Like neighboring Hong Kong, Macau is supposed to be run under China’s One Country, Two Systems policy. And like with Hong Kong, the one country thing is definitely true, but the two systems part—less so.
But unlike in Hong Kong, the democratic movement here in Macau is small. Most people seem content to let the Communist Party have its way in exchange for economic prosperity. You know that draconian anti-subversion law, Article 23, that half a million Hong Kongers protested against in 2003? Well, in Macau, it was passed in 2009 without much fuss. Dissidents here, perhaps even more so than in Hong Kong, are fighting an uphill battle against the status quo.
So naturally, I just had to come here and talk with someone who shares my passion for uphill battles against the status quo. I sat down with Scott Chiang, President of the New Macau Association, a major pro-democracy NGO in Macau.
