UM professor says comments not racist

The professor who sparked controversy regarding his comments on his opposition to “foreigners” in the SAR said that the statements, which were made at the Annual Conference of Macao Studies 2019, did not exhibit racism.
Gu Xinhua, a professor at the University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Business Administration, told Portuguese newspaper Hoje Macau, “I don’t think it’s racist; racism is everywhere in America. I didn’t want my opinions to be public because it’s a sensitive topic and it’s personal.”
UM has yet to make comments regarding the speech its professor gave during the conference, despite repeated inquiries by the Times.
The Times also contacted lawmaker Agnes Lam, who is also the director of UM’s Center for Macau Studies, to request comments on whether Gu’s views also expressed the opinions of the center, yet no reply was given by press time.
Lam told Hoje Macau that there is a protocol within the higher education institution of not answering the questions. She added that it would be up to the university to respond.
Meanwhile, Gu’s colleagues, who are also members of the Centre for Macau Studies, have given assurances that his opinions do not represent the opinion of the majority.
Last week, the professor, who holds a PhD in financial economics from the University of Toronto, accused “foreigners,” specifically “white people,” of corrupting Hong Kong’s judicial system: “Macau’s judiciary system is not controlled by white people […] this is our advantage.”
“Hong Kong’s legal system is in the hands of white people and foreigners. Hong Kong people do not have judicial sovereignty; they only have administrative sovereignty,” he added in his speech.
Gu also opposes the support rendered by China in maintaining Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center, suggesting that Macau could replace the neighboring region as the ‘window to the world’ for the southern China region.
As previously reported, lawyer Neto Valente had also expressed his sentiments towards the professor’s speech, noting that Gu is entitled to express himself, yet implied the comments were unnecessary.
The lawyer believes that Gu’s comments does not deserve any kind of reply except to be completely disregarded.
“People that have different mindsets and values to the ones in Macau have the right to express themselves, they just don’t have the right to make such comments,” he told the press on Friday. LV