Macau in Transition Also by Herbert S. Yee A STUDY OF MACAU’S POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY A TALE OF TWO CITIES: A Comparative Study of Political, Economic and Social Developments in Hong Kong and Macau CHINA IN TRANSITION: Issues and Policies (co-editor) MACAU AT THE HANDOVER: Problems and Policies MACAU BEYOND 1999 THE MODERNIZATION OF TIBETAN REGIONS: Theory, Practice and Policies (co-editor) THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF CHINA’S UNIVERSITY STUDENTS THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF THE MACAU CHINESE (co-author) Macau in Transition From Colony to Autonomous Region Herbert S. Yee Professor Government and International Studies Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong © Herbert S. Yee 2001 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2001 978-0-333-75009-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2001 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 978-1-349-41197-9 ISBN 978-0-230-59936-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230599369 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Yee, Herbert S. Macau in transition : from colony to autonomous region / Herbert S. Yee. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-349-41197-9 1. Macau (China : Special Administrative Region)—History– –Transfer of Sovereignty from Portugal, 1999. I. Title. DS796.M257 Y44 2001 951.26’06—dc21 2001021729 10987654321 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 To my loving children Tien-wei (Tianhui) Tien-mien (Tianmin) Tien-zong (Tiancong) Tin-heng (Tianxing) Tin-weng (Tianying) This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables xi Acknowledgements xiii Introduction xv 1 Beijing’s Attitude and Strategy toward the Transition 1 A comparison of Sino-British and Sino-Portuguese relations during the transitions of Hong Kong and Macau 2 Cooperation and conflict between Beijing and Lisbon over Macau’s transition 6 The role of Xinhua during Macau’s transition 17 Conclusion 19 2 The Colonial Heritage and the Crisis of Government Legitimacy 21 The political heritage of Macau 22 The crisis of government legitimacy 33 Implications for the post-1999 Macau SAR government 37 3 The Politics of Localization 41 Macau’s civil service in transition 41 Legalization of Chinese as an official language 56 Localization of law 58 Conclusion 61 vii viii Contents 4 Macau Citizens’ Attitudes toward the Transition 63 Evaluation of the Portuguese administration’s performance 64 Confidence in the post-1999 SAR government 67 The problem of identity 71 Background variables 75 Elite attitudes toward the transition 76 Conclusion 81 5 Mass Political Culture in Macau: Continuity and Change 83 Concerns about public affairs 85 Conceptions of democracy 87 Orientation toward political participation 92 Political efficacy 95 Background variables 99 Continuity and change 103 Implications for political development in Macau 105 6 Money Politics and Political Mobilization: the 1996 Legislative Assembly Elections 107 The evolution of the Legislative Assembly elections in Macau 108 Money politics and political mobilization 114 The 1996 election results 121 Implications for Macau’s political development 124 7 The Eurasians (Macanese) in Macau: the Neglected Minority 129 A profile of the Macanese 131 The Macanese community 133 Contents ix Macanese attitudes toward the localization of the civil service 139 An uncertain future 142 Conclusions 146 8 Conclusion and Prospects for Democratization 151 The dynamics of transition 153 Prospects for democratization 158 A look toward a brighter future? 161 Notes 169 Select Bibliography 197 Index 203 This page intentionally left blank List of Tables 3.1 The distribution of place of birth for the director/chief ranking civil servants (1987) 43 3.2 Professional groups and place of birth (1987) 44 3.3 Educational level and place of birth (1991) 45 3.4 The evolution of place of birth of Macau’s civil servants (1980–98) 48 3.5 The distribution of place of birth for the director/chief ranking civil servants (1987–98) 50 3.6 The changing proportion of Macanese holding director/chief ranking civil servant positions (1987–95) 55 4.1 Sample profiles and Macau’s population profiles (1991 and 1999) 64 4.2 Evaluation of the Portuguese administration’s performance 65 4.3 Grading of the Portuguese administration’s specific performance 66 4.4 Macau’s most serious social problems 66 4.5 A comparison of Hong Kong and Macau citizens’ mood at the handover 67 4.6 Confidence in ‘one country, two systems’ 67 4.7 Confidence of post-1999 democratic development and political autonomy in Macau 68 4.8 Confidence of post-1999 development in Macau 69 4.9 Most worrying post-1999 problems 69 4.10 Should Macau increase its population? 