Sunny Chan on TDM Talk Show: We need to think about the working class

The political system in Macau will see some changes in the future, but to what extent? The significance of democratic reform is yet to be defined.
The government started a diplomatic ping-pong with Beijing and is listening to what local associations have to say about political reform. Then, it will hand out a proposal to the Assembly.
To discuss democracy in Macau, Sunny Chan, a Public Administration expert from the Macau Polytechnic Institute, appeared on the TDM Talk Show this week. He is also one of the voices that called for democratic development when the government argued that there was no social consensus for that in Macau.
Sunny Chan believes that the government ‘took a while’ to reach the conclusion that there needs to be changes made to the political system. However, he said they made one good decision right off the bat: to engage in talks with Beijing early on.
But it’s also based on that the MPI Professor argued Macau’s autonomy did come with strings attached.
“According to our Basic Law, the final jurisdiction or the power to interpret the basic law should rest on the central government, the National People’s Congress. We should not look at this as an independent path.”
Sunny Chan pointed out that a similar process happened in Hong Kong. But he also pointed out the differences between the two cases. In Hong Kong, after the initial guidelines were given by Beijing, local authorities came up with a timetable for democratic reforms. Sunny Chan said Chui Sai On was prudent not to do so – a gesture that may payoff. 

Good relationship with Beijing

“I think the Chief Executive of Macau was very concerned and respectful with the central government. He wanted to ask the permission of the central government before taking any actions, before starting the discussion of the possibility of change. I think it was a good action because it will maintain a good relationship between the central government and the SAR government”.
For Sunny Chan, the fact that there is still no draft on the political reform does not worry him. He stressed that this process will be lengthy, and listening to the opinions of local associations and residents is merely the first step.
“This month is just warming up. We are not discussing the specific content or any details of the reform. We should not be so nervous this month, it’s just a warming up period”.
But for the academic, one thing is to listen, another is to listen “scientifically”. The Government should conduct a survey to know what really is the will of the Macau people when it comes to democratic reform.
“The Government needs to do more things to consult the population.  They should have some scientific survey to collect the opinion of the whole population”.
There is no scientific study like that so far, but Chan has little doubt that many people in Macau not only want change but a real change, at least in the long run: universal suffrage.
“Nowadays, both in Hong Kong and Macau, there seems to be a consensus to have direct elections for all legislators and also to have direct elections to the Chief Executive. This is the ultimate outcome, the final stage.”

One man, one vote? Yes…but not so fast

“But would universal suffrage be a good situation for Macau in five years? I have some hesitation about that,” said Chan.
Chan stressed that Macau is very different from Hong Kong, as its population is much smaller and its political arena heavily influenced by several associations.
“If we go very rapidly to direct elections it may be dominated by these associations. What I would propose would be something to upgrade the civil society, to raise the awareness of the civil rights of all citizens, in order for people to have an educated background and more understanding of the true meaning of democracy. If people are very clear about their political rights and each vote has a true meaning, if this mature civil society situation arrives, we can have direct elections,” said Chan.

Balancing the two sides of the scale

For Sunny Chan, democratic elections don’t mean getting rid of all the appointed or indirectly elected members of the Assembly. It means finding a right balance and representation of the social fabric on the political arena.
“Some indirect elections may have value to protect several small groups. Having directly elected members doesn’t necessarily mean representing all social classes. We should pay attention to the background of the legislators. For example, in the last elections over 50 percent of the legislative members came from the capitalist class or business sectors. We need to have some channel for the less privileged groups, to represent them inside the Legislative Assembly. We need to think about the working class. At this moment, in the last 10 years, the number of representatives of the working class in the Assembly is less than 10 percent. We could also have members of NGO’s working for the rights of the disadvantaged people.” 

The meaning of democracy

Sunny Chan also argued that democracy is more than voting, it’s about knowing how to live in a community. And therefore a consensus is needed in Macau.
“I think we need to have to some consensus in terms of principles. The political system should be a fair arena for different interest groups in our society. This should be a very important principle. If there is not a fair proportion of representation the disadvantaged groups lose. And the second principle is that most of Macau citizens should have a better understanding of the true meaning of democracy. Democracy is not just about fighting for my own interests; it’s a fair system in which there is respect for the rights of the minorities,” said Chan.

The SAR’s go first, China is next

Chan concluded on a practical note.
“China is a very big country. If it goes too fast to democracy there will be a terrible disturbance. We don’t want to see this. We want to go step by step, to do a democratic movement in a smooth way. To have it in Hong Kong and Macau first in order to give a positive model for mainland China and to let them know that there is a safe way to have social development along with democratic development.