Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Macau as part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland and the swearing in of the new executive, led by Sam Hou Fai. In Beijing’s eyes, the Macao SAR’s responsibility to the state has been fulfilled to the letter: national security law, revision of electoral laws. Above all, a political commitment to the defense of the motherland, evident in the composition of governments and legislative bodies. From this point of view, Macau is seen as the perfect example of the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. However, he also made it clear that more than that is needed.
In his speech, he made a point of highlighting Macau’s “uniqueness” as “the only place in the world with Portuguese and Chinese as official languages”. He warned of the need for “a more tolerant and open attitude” in order to “establish more cooperative ties with the outside world”. In short, to “project Macau’s image” abroad, in order to win “its place on the international stage”. In this sense, he also gave the script: “Optimize the business environment”, “renew the laws that have to do with trade” to “attract more resources and international investors” and, finally, with a focus on cultural exchanges, he called for “broadening the network of friends” and “fostering exchanges between Chinese and foreigners”.
It was with some surprise that Xi Jinping made these statements, doubting and fearing that the key elements of his speech would be focused on security. What is certain is that Xi wants Macau to continue to be different – and even more so. His statements also show that this strategy cannot be dependent on tourism, since one of the foundations of economic diversification is the entry of new investment and talent from abroad.
On the one hand, the city’s potential and advantages for and in Portuguese-speaking countries are still little known. There needs to be more promotion and the courage to create new communication channels. At the same time, we need to make good use of the autonomy that has been granted and is now being encouraged, in order to create a social and business environment that is conducive to the entry of foreign companies and talent – wherever they come from, including the mainland. As political scientist Cátia Miriam Costa points out in this issue, it is also necessary to negotiate with the central government what limits are imposed on relations with the outside world. I use the verb deliberately, because Macau has to know how to communicate the barriers it encounters along the way, creating the conditions with Beijing to fulfill its purpose, making good use of institutions like Forum Macau.
The truth is that since the end of the pandemic, the administration has carried out countless activities aimed at achieving this goal, but the fear of opening the city’s doors and sinking local employment has meant that the task has been ineffective.
There is fear of losing control of the city. At the local level, we want to reinforce the principles of “Macau governed by its people” and “priority given to local employment”. None of this must be questioned: the entry of new companies brings more (and diversified) job opportunities; the entry of new talent qualifies local staff, who are then better able to take on leadership positions in Macau, or even abroad. This is in line with the wishes of Sam Hou Fai, who wants to see Macau’s young people with more outlets beyond tourism and gambling.
Only by fulfilling its role can Macau create arguments to extend the status quo beyond 2049. In other words, by showing results, the MSAR is defending the purpose of having “Two Systems”. As Xi said, Macau belongs to the world. It’s up to the SAR to show that it wants to.
