A couple, with 20 years together, full of love – felt and lived – goes to a New Year’s Eve party. A stunning model enters the stage. Impressed, he turns to the woman, to whom, more than just faithful, he has always been dedicated – and happy. “Beautiful!” Divorce; unforgivable: “How can you admire another beauty?” This parable serves to show that ridicule has no limits. Transposing: a public servant, at a dinner with friends; he lets out an outburst: “Those people at work are increasingly paralyzed.” There’s a snort at the next table… the next day he’s fired. Or worse… if you said who knows what; who evaluates, and with criteria.
We arrived here. André Cheong, renowned jurist, bilingual ruler, leaves a warning on the door of the Executive Council: what they write on social media, or say in coffee, can be taken into account to certify the declaration of loyalty to the Macao SAR and the Mother Country; document that will be mandatory for employees to sign. Ho Iat Seng says goodbye to this pearl of a government with a high degree of autonomy – insists the political power – under instructions from the Mother Country; sorry that now applies to everything. It’s not his fault; he became just another high-ranking dignitary of an obsession that cannot be perceived, makes no sense, guarantees nothing and prevents nothing; rather it promotes anguish, fear, and incompetence. Be careful with single thinking. Why not in bed? Doesn’t the dream have to be loyal? After all, the subconscious is sometimes more decisive than the conscious. The gold is in silence, in paralysis. It is better to follow orders – if and when they are given – than to have ideas, to want to do more, better and differently.
China is a large, sovereign country, with legitimate constitutional protection over Macau’s autonomy. But today there is enormous confusion about what Macau represents – soul, memory, and political purpose – as well as about its role as a gateway to the world, designed in Beijing and propagated in Macau. Which, in fact, works for everyone. What is happening is bullying, there is no other name; it doesn’t make sense anywhere. Worse: it signals the end of an illusion and a narrative that Macau needed – and served China. Loyalty to the Public Service is a principle accepted throughout the world – not just here. There is no need to sign a declaration; this duty is implicit to the role. And it’s not just in the State.
Imagine a journalist, in this newspaper, who spends his life creating problems; disrespects the editorial line; conspires against the company, the brand, and its managers. It can’t be here; You shouldn’t even want to stay; it would be wise to fire him. It’s simple; implies common sense and normal criteria for an employment relationship. But professional dysfunction, as well as damage to the image of those who employ you, must be clear, unequivocal, following current legal standards. It’s not censorship of thinking in coffee. There are limits to everything – or there should be. This is not Macau; it is not the autonomy that China wrote; much less respects the mission of a hybrid city – gateway to the world. If this is the reform of the Civil Service, we understand.
Today, in the Public Service, this shrinkage can be seen. They do what they are told, in the format they are told. Nothing is discussed; You can’t think, because it could go wrong. Now they demand from them a formal, but abstract, commitment about everything they think and say; wherever, including in private life. Without even realizing what they can – or cannot – do, say; or think. If they want a modern and efficient society, they are going down the wrong path. If they don’t want to, it’s better to shut up the narrative of a free, modern and creative society. Don’t be proof of a lack of love.
*General Director of PLATAFORMA
