Political Culture, Social Movements, and Governability in Macao

Abstract

In this article, the author explores the inherent tension in the mixed political culture (i.e., parochial, subject, and participant) of postcolonial Macao under the reign of its first chief executive, Edmund Ho Hau Wah. The continuity of a parochial or subject political culture is reflected in the alliance between the government, pro-Beijing and probusiness elites, and traditional social organizations. Participant culture can be seen in the emergence of social movements and labor protests that challenge the government's capacity to govern effectively. The paradoxical and unaccountable system of the Macao administration and patrimonial rule, coupled with the failure of traditional social organizations in representing workers’ interests, has resulted in a growing labor movement. Demand overload, government's tardiness in tackling social problems (social inequality, discrimination, and the relative deprivation of workers), and administrative corruption have pushed workers’ grievances and tolerance to the limit, which has culminated in challenges to the legitimacy and governing capacity of the government, as shown in the “infamous” 2007 labor protest.