China no longer conceals impatience | Security, the key word

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Everything has changed in these 10 years. China no longer silently guarantees the autonomy of Macau and has clearly made its well-founded ideas known. Security, security, security 

In 2007/08, China officially remained silent in order not to undermine Macau’s ‘high degree of autonomy’: the Macau SAR was to legislate Article 23 when it saw fit. 

Of course, pressure was felt from Chinese academics, but formally China could not be accused of requiring a National Security Bill. 

Ten years later, everything is different. 

When exactly one year ago Chen Sixi – Macau Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government – said that external powers were trying to introduce Hong Kong-style advocacy of independence to Macau, it was clear a new atmosphere prevailed: China was no longer disguising its impatience.  

“External powers are trying to introduce ideas like ‘Hong Kong independence’ to Macau. Although the situation in Macau is better [than in Hong Kong], [the Macau Government] cannot relax, and in this respect it cannot relax. [The Macau Government] must stay on high alert,” urged Chen. 

However, these statements cannot be dissociated from the accusations levelled by the Global Times newspaper (People’s Daily…) against candidate Sulu Sou during the 2017 election campaign of being “radical” and a “defender of Macau’s independence.” 

And if we go back a few months we will find Zhang Dejiang’s words on Macau: the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress said that Macau set a good example in passing the anti-subversion law and that the region has been successful because patriotism prevails in society. Zhang also said that Macau’s people cannot afford to be agitated, emphasising that people do not waste energy and efforts in discussions that go nowhere. 

“The securitisation of the Chinese political system since President Xi Jinping became visible when he was elected Secretary-General of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 has brought about a profound transformation in the way Hong Kong and Macau have been governed,” argues Hong Kong-based scholar Sonny Lo. 

“Hong Kong and Macau’s small policies remain vulnerable in view of the size of the PRC and their geopolitical influence. Particularly in peripheral regions, including Hong Kong and Macau, they are viewed by the PRC as more vulnerable to the political influence of the West and possible infiltration,” added Lo during the last annual conference of the Hong Kong Political Science Association. 

Fernando Chui Sai On and Zhang Dejiang

On the same occasion he recalled that China’s strengthening of security could “perhaps be explained by the insecurity of the regime in power,” noting that “Xi Jinping disappeared for several weeks before taking office in November 2012 and was wounded.” After coming to power, “there have been rumours of an assassination attempt and in that sense, the security of the regime in the PRC has become a matter of greater importance.” 

There are also those who, like local political commentator Larry So Man Yum, believe that the Macau Government is “paranoid.”  

“It is not realistic to think that the idea of independence is something that will gain the same strength in Macau as in Hong Kong, but from a security point of view they want to have something to hold on to if that happens instead of approving a law in a hurry,” the former professor of the Macau Polytechnic Institute told Portuguese language newspaper Ponto Final. 

To Chui Sai On the criticism is unfounded. The Chief Executive has already made it clear that the future of the territory is to fulfil the dream of the “great renaissance of the Chinese nation” and to fulfil “the four wishes” that China’s President Xi Jinping made for Macau. 

“The securitisation of the Chinese political system since President Xi Jinping became visible when he was elected Secretary-General of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 has brought about a profound transformation in the way Hong Kong and Macau have been governed” – Sonny Lo 


National anthem law 

Law no. 5/1999 – passed on Establishment Day of the Macau Special Administrative Region on 20th December, 1999 – protects the national flag, the national emblem and the national anthem. 

The government has, however, considered it necessary to create a national anthem law, due to the legislative differences in Macau and the Mainland. The Legislative Assembly approved it last January albeit without the provision of sanctions. 

It turns out that the terms of the new law have been challenged in particular by journalists, who argue that the law is undermining editorial independence since the “media is not the propaganda machine of the regime.”