It was a theme addressed by PLATAFORMA, but which the Tribuna de Macau newspaper dissected with excellence. Portuguese lawyers consider that the law is not being respected, and that the consecration of Portuguese as an official language, “as well as the principle of its equal dignity”, is not being fulfilled either in the Courts or in the Public Administration.
It is not just lawyers who experience the degradation of the use of Portuguese, but the entire community. And the smaller it gets, the less power it has to change the current trend.
Let’s start with the factors that justify this drop: the pandemic led many Portuguese to return to Portugal. Legislative changes during that period as well, for fear of the consequences of rapprochement with China. Immigration tightened to solve local unemployment.
And this speech led the community to feel that Macau is increasingly hostile to the Portuguese (and foreigners).
The fact that the majority of the population does not speak the language, and that proportion is increasing, has natural consequences. Portuguese falls into disuse in professional sectors and a wall of understanding begins to emerge. Public Administration has little contact with Portuguese culture and the less there is, the greater the cultural barrier.
Unlike many, I don’t think this framing is on purpose. There are several interests at stake that culminate in the loss of strength of Portuguese. It wants to give priority to residents (mostly Chinese). The chips are facing inwards, giving primacy to regional integration with the Continent (politically it is what has to be done). And there is a clear bet on attracting millions of (Chinese) tourists, even if betting more on international markets.
Inevitably, these priorities diminish the focus on building the Sino-Lusophone bridge. A bridge that, by the way, cannot be resolved with bilingual talent alone. There has to be an understanding of cultures, and that is learned by interacting with communities. Without this, the commercial confidence indices will be low, because the same language is spoken, but the same thing is not spoken.
You cannot ignore the facts. The Courts and Public Administration do not give the same response to the two official languages. The Portuguese see more and more limitations in their work, and there is even pressure to be replaced by their Chinese colleagues to facilitate processes – further weakening the language.
Portuguese civil servants complain of increased difficulties in moving up the career ladder – professional training courses in Portuguese or English are canceled because vacancies are not filled (there are few Portuguese in the Civil Service). There are enormous difficulties in entering the Administration competitions, because they are asked to master the Chinese language. The newspapers themselves also experience difficulties when questions to the Government are submitted in Portuguese and the answers given in Chinese.
The lack of resources is clear, the obstacles imposed by those who should facilitate too. There is a gap with the reality predicted by Beijing and that does not seem to have repercussions in Macau. There is the promotion of a city where you breathe bilingualism and Portuguese culture, when in reality you are witnessing a degradation.
Given the context, the question is pertinent: “Why bet on bilingualism and on relations with Lusophony?” The answer is: “What else can Macao do?” Emerging industries are not unique to Macao. The city does not have these competitive advantages, quite the contrary. It does very well to develop them to create economic diversification.
But there is one characteristic that has always distinguished us; did not emerge yesterday, but seems to fade with time. Bilingualism and the intercultural canvas are the only real strengths of Macao in reaffirming its special status in the eyes of China. It is what distinguishes us in Grande Baía and gives us comparative advantages in relations with the Portuguese-speaking world. Without that, I ask, what competitive advantages does Macau have?
*Executive Director of PLATAFORMA
