over 21 years, I did my job the best I could, in complete freedom and with total devotion, because I don’t know otherwise.”
“My life was turned around in the snap of a finger, and I still don’t know why.” However, he said, “I leave Macau without any kind of rancor, because I love this town to my bones.”
As his long-time friend, lawyer Jorge Menezes, said that night, “they were sacked not for their eventual shortcomings, but for their formidable merits.”
Speaking at the farewell party, Menezes re-affirmed that the dismissals of Taipa and Cardinal were “political sackings, without a shadow of a doubt.”
Taipa will be leaving Macau at the end of this month and proceeding on to Lisbon to serve in the Portuguese public administration, after seeing “all doors being closed” for him to continue working in the SAR. PC
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