Asia Sentinel

Recent demonstrations underscore discontent with the cocktail of sleaze, vice and corruption that propel Macau’s economy

Photo by Derrick Chang

The former Portuguese enclave of Macau has long been almost as notorious for the corruption of some government officials as for its gambling and sex industries. But mass public protest is relatively new. Worse for both the government of Chief Executive Edmund Ho and his masters in Beijing, the protests occurred on National Day, October 1.

These demonstrations followed one on May 1 when some 5,000 rallied against the illegal import of workers from the mainland, which are depressing local wages. The demonstrations turned violent, police used pepper spray and one policeman fired his pistol, injuring a demonstrator. Numerous arrests were made.

Events in fast-growing Macau offer salutary lessons for Hong Kong, where some of the same potential discontent is evident as a result of widening income gaps and collusion between big business protected by Beijing and government officials.

The protests themselves, involving some 4,000 people, were fuelled by various gripes but they were the latest of several reminders on the related issues of corruption and dynastic politics in Macau. For years Beijing has relied on a small group of so-called patriotic businessmen who have been the most important figures in Macau at least since the 1967 Cultural Revolution, when the Portuguese were forced to kowtow to the mainland, despite remaining nominal rulers – and beneficiaries of corruption   until 1999.

Although Edmund Ho’s government has kept a tight grip on Macau politics since the handover to China, the inhabitants have, if anything, been keener than ever to practice some of the freedoms of assembly and the press left to them by the departing Portuguese. For the past three years or so, Macau has been experiencing an almost unprecedented economic boom which for the first time has pushed its per capita GDP above that of Hong Kong.

But for the majority of Macanese, the statistics lie. Or at least they tell the story of how a local clique plus a small group of Hong Kong and foreign casino operators have been making billions while real incomes for ordinary workers have stagnated. Indeed Macau has become a microcosm of the mainland, where money and family connections trump good governance.

The economy has been boosted mainly by the influx of mainland tourists eager to play the tables. Their often ill-gotten mainland wealth has driven turnover at the casinos above even that of Las Vegas. In turn the prospect of an almost limitless mainland gambling market has fuelled investments in giant hotel, mall and convention projects such as the recently opened Venetian, at 3,000-room, the biggest casino in the world and a copy of the Sands group’s venue in Las Vegas.

However, not much of the billions of investment rub off on the average Macanese. The high-paying design and management jobs have gone mostly to Hon Kong and foreign people while most of the building work is done by labor imported from the mainland and paid a fraction of what Macau workers would reasonably expect. Away from the glitz of the casinos, tourist shops and high rise apartments built for sale to high-rollers, little has changed in Macau other than traffic and pollution – and public awareness of the depths of the territory’s ills. The October 1 marchers boldly carried placards accusing Ho and his government of corruption.

The former Public Works secretary was charged in August with 76 counts of bribe-taking and related offences – which at least showed that even in Macau ministers are not necessarily above the law. The same month it was revealed in the press that Labour Affairs Secretary Shuen Ka-hung was the owner of a luxury mansion being renovated by workers illegally imported from the mainland. The government initially supported Shuen but then had to back down in the face of public protest.

Also that month Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper reported that Edmund Ho had an indirect interest in the casino business of Macau’s godfather, Stanley Ho, who for long held a monopoly of gambling. The chief executive insisted that he no longer held that interest. Indeed, it was his government that ended Stanley Ho’s monopoly and brought in the Las Vegas casino barons to develop the business.

However, there is no doubting the deep connections between the chief executive’s family and both of Stanley Ho and Cheng Yu-tung, the head of the Hong Kong-based New World property group, which developed from a Macau jewelry business.

Edmund Ho’s father Ho Yin was Beijing’s front man in Macau from the early 1950s and when he died in 1983 this mantle passed to his son. The Ho family business was the Tai Fung Bank, in which the Bank of China now holds a majority stake – and from which it can doubtless monitor at least some of the cash being funneled into Macau from mainland sleaze.

Meanwhile the Cheng family in Hong Kong maintains close relations with the government of chief executive Donald Tsang. New World controls bus and ferry monopolies, its affiliates were the biggest contributors to Tsang’s campaign in the recent so-called election, and it employs Tsang’s brother, a former chief of police, in an important role.

Indeed, Macau reveals how easy it is for the Communist Party to confuse patriotism with self-interest, and to rely on nepotism rather than public support to sustain itself. Both inevitably lead to collusion if not outright corruption.

However, what worked well enough when Macau and Hong Kong were under colonial rule may not work so well now that the relatively well educated populations of the territories expect some participation in government, along with higher standards of governance than prevail on the mainland. The Macau protests may also be the harbinger of the future for Hong Kong if Tsang fails to notice that collusion and dynastic politics eventually end in disgrace if not revolution.

Comments (5)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Good job
written by Hamish, October 03, 2007

How refreshing it is to read a piece on Macau that deviates from the Macau-is-a-glorious-success narrative we're fed by so many publications hoping to leach off the gold-rush. Thank you.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

N/A
written by Robert, October 03, 2007

Nicely written piece. Keep up the good work.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

COO
written by David Schubach, October 05, 2007

Dear Sirs,

I think you have taken a very very dim view of what is really going on in Macau. There are many issues that I disagree with you on in the article, but one in particular is that the agrument that Macau citizens are not benefiting from the "boom". The managers in my company are all Macau citizens. They are all making more money than their previous employers offered them. They all have more benefits than what they had at their previous jobs.

I believe that citizens who have limited skill set are not doing well in the "new" Macau, but that is not any different than citizens in the US who were working in the manufacturing sector of the economy, but their jobs have gone overseas, primarily to China. These people suffer and need to be re-trained to find jobs. My point is that this is not unique to Macau.

I believe you have only listened to one side of the story and it is a very biased article.

Thanks
David

• 
• +0
• 
• 

Illegal employees are the norm! Ask David!
written by Onlooker, October 18, 2007

Whoever this David Schubach is, is a primary example of why clueless people should never leave home and/or come to this area.

Obviously, he seems to be one of the directors/managers in one of those casinos or whatever place it is that deals with money and women down there.

The misguided genius then tries to exhibit his shallow knowledge by stating along the lines that, "It would be all right for Mexican illegal immigrants to enter US and take up Americans' jobs. Because hey, that's what is happening everywhere else in the world."

David, you need to take a good look in the mirror and realize that sheer luck has landed you the job you have right now. But your luck will not last long. Think about it, will you?

• 
• +0
• 
• 

Excellent piece
written by a guest, November 01, 2007

Being a Macau resident (and an educated one at that-ref. David Schubach's post), I couldn't agree more with Philip Bowring's take on Macau's zeitgeist. Thanks to a toothless, compliant local media, there is almost no coverage on the negative impacts of the growth trajectory Macau has taken. That said, among the English media, Macau Business stands out in this regard-hats off to them! Sadly, Macau's beauty is now reduced to being only skin deep (and fast depleting) and the bloating ugly underbelly has been carefully kept hidden away by the powers that be in collusion with big business, lest this scares the suckers (institutional investors, other overseas players) from pouring their billions into this seemingly booming cornucopia. Will the mainstream international media kindly take note? Will the Government kindly take corrective measures to limit (if not entirely undo-that's impossible, the genie is out now) the damage? Philip, congratulations on this very bold piece and thank your lucky stars that you're not working in Macau.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment