Rear Window: Damage control mode

Severo Portela

Even erstwhile unapologetic legislator Fong Chi Keong, aka the firing cannon (Fong Cannon), knew it was time to limit the damage piling up over his latest inadmissible comments on domestic violence. We take it as tasteless stuff dressed up as commentary on social harmony supposedly according to Chinese traditional thought.
Not only public outrage is/was growing, but the anger public feel/felt against the notorious appointed legislator was enough to assemble 12 different groups willing to call a public demonstration to demand an apology from FCK.
Fong Chi Keong, the Legislative Assembly ‘bête noir’, sensed he had to call a get-together with the press to condemn actual domestic violence and recant the comments that may have offended third parties. He promised to be careful when speaking in public. That is to say, the veteran lawmaker would go as far as changing his wording, but not to change his mind on zero-tolerance. Like it or not, this is classically Fong Chi Keong. He who quarreled with former AL president about the pros and cons of soliciting, or he who capped off problems related to Macau hospitals by stating that if somebody got sick they had better go to Hong Kong – today, ironically, the president of the Kiang Wu Hospital charitable association – would not reconsider comments he made unless a major political imperative came into play.
Sulu Sou Ka Hou, the leader of the Macau democrats, under “Macau Conscience”, an umbrella social organization, saw the easy political points NMA could score from the domestic violence controversy and the rejection of Fong Chi Keong’s stand. On the one hand, the situation was hot enough to promote a march under a social flag; on the other, the situation was abrasive enough to proceed by leveraging from Fong’s language to judgments on his appointed legislator quality, this way reinforcing the reasons or excuses to ask for the abolition of these anachronistic seats in the Legislative Assembly. At the same time, the ‘leverage’ would translate itself into a proxy denunciation of Chui Sai On: the CE picked Fong.
FCK also foresaw the window opening on the NMA political agenda. The legislator was said to be worried that “certain people” could take advantage of the situation, and call for the abolition of appointed lawmakers as well as indirectly-­elected ones. Sulu did…on the former.
Probably, it is not important, but Fong Chi Keong seems to be adding the indirect seats to the appointed ones mentioned by Macau Conscience. However, Fong Chi Keong has consistently held onto seats in the Macau Legislative Assembly since 1996, both indirectly-elected and directly-elected ones. Only in 2013, in its fifth legislature, did he became an appointed legislator. He has come a long way…!
Probably, it is important to recall that Fong Chi Keong has been Legislative Assembly enfant terrible since he took his place on the floor back in 1996; from day one, he has been working on his trademark, his brand as a no-sweet-talking legislator. However, he was the one to be called to carry out critical roles on a number of important pieces of legislation, such as the controversial Security Law, as it was required under Article 23 of the Basic Law. Fong was the president of the AL standing committee chosen to draft the law that prohibits acts of treason, secession and subversion against the Central Government and see it through to its final approval on 25 February, 2009.
Finally, we have to say that Fong’s outrageous comments and sexual innuendo are not exactly a case of freedom of speech, although they offer a good excuse to test protocol and the rules of immunity in the house. According to item number six of article 71 of the Basic Law on Functions and Powers, the Legislative Assembly has the power to “receive and handle complaints from Macau residents”, although the house is little known to act courageously. One more one million dollar question: who is betting on Fong’s fall? Who wants to be appointed?

PS: No need to raise Voltaire’s “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it”. When suddenly everybody seems to be Charlie…Je suis Candide.