Attending event after event, cutting ribbons and delivering speeches, clapping hands and smiling for photos, Beijing’s top representative in Macau, Zheng Xiaosong, was all business as usual up to October 20.
“[You all] should actively contribute to . . . the prosperous development of the Macau economy plus social stability and harmony,” the head of the Chinese liaison office of Macau told a local think tank a day before falling to his death from a tall residential building in NAPE.
Despite swift responses from the central government and local authorities that no criminality was involved in the case, the official explanation of the sudden and abrupt death of Mr. Zheng leaves many questions unanswered – and which may never be answered.
His death was first reported by the central government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which released a short statement saying that the official had ‘suffered from depression’. The incident has sent shock waves through the local community, which, understandably, did not expect such a turn of events. According to the official website of the liaison office in Macau, Mr. Zheng had participated in 10 events and meetings last month prior to his untimely death.
His last reported event was a meeting with a newly established local think tank in his office building on October 19. Legal scholar Lok Wai Kin, who participated in the meeting, said the official looked normal throughout the hour-plus meeting, “except his voice was a little softer than normal.” But Mr. Lok stressed that the official could explain his ideas eruditely in the meeting: “He even walked us out to the elevator.”
HZMB
Mr. Zheng – who assumed his post in the liaison office in September of last year by replacing Wang Zhimin – was known as a low profile figure in local political circles, and was described as committed to developing ties with different sectors of society. Before his short stint in the liaison office, he had worked in various positions across the central government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance, as well as serving as Vice-governor and Secretary of the Fujian provincial party committee.
Two other people who met Mr. Zheng in events last month also said they did not detect anything out of the ordinary from his behaviour. “He looked like his usual self, but it’s difficult to see and determine whether someone has depression,” said one person, speaking on condition of anonymity.
243
Number of Chinese officials committing suicide between 2009 and 2016
The death of Beijing’s top man in the city, just three days before the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge officiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and weeks before the meeting of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, has sparked conspiracy theories and suspicions in society. Mr. Zheng was a member of the central committee, an elite ruling body of 204 officials in the Communist Party.
“People who have met him in the past few days and past few weeks did not find anything unusual about him,” said political commentator Camoes Tam Chi Keung. “Also, Beijing must have screened candidates via background checks and health checks for posts as important as head of the liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau. That’s why people find it surprising that he killed himself due to depression.”
More suicidal
The death of Mr. Zheng joins a long list of Chinese officials who have committed suicide in recent years. Peng Yaoxin, a deputy Communist Party secretary of Meizhou in Guangdong Province, was found hanged in August, while Wang Xiaoming, a deputy party secretary of Beijing, reportedly killed himself by jumping from a building in May.
A study published by the Psychology Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last year reveals that 243 Chinese officials killed themselves between 2009 and 2016, with 2014 producing the highest suicide tally of 59 officials. The report found that at least half of the deaths were in relation to officials ‘suffering depression’, given the nature of their work; namely, competition in the workspace and strict requirements for the job.
However, the rationale of ‘depression’ resulting in officials committing suicide has often been challenged by political observers and pundits. Since Mr. Xi swept to power in 2012 and launched a nationwide anti-corruption campaign, the number of unnatural deaths among officials has been on the rise, they say. Chinese media Caixin reported that there was a trend of Chinese officials under investigation for corruption committing suicide.
Lau Siu Kai, Vice-chairman of the semi-official think tank Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, understands the speculation about the death of Mr. Zheng due to its abrupt nature. “But there has been no evidence so far suggesting his death was in relation to other reasons [than suffering from depression],” he commented.
“Beijing must have screened candidates via background checks and health checks for posts as important as the head of the liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau,” said political commentator Camoes Tam. “That’s why people find it surprising that he killed himself due to depression.”
Eilo Yu Wing Yat, Associate Professor of Government Administration at the University of Macau, echoed a similar sentiment, adding, however, that the Macau Administration and central government “when trying to avoid this topic will only make the public suspicious and think there is a story behind the incident.”
Following the death of the liaison office chief, Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On only released a statement offering condolences to the family of Mr. Zheng. One day after Beijing announced his demise Macau police confirmed that they had found nothing suspicious or criminal about the case, and that no message from Mr. Zheng had been found.
Not first time
“This feels like his death could only be confirmed by the central government but [this incident] actually took place in Macau,” said Mr. Yu. Although describing the case as strange, the scholar thinks his death was less suspicious than the death of another major official in the city a few years ago.
He referred to Lai Man Wa, the former Director-general of Macau Customs, who was found dead in a public toilet in Taipa in 2015. Hours after her body was found the Macau Government announced that she had committed suicide by slitting her wrists and wrapping a plastic bag around her leg, with some official sources explaining later she had suffered from depression. The official explanation did not convincingly persuade the public given the cruel nature of her death.
Like the case of Ms. Lai, there might never be any answers to the mystery of the death of Mr. Zheng – but the wheels keep turning.
“But when [Beijing and the local government] try to avoid this topic the public will only get suspicious and think there is a story behind the incident,” said local scholar Eilo Yu.
Ho Iat Seng, President of the Macau Legislative Assembly, told media outlets that he does not believe that the death of Mr. Zheng will have any long-term impact upon the daily operations of the liaison office. “The liaison office is led by a group of people, including a few deputy chiefs, who have done well over the years,” he said.
Given next year is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region, and the election of the city’s Chief Executive, Mr. Ho, widely regarded as one of the frontrunners for the city’s top job, believes: “The central government will appoint a new liaison office chief very soon.”
Two deaths, one probation
Zheng Xiaosong was not the only chief of the Chinese liaison office here to pass away during his tenure in the 19 years of history of the Macau SAR.
Wang Qiren, the city’s first top representative from Beijing, died of cancer in 2001 in nearby Guangdong Province, after being absent from public events for several months, according to media reports at the time. He had reportedly been ill before taking up the job, the reports said.
Beijing later appointed Bai Zhijian head of its delegation here, who served in the post until 2014 before being succeeded by Li Gang. The latter, who had a ‘top cop’ reputation, was removed from his post in 2016, after falling ill and missing the important annual meeting of the central government in Beijing.
About a year later, the central government announced Mr. Li had been placed on a year’s probation for ‘severe violations of party disciplines’, a euphemism in the Chinese Communist Party for corruption.
Mr. Li’s successor was Wang Zhimin, who served in the post for just a year before being moved to nearby Hong Kong.
