Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08HONGKONG2094
2008-11-17 08:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Hong Kong
Cable title:  

MACAU'S MIDDLE CLASS MOVES TO STAKE OUT THE MIDDLE

Tags:  PGOV PHUM SOCI MC 
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VZCZCXRO2530
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #2094/01 3220814
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 170814Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6252
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002094 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI MC
SUBJECT: MACAU'S MIDDLE CLASS MOVES TO STAKE OUT THE MIDDLE
GROUND

Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002094

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI MC
SUBJECT: MACAU'S MIDDLE CLASS MOVES TO STAKE OUT THE MIDDLE
GROUND

Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary and Comment: Newly-emergent political
coalition Civic Power seeks to represent Macau's formerly
silent middle class by staking out a position between the
SAR's marginal democratic movement and the traditional,
pro-establishment social organizations that dominate SAR
politics. The group is still finding its feet, and does not
expect to field candidates in the 2009 Legislative Assembly
(LA) elections, but hopes to use media and seminars to gain
influence. Democratic activists fear the group may be
co-opted by the government as a means of further pushing them
to the margins. Civic Power is a healthy indicator that
Macau is beginning to develop a modern civil society. The
emerging dichotomy of a more activist Macau university
student population on the one hand and a rapidly growing
number of Macau graduates of Mainland universities who return
more politically conservative, however, will impact this
development. End summary and comment.

--------------
Macau's Social Landscape
--------------


2. (SBU) We spoke with Civic Power founder Agnes Lam
Iok-fong, a Macau University journalism professor and media
commentator, about issues including the state of Macau civil
society November 6. We also discussed civil society and the
prospects for Civic Power with University of Macau Public
Administration Professors Eilo Yu Wing-yat and Liu Bolong
November 6, and democratic legislator and New Macau
Association Chief Member Au Kam-san November 7.


3. (C) Macau never really had a middle class in the past, Lam
contends, because university graduates either went into the
civil service or went to work in the casinos. Only in recent
years has the economy developed and diversified sufficiently
to produce enough young professionals, scholars and others to
represent a distinct social strata. Our contacts told us
this middle class is now beginning to find its political
voice. Yu in particular told us that traditionally
conservative Macau society was becoming more tolerant of
politically-oriented organizations, and that advocacy groups
independent of the government were appearing. Although our

contacts report the middle class tends to prefer the
anonymity of radio and television call-in programs to
published letters or statements, media have covered protest
marches this year by teachers and government civil servants
over wages and other workplace issues. All that said, Liu
notes, the middle class comprises only 20-30,000 people among
Macau's half-million or so people, or less than ten percent
of the population. From the democratic camp, legislator Au
Kam-sam expressed some bemusement about this assertion of a
class distinction between Civic Power and the democracy
movement. Although the movement is active on a number of
labor and grass-roots issues, Au told us he and fellow New
Macau Association leader Antonio Ng both come from
middle-class backgrounds.


4. (C) Overseas university education has affected the outlook
of the middle class. According to Liu, in years past, about a
third of Macau's university graduates got their degrees from
Taiwan Universities. (Note: Although Macau now has several
universities, ambitious students unable to study in the West
have traditionally favored Hong Kong and Taiwan universities.
End note.) Exposure to Taiwan's democratic development
significantly shaped their thinking, he said. This group is
now of an age to participate in organizations like Civic
Power. Yu and Liu both reported that students in Macau's own
universities were becoming more politically active through
on-line fora, although Liu was unsure as to whether the
students would participate in public events. That said,
Macau students can now attend elite universities on the
Mainland without having to take China's unified university
entrance exam, and for far less in fees than a similar
education in Taiwan. Liu argues these younger graduates are
more politically conservative and pro-Beijing on their
return. (On the other hand, Liu told us about ten percent of
the University of Macau's student body are Mainlanders, and
he sees exposure to Macau's more open society transforming
many of these students' thinking.)


5. (C) This emerging middle class society will be competing
politically with an entrenched but aging range of traditional
associations, which are both the government's traditional
base of support and almost entirely dependent on government
funding. These groups include Chinese business associations,
traditional labor unions, neighborhood organizations and
womens groups. Lam contends these groups were pro-Beijing
and anti-Portuguese rule, but had seats at thetable when

HONG KONG 00002094 002 OF 002


public policy decisions were made even before the 1999
handover. These organizations have (belatedly) realized that
they need to campaign effectively to win seats in the narrow
Macau franchise (under the Basic Law, twelve LA members are
directly elected, ten are elected by four committees drawn
from these traditional groups, and seven are appointed by the
Chief Executive). Despite extensive grass-roots
organizations, producing some success at the ballot box, our
contacts said their influence is waning with the aging of
their memberships and the growing political engagement of the
middle class.

--------------
Civic Power
--------------


6. (C) Lam told the South China Morning Post that preparatory
work for Civic Power began in 2006, but she told us the
organization as such has only existed for "a month". She
described Civic Power as a coalition of scholars, civil
servants, professionals, NGO members and artists. The group
seeks to occupy a middle ground between the established
groups mentioned above and Macau's small democratic movement.
As for elections, Lam fears that the 2009 LA elections are
too soon for Civic Power to be prepared, while the 2013
elections may be too far off to maintain momentum. Lam,
active herself as a columnist and media commentator, told us
Civic Power will keep its initial focus on public exposure
through media events and seminars. That said, she is also
aware that grass-roots work is essential in Macau's political
environment, and thus something Civic Power would need to
address to become viable as a political party.


7. (C) Politically, Lam was critical of the traditional
organizations, yet described the democrats as "the wrong
people saying the right things." While she supports
political reform, Lam contends that, since the democrats came
into being as a reaction to the June 4 events in Beijing,
they carry a burden of being "anti-government" and
"anti-Beijing". The democrats have been prudent, she
believes, in toning down ideological rhetoric in favor of
addressing grass roots concerns such as the middle-class
livelihood concerns mentioned above, but she herself still
prefers a more middle-ground position. From his side,
democratic legislator Au Kam-sam was wary that the government
might seek to co-opt Civic Power to marginalize the
democrats. While he could point to nothing to suggest that
Civic Power was interested in government support, he noted
the scarcity of funding sources in Macau for civil society,
suggesting Civic Power might one day find a government
subsidy attractive. (Note: We did not discuss funding issues
with Lam. End note.)
DONOVAN