70 4.11 Identifying with China and Macau 71 4.12 Overall impression of mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau 72 4.13 Qualifications for the Macau SAR’s chief executive 74 4.14 Self-assessment of concerns about China and Macau 74 5.1 Sample profiles and Macau’s population profiles (1991 and 1999) 86 5.2 Concerns about public affairs 86 xi xii List of Tables 5.3 Discussion of government affairs with friends and relatives 87 5.4 Conceptions of democracy 88 5.5 Positive attitude toward political rights and the principles of ‘checks and balances’ between powers 90 5.6 A comparison of Macau and Taiwan people’s positive attitudes toward political rights and the principles of ‘checks and balances’ between power branches 92 5.7 Orientation toward political participation 96 5.8 Civic competence 98 5.9 Subject competence 98 5.10 Possible actions against government wrongdoing 99 5.11 Age and attitude toward patience 101 5.12 Education and attitude toward government 102 5.13 Length of residence and tendency toward discussing government affairs with others 103 6.1 The proportion of Chinese and Portuguese legislators (1976–2001) 111 6.2 Voter turnout rate in legislature elections (1976–96) 112 6.3 Political groups in the 1996 Legislative Assembly’s direct elections and results 117 7.1 Proficiency in Chinese language among civil servants 132 7.2 Proficiency in Chinese language among directors/chief executives 133 7.3 Distribution of Macau’s high-ranking civil servants according to place of birth (1995) 141 7.4 Macanese attitudes toward the Basic Law 144 7.5 The Macanese decision to leave or to stay in Macau after 1999 145 Acknowledgements The author would like to thank all the people and institutions who have helped to make this book possible, in particular former Macau governors, Vasco Almeida e Costa and Carlos Montez Melancia, and former members of the Portuguese negotiation team on Macau’s reversion, Joao de Deus Ramos and Carlos Gaspar, as well as the enclave’s legislators, municipal councillors, community leaders, academics and civil servants who have granted me interviews. Many people, including my former students at the University of Macau, helped the research of this book with telephone surveys, inter- views and information collection. Among these helpers are Chen Mingmin, Shen Dongqing, Feng Jinming, Tan xian, Ou Kaiyi and Yu Zongjie. Thanks to Miss Ada To, Secretary of the China Studies Pro- gramme of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), who assisted me throughout, and Tam Chunyuk who prepared the entire typescript. Special thanks are also due to Jo Campling who provided generous professional advice in preparing the typescript for publication and Sally Crawford whose excellent editing makes the book much more readable. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 and part of the Introduction and Chapter 8 are derived from my previous articles on Macau: Chapter 5 is a revised and expanded version of my article published in Issues and Studies in 1999; Chapter 6 is a revised and updated version of my article in the Asian Survey in 1997; Chapter 7 is a revised and updated version of another article published by Issues and Studies in 1997; part of the Introduction and Chapter 8 is derived from my article in China Perspectives in 1999. I would like to acknowledge the following copy- right sources: Copyright 1997 by The Regents of the University of California. Reprinted from Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 10, pp. 944–60, by per- mission of the Regents. Reprinted from China Perspectives, No. 26 (November–December 1999), pp. 28–38, by permission of French Centre for Research on Contemporary China, Hong Kong. xiii xiv Acknowledgements Reprinted from Issues & Studies, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 113–32; and Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 174–97, by permission of the editor. I also wish to offer my grateful thanks to HKBU which funded the research of this book. Lastly, I wish to dedicate this book to my five loving children.