MACAU OBSERVERS DISMISS HONG KONG REPORTS OF A

C O N F I D E N T I A L HONG KONG 000945 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM MC CH HK SUBJECT: MACAU OBSERVERS DISMISS HONG KONG REPORTS OF A SECOND GOVERNING TEAM REF: HONG KONG 931 Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary and comment: Macau contacts dismiss allegations by Hong Kong activists that Beijing has a "second governing team" administering Macau (reftel). Most question why the central government would feel the need: Macau's government sticks close to the central line, and Macau people are far more comfortable with the role of the Central Government Liaison Office than their compatriots in Hong Kong. Past PRC support of Macau's traditional social organizations, an influx of Mainlanders to Macau since reversion, and Mainlanders now working in Macau government offices all may be vectors of influence. That said, we concur with our contacts that a direct Beijing role in the day-to-day governance of Macau is unlikely. End summary and comment. ¶2. (C) As reported reftel, Hong Kong Central Government Liaison Office (CGLO) Research Department Chief Cao Erbao published an article in January 2008 describing "two governing teams" for Hong Kong -- the Hong Kong government and a team of central government cadres. Hong Kong activists raising the alarm over the article have alleged Cao's "plan" for the central government to run Hong Kong has already been realized in Macau. We spoke separately with Macau Inter-University Institute Academics Eric Sautede and Jose Duarte, as well as University of Macau (UM) Journalism professor and "Civic Power" leader Agnes Lam May 20 regarding the allegations. We also spoke with proto-democratic New Macau Association (NMA) legislators Au Kam-san and (Antonio) Ng Kuok-cheung, and earlier with Professor University of Macau Professor Eilo Yu. (Please protect sources throughout.) ¶3. (C) Our contacts uniformly rejected the idea that Mainland cadres were working in parallel with Macau's policy bureaux in the administration of Macau, as alleged by Hong Kong activists. All agreed that Beijing's influence in Macau was great, with the subtext that direct administration would be unnecessary given the willingness of the Macau government to follow Beijing's line. UM's Yu noted Macau people in general are much more comfortable with a Mainland role in Macau than are Hong Kong people, which allows Macau's CGLO to be more visible in the community. IIUM's Duarte noted the demographic shift in Macau since the time of the handover, with about half the current population now Mainland-born first-generation immigrants. UM's Lam pointed out that, since the turmoil of the 1960's, which effectively relegated the Portuguese administration to caretaker status until the inevitable handover, most of Macau's traditional social organizations are PRC-backed. ¶4. (C) NMA's Ng told us there are Mainland cadres working in Macau's policy bureaux. We have also met Mainlanders attached to the Macau administration, apparently to provide manpower in deficit skill-sets such as law. For example, a contact told us the Article 23 bill was drafted by a Mainland lawyer, although the head of the responsible office is Macau Chinese. (Note: Unlike in Hong Kong, where Chinese were represented at the highest ranks of government, expatriate Portuguese staffed a broad range of positions, leaving Macau with fewer trained civil servants and legal professionals at the handover. End note.) Lam pointed to a number of Mainlanders who studied abroad in Portugal or learned Portuguese in Beijing and then later relocated to Macau and joined the government -- "who knows if they were sent?" That said, we note there are also still Portuguese working in the Macau government, either continuing their pre-handover positions or on detail from the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other agencies. Macau civil servants are routinely sent to the Mainland for training, which some see as a form of indoctrination. However, IIUM's Sautede told us his contacts among the civil service report going through the motions in theory classes, paying real attention only to sessions on key economic and policy issues. DONOVAN