Rear Window | Twin cities

Severo Portela

Understandably, China’s high-ranking officials praising Macau as a “role model” on the grounds of its scrupulous compliance with the Basic Law, as well as the better implementation of the principle of “One country, two systems”, makes an obvious contrast with Hong Kong’s Occupy Central saga.
Among others, Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, and Li Fei, NPC’s deputy-secretary general, presented Macau as an example of the right understanding of the opportunities for political, economic and social development brought to bear through the Basic Law. More than these words of comfort, the very presence of President Xi Jiping in Macau for the celebration of the 15 years of the Special Administrative Region speaks louder about China’s overall evaluation of the path followed by the small territory this side of the Pearl River Delta. For the benefit of our argument proposed in this “twin cities” column, we choose to emphasize the all-
encompassing statements of Macau Liaison Office director, Li Gang; noblesse oblige.
Li, formerly a deputy-director of the Liaison Office in Hong Kong, offered the more lively quotes around obedience and conformity to the Basic Law in Macau – again in an obvious contrast to the political demands of the Hong Kong Occupy Movement. From a standard political assessment “the whole community adheres to, supports, learns and promotes the Basic Law” to the more vivid imagery of “Macau is a place where anyone who says the Basic Law is not good will be as despised as a rat in the street,” Li Gang made his case unequivocal: it’s a case of whether one complies or one does not …to put it mildly.
We shall put aside for a while the eventual scope of the Umbrella Movement as ‘action politics’ which shall continue to unfold slowly from a not entirely committed status to a full democratic reading (of the Basic Law). Hong Kong is no longer the big SAR that small Macau would measure itself up to in a non-identical twin-sister relationship. Basic Law compliance seems to deepen the Pearl River Delta divide.
In spite of the high marks the MSAR deserved as a Basic Law model adherent and “One country, two systems” smart builder, Macau is not to be given room to breathe lightly.
Li Gang warns vehemently that Macau cannot keep on living from casinos, and the fact that it is such a rewarding industry should not be taken as an argument to relax the need to diversify the economy. The Liaison Office director even gives this orientation the weight of an imperative “developing a diversified economy is not only an important mission to the MSAR government but also a request from the Central Government”.
Recalling the support Central Government gave to Macau in order to cut down the dependence on core gaming by introducing the idea of a world leisure centre and the idea of a platform for cooperation with Portuguese speaking countries, Li Gang acknowledges that from now on this shall not be enough to develop a diversified economy or to “avoid an economic crisis”.
To answer the call of diversification and prevent economic upheaval, Macau has to build another Macau in the mainland. “[The Central Government] supports Macau to extend its entrepreneurship to the mainland and to build another Macau on the mainland, which is very helpful to the MSAR’s prosperity and stability”.
No matter how strange this may sound, Li Gang brushes aside the scale of the multi-billion-dollar construction plan in favour of the sights and sounds of an immense westward expansion of Macau’s economy and entrepreneurship along Hengqin Island. Do you find it strange, this visage of Macau and its double, evocative of St. Paul and Minneapolis?