Rear Window | Sailing charted waters

Severo Portela

Kitesurfer Hillian Siu had to postpone her pioneer friendship vol across the Pearl River Delta, from Cheung Chau Island in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the sister SAR’s Hac-Sá beach on Coloane island. As the Macau Daily Times was told, the inconvenient delay had nothing to do with a panorama of bad weather or dire winds, and even less to do with a bout of cold feet, but rather was due to unanticipated, we guess, bureaucratic problems. Again, it was a joyride across the Pearl River that went wrong because of the lack of the official clearance needed for the supporting boat.

By now the story is old stuff since the organizing group has managed to obtain the clearance to allow kitesurfer Siu to carry on this sporting adventure – an initiative inspired by the idea to raise awareness of the accumulation of plastics in the oceans.

Nonetheless, in this bureaucratic nuisance, or bore, we found an inspiring tale to address the ambitious Greater Bay Area plan, which is, in general, about to get 11 cities together to pump out economic development. Both SARs of Macau and Hong Kong are included. In more general terms we would say that this is a framework for Macau doers, those who (within the legal framework) will go full throttle with a GBA (plan) which complements the PRC 13th Five-year Plan. It is not for those who bog themselves down in grey legal areas, shortcuts, antinomies, judicial jigsaws or nightmare puzzles. People, not only in the legal fraternity, are aware that when things get too muddled, the erasure solution seems a good way out.

But let us be neither a spoiler of the positive predictions for the MSAR gaming cluster, or even the science and technology nurtured by Chief Executive Chui.  Nor let us be a judicial and political jinx on the integrity of the Basic Law.

Now we consider a number of predictions or commentaries which the alleged Chief Executive in-the-waiting, Ho Iat Seng, voiced on the relationship between the Macau Special Administrative Region and the whole Greater Bay Area. The scope of such predictions and commentary should be clarified by the CE-to-be for the benefit of those in Macau and those outside in the GBA.

According to the Chinese language daily Ou Mun Iat Pou Ho Iat Seng believes the gathering of the 11 cities shall lead to “simpler administrative procedures,” and we do not dispute the reading, but perhaps it would be better to understand what is and on what will be a simpler administrative procedure?

And which singular standard should be applied to the legislation of all 11 cities, given the fact that each part (city) establishes its own laws? Ho draws our attention to the outcome of a GBA without a singular standard…the GBA would be useless, thus making opposition and argument useless!

Ho Iat Seng cannot enlighten us about the singular standard, but, sourcing from Macau Daily Times, in his opinion the best solution for the judicial differences of the 11 cities is coordination. As an example, the Legislative Assembly president and the-almost-candidate to the top job said that Guangzhou can coordinate with other cities in drafting an overarching standard for all municipalities in the GBA.

And perhaps requiring further clarification is the idea that Macau law will be consistent with the laws of other mainland cities in the GBA cluster, mainly in the field of administrative regulations. One more layer?