Jason Chao (center) and other organizers of the civil referendum
The organizers of a controversial civil referendum which was held one year ago covering universal suffrage and the performance of the Chief Executive are going to issue a report accusing the government of “power abuse without precedents.” According to one of the referendum’s leaders, Jason Chao, the report could be issued within the week.
Launched by the Open Macau Society, Macau Youth Dynamics and Macau Conscience, the unofficial referendum has faced a series of setbacks after the Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP) claimed that its organizers had violated the Personal Data Protection Act as they were collecting personal data for “illegitimate purposes.” GPDP claimed that the regulations state that personal data should be processed for legitimate purposes and that the Basic Law does not address the civil referendum, and therefore such polls are neither protected nor recognized by law. Several top officials, including the Chief Executive, also claimed that the referendum was illegal and that its organizers could face prosecution.
Chui Sai On was reelected on August 31, 2014, with 380 votes cast by an Electoral College comprising of 400 members. On the same day, the organizers of the referendum announced that 7,762 people, or 89,3 percent of the total, had opposed Chui’s reelection.
The civil referendum case has been marked by controversy since the launch of the voting on the streets initiative, when 24 activists were temporarily detained by the Judiciary Police, on August 24.
One year later Jason Chao received a letter from GPDP inquiring about the “illegal transfer of data to foreign territories.” The civil referendum organizers could face a fine between MOP8,000 and MOP80,000. “I was expecting the government’s suppression [of the referendum], but the extent of the abuse of power by the authorities surpassed my imagination,” Jason Chao said.
Mr Chao criticized the role played by Sonia Chan, as she was responsible for heading GPDP at the time and is now the Secretary for Administration and Justice, and also by the former Judiciary Police director Wong Sio Chak. Wong is now the Secretary for Security.
In September 2014, Jason Chao presented a complaint to the Public Prosecutions Office, claiming that authorities abused their legal powers in order to intervene in the referendum. After waiting for one year, the activist demands an investigation to the case and a pecuniary compensation.
“We want to see if the judicial system can maintain its impartiality and independence. (…) I want to be compensated by the Macau government but I do not want to make any profit from it. It’s a matter of justice,” Jason Chao alleged.
The political activist also claims that the volunteers who contributed to the civil referendum and the journalists of satirical magazine Macau Concealers “are technically under investigation,” claiming that all should have a reply ready as soon as possible.”
“I didn’t anticipate this,” he recognized, acknowledging that he disobeyed local authorities by refusing to deliver personal information (namely the ID number) voluntarily issued by the residents that took part in the referendum.”
Held between August 24 and 31, the referendum comprised of two questions, including one about the introduction of the universal suffrage and the other about the confidence of the residents in a sole candidate to assume the top position in the MSAR.
“Ultimately, we assured the public that over eight thousand persons were able to express their opposition to Chui Sai On,” Jason Chao concluded. MDT/Lusa
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