Abstract
After the handover, Macao is no longer a Portuguese colony but an SAR of China. Unlike Hong Kong, “the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage” and “the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage”, dubbed “double universal suffrage”, are not stipulated as being “ultimate aims” in the Basic Law of Macao. Nonetheless, Macao can enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” and the special privilege of “Macao people governing Macao” under the framework of “one country, two systems”. Because of this historical change, Macao’s political system was restructured and the public’s desire for more direct political participation rose. The liberalization of the gambling industry, which triggered dramatic economic growth and social transformation, further galvanized calls to speed up democracy and to alter the “balance of representation” in the legislature. Such demands have come not only from those who have not benefitted much from the buoyant economy (New Macau Association 2009), but also from the privileged sectors. For example, the casino operators are lobbying for a gambling industry seat in the Legislative Assembly (Macau Post Daily 27 March 2012) so as to guarantee their representation in the law-making body.
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Notes
- 1.
See Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong.
- 2.
See Annexes I and II of the Basic Law of Macao.
- 3.
At present, the Legislative Assembly has ten indirectly elected members, of whom four represent the industrial, commercial, and financial sector; two represent the labour sector; two represent the professional services sector; and two represent the social services, culture, education, and sports sector (Legislative Assembly Election 2009). For the participation of gambling operators and employees in previous direct and indirect elections to the Legislative Assembly, see, for example, Chen (2010) and Kwong (2010).
- 4.
In the annual report Freedom in the World, Political Rights and Civil Liberties are measured on a scale of 1–7, with 1 representing the highest degree of freedom and 7 the lowest. In 2004, the last edition for which Macao was assessed, the scores for Macao on Freedom Rating, Civil Liberties, and Political Rights were 5, 4, and 6, respectively. The corresponding scores for Hong Kong were 4, 3, and 5 (Freedom House 2004).
- 5.
- 6.
According to the assessment of the Freedom House (2004), Macao had fewer outspoken voices for greater political freedom as well as for more transparency in government and business than Hong Kong. Most of its daily newspapers were pro-Beijing and offered little coverage of people, groups, or activities that challenged Macao’s conservative political and business establishment. Human rights groups operated freely, but generally had little impact on the territory’s political life. Dominant labour unions were more of a political front for mainland Chinese interests than an advocate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
- 7.
The Basic Law also stipulated that “If there is a need to change the method for forming the Legislative Council of the Macao Special Administrative Region in and after 2009, such amendments must be made with the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Council and the consent of the Chief Executive, and they shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for the record”.
- 8.
- 9.
The high voting rate was due to two key interrelated factors—the “handover effect” and “bribery in the election”. The former implied that the legislative councillors could take the “through train” to the Macao SAR legislature, which was historically significant, while the later involved “abnormal social mobilization” in the hope of winning (see, for example, Yee 2001, pp. 107–127; Yee et al. 2011, pp. 131–136). As such, the voting rate was boosted.
- 10.
For instance, in Taiwan, the voting rates in the Legislative Yuan elections in 2001, 2004, and 2008 were 66.3, 59.4, and 58.7 %, respectively (Central Election Commission various years); while in Hong Kong, the voting rates in the Legislative Council elections in 2000, 2004, and 2008 were 43.6, 55.6, and 45.2 %, respectively (Electoral Affairs Commission various years).
- 11.
A non-profit making association that wishes to help exercise civic and political rights and participates in political activities can register as a “political association”. However, the requirements for registration, including a declaration with signatures of not less than 200 citizens who have registered as electors (the signatures have to be notarized at the Public Notary Office), are stricter than those for a non-profit making civic association. For details, see Identification Services Bureau (2012). The Democratic Centre of Macau (Centro Democrático de Macau) is the only registered political association in Macao.
- 12.
- 13.
The Chief Executive is elected by a 400-member Election Committee drawn from four sectors: (1) 120 from the industrial, commercial, and financial sector; (2) 115 from the culture, education, specialty, and sports sector; (3) 115 from the labour, social services, and religion sector; and (4) 50 from the Legislative Assembly, Macao deputies to the National People’s Congress, representatives of Macao members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference sector. Only the last sector is composed of individual voters. For details, see the Chief Executive Election Law (Law No. 11/2012) (Macao SAR Government 2012).
- 14.
Questions relating to political interest and frequency of participation in political activities were not asked in our 2005 and 2007 surveys.
- 15.
The Basic Law of Hong Kong (Articles 45 and 68) has laid down “the principle of gradual and orderly progress” in the road map for the territory’s democratic development. Since the ultimate aim of universal suffrage was not stipulated in the Basic Law of Macao, “the principle of gradual and orderly progress” was also not specified.
- 16.
Macao’s economy is increasingly tilting towards the gambling industry and the patrons are increasingly mainland Chinese.
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Zheng, V., Wan, Ps. (2014). Gambling Expansion and Political Development. In: Gambling Dynamism. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40749-9_6
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