The visit of Wu Bangguo to Macao, the first one ever of a Chairman of China’s National People’s Congress, made the front page of newspapers in every hue as if the whole city was welcoming this high-profile figure of the central government with a bang. Due to leave office in March, Mr Wu was a member of the exclusive Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China until November, and officially No. 3 in the national line of command. It’s no wonder that traffic around Penha Hill was so out of control and the city swarming with policemen dressed-up in flashy yellow vests and wielding silicone guns! The frenzy is ending tonight, but beware: the parking ticket emission intermission will thus be over soon!
Two seemingly separate events have brought Mr Wu to Macao: the 20th anniversary of the Macao Basic Law, our mini constitution, and the 100th birthday celebration of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Macao. Also on the agenda: meetings with the different branches of government along with extensive tours of the city and even a quick stint in Hengqing island to visit the University of Macau’s new campus—perceived as a true embodiment of a better integration between the Special Administrative Region and proper China. As far as the Basic Law is concerned, Mr Wu’s tone was far more praising than when he celebrated the 10th anniversary in Beijing: at the time, he had just been appointed and it was still the latest fad to refer to “giving full play to democracy”. The National People’s Congress headed by Mr Wu endorsed the so-called “+2+2+100” political reform package for Macao last year, a far cry from what was granted to Hong Kong, and the emphasis today seems to be more on the development of a “harmonious society” and “scientific governance”, proving again that the “high degree of autonomy” bestowed upon Macao reflects what local interests interpret as being worth fighting for.
Interestingly enough, there were two full-page ads in yesterday’s Macao Daily News to welcome Wu Bangguo: one published by the Jiangmen Town Folks Association and the other one by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Macao. Town folk associations are very common among migrant Chinese communities, and by some count there are more than 100,000 people originating from Jiangmen (a nearby district in Guangdong) in Macao. The association created in 2002 boasts more than 30,000 members. People of Jiangmen origin include Fernando Chui Sai On and Francis Tam Pak Yuen, as well as legislators such as Mr Chui’s cousin and brother, and Vitor Cheung Lup Kwan: no wonder that its mission statement reads “Love Macao, love our country; promote exchanges with our beloved hometown”.
Patriotic and grassroots associations do play a very important role in the SAR and are very tightly connected to the government and deemed pro-China. Their role is to gather the support of different sections of the society in favor of government policies in exchange for being allowed to articulate their own community-based interests and get funded to do so. These patron-clients relations date back to the colonial era: in many respects the Jiangmen Town Folks Association does play a similar role as the Neighborhood Association and the Federation of Trade Union —a revamped version of the mass line. The Chamber of Commerce belongs to a somewhat higher playing field and is more concerned with grooming the future leaders of Macao. Its strongman, Ho Yin, was China’s voice in the territory in the 1960s, and Ho Yin’s son, Edmund Ho, was himself its vice-president before he became the first Chief Executive of the SAR. Today, the vice-president of the Chamber is Ho Iat Seng, a businessman who is also the vice-president of the Legislative Assembly (indirectly (s)elected) and the only member of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress. Circles, small ones…
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