Protests against the Welfare Package for Chief Executives and Principal Officials

Abstract

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)In recent years, a series of protests such as the Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan and the Umbrella Movement In Hong Kong have sparked concerns over the political atmosphere In the Greater China Re- gion. Compared with Taiwan and Hong Kong, the people of Macao have long been considered politically apathetic, with a low level of political awareness and efficacy. When asked whether they would oppose the government If their Interests had been seriously Infringed, around 40% of respondents chose to remain silent, perhaps out of a desire for social harmony, whereas 92.1% had no experience of engagement In any movement.!1) it therefore came as a surprise when 20,000 people took to the streets on 25 May 2014 to protest against a bill that would have given generous ben- efits packages to outgoing Chief Executives (CEs) and top officials. In what was regarded as the biggest march since the 1999 handover, this excep- tional scenario reveals the existence of a civic culture among the youth of Macao.This unprecedented force pushed the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government to drop the controversial package and marked a milestone In the civil rights movement against Injustice. However, the movement also pointed to two more fundamental Issues that remain unresolved. The first Is the lack of separation between the legislative and executive powers. (2) The second Is extensive self-censorship In the main- stream media, leading young people and professionals to share messages of criticism and calls for direct action through online media. In general, this march Is considered to have laid the groundwork for future democratic movements.This essay will focus on this significant protest, reveal the challenges faced by democrats, and describe the change In political culture among the people of Macao, especially youngsters.The welfare packageThe MSAR government submitted the bill on Welfare Package for Desig- nated, Incumbent and Former CEs and Principal Officials (houren xianren ji liren xingzheng changguan ji zhuyao guanyuan de baozhang zhidu ...) to the Legislative As- sembly (AL In Portuguese) and won general approval on 16 December 2013, and then planned to win the article-by-article vote (xizexing biaojue ...) for final approval on 27 May 2014.The bill proposes that former CEs should receive a monthly payment equal to 70% of their last monthly salary before leaving their position. The top nine officials should be given one-off compensation of 14% of the monthly salary of former civil servants and 30% for those originally from the private sector multiplied by the number of months they have worked for the gov- ernment. In addition, the bill also provides a retroactive period until the year of 2000, which means that former CEs and top officials can also enjoy the benefits. Moreover, the bill proposes to give the CE Immunity from crim- inal prosecution during his or her term of office.Supporting views on the packageThe government claimed this bill was essential because senior officials would be barred from taking up jobs In the private sector during the first year after leaving their principal positions.!4) Supporters such as Ho Iat-seng, the president of the AL, Insisted that the bill was necessary due to the need to set up a retirement protection system for principal officials.