MACAU ARTICLE 23: DELAYING TACTICS FROM AN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002126

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM MC
SUBJECT: MACAU ARTICLE 23: DELAYING TACTICS FROM AN
OUTNUMBERED OPPOSITION

REF: (A) HONG KONG 2109 (B) OSC CPP20081031701002

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


1. (C) Summary and comment: Some democratic activists,
journalists, and a few lawyers oppose the draft Article 23
national security legislation proposed by the Macau
government October 22 (reftels). Bill opponents are pushing
first to extend the consultation period from 40 to 90 days,
hoping to buy time to build a vocal public opposition.
Longer term, some are arguing the bill should be put off for
now so the government can address more pressing concerns.
With regard to the text, opponents are seeking clearer
definition of how information is declared secret, a "public
interest" defense for journalists reporting on sensitive
issues, and elimination of the vaguely-worded clause
criminalizing "preparatory acts". The middle class and
university students are criticizing the bill anonymously via
call-in radio and TV shows and the internet, but there is no
mass opposition to the bill. Unlike Hong Kong's Article 23
debate in 2002-3, there is also no organized opposition from
the legal profession. With a compliant legislative majority
and a largely apathetic public, the government has the means
to pass almost any national security bill it chooses. The
only real constraints on the Macau government's actions are
its public commitment to consultation and the possibility
that Beijing desires a smooth consensus in Macau to ease the
eventual passage of Hong Kong's own Article 23 legislation.
End summary and comment.

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Buying Time...
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2. (C) In a petition to the Macau government (MSARG) in early
November, the New Macau Association (NMA),Macau's leading
democratic political association, requested the MSARG extend
the consultation period on the draft Article 23 bill to
ninety days from the forty initially set (October 22 -
November 30). Officially, NMA and other opponents of the
current draft are requesting the extension because of the
importance of the bill and the need to revise the text. In
addition, University of Macau Government and Public
Administration Professor Eilo Yu told us he believes the NMA
is trying to buy time to build up public support for its
proposed changes. If nothing else, a delay might also give
the general public itself time to develop a better
understanding of the bill. A late October poll conducted by
the Macau General Union of Neighbors Associations indicated
60 percent of the public had "no clear understanding" of the
draft law. Perhaps adding to the confusion, Macau
Inter-University Institute (IIUM) instructor Martin Chung
(protect) told us he had heard MSARG officials in a public
forum making claims about the scope and applicability of the
law which are not supported by the actual text.

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...or Putting Off
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3. (C) At an IIUM-hosted forum on the draft bill,
pro-democracy lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho and "Ponto
Final" journalist Isabel de Castro both questioned whether
Macau should be considering Article 23 legislation at this
time. Coutinho questioned the urgency on two grounds.
First, he stated there had not been an incident related to
national security, sedition or state secrets in Macau since
the handover. Second, he asserted that Macau Basic Law
Article 27 requires the MSARG to pass laws on trade unions
and the right to strike. Given Macau's current problems with
wages, unemployment and imported labor, Coutinho said, these
bills should have priority over Article 23. (Note: Article
27 states that "Macau residents shall have...the right and
freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike." There
is no "shall enact laws" language similar to Article 23's.
End note.) While conventional wisdom holds that Chief
Executive Edmund Ho is tabling the legislation now because,
with a year left in his final term, he can avoid political
fallout, de Castro argues this is why the bill should not be
considered at this time. With so many other bills under
consideration and a short time left in Ho's term, she feels
Article 23 legislation will not receive the attention it
merits. Separately, NMA Legislative Assembly (LA) Member Au
Kam-san suggested to us that he would prefer to have the
government on record with a timetable by which Macau will
move to elections by universal suffrage before passing
Article 23 legislation (unlike Hong Kong, Macau's Basic Law
does not specify elections by universal suffrage as a goal).

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Concrete Changes
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4. (C) Macau lawyer Nuno Lima Bastos (who took part in the
IIUM seminar),Civic Power founder Agnes Lam, and NMA's Au,
among others, all felt Article 9's vague statements about
"preparatory acts" should be stricken from the draft. All
also felt that issues regarding classifying information as
"secret" require greater clarity. NMA's petition raised both
these issues, advocating that there be a standard of
intentionality in prosecuting those who reveal state secrets.
Both the NMA and Lam also called for a clear statement of a
"public interest" defense for journalists, which NMA defined
in its petition as "if the public interest in disclosure of
official information overrides the damage it causes."


5. (C) The MSARG has an interactive website for comments on
the draft law, but some contacts questioned whether proposed
changes would be accepted. Lima Bastos told the IIUM seminar
he had heard rumors that the LA would receive the formal bill
with the understanding the text was not to be touched. On
the other hand, Macau Post Daily Editor Harald Bruning
(protect) told us he thinks the MSARG is open to
modifications to the draft, in particular the removal or
modification of Article 9 on preparatory acts. Au told us
that NMA is planning to present amendments when the bill is
formally submitted to the LA. He believes that Beijing
recognizes the importance of getting a consensus law in Macau
to winning passage of Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong.
In terms of numbers, the MSARG has enough reliable supporters
in the LA to easily pass any bill it chooses.

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Out Among the Masses
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6. (C) University of Macau Professors Eilo Yu and Liu Bolong
both believe many in Macau's middle class are against the
current draft, but individuals are only willing to voice
their views through relatively anonymous call-in radio and TV
programs. Liu told us students are also active online, but
may not join public events opposing Article 23 legislation.
Many contacts lament the lack of a debate led by the legal
profession, which in Hong Kong proved as important in many
ways as the public protests. Our interlocutors believe that
the bar in Macau, which is still largely Portuguese, is
unwilling to enter the fray publicly, although individuals
may offer opinions openly or through their contacts. Lima
Bastos mentioned at the seminar that, although he is not an
expert on the issues (he is legal adviser to the Macau Postal
Service),he was speaking out because other lawyers with more
expertise had not come forward.
DONOVAN