A U.S. Department of State report on human rights has charged the Chinese government with “encroaching” on freedom of the press, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Macau last year.
According to the Macau Daily Times, the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for China (which includes Hong Kong and Tibet as well as Macau) noted significant issues, including an increase in censorship.
The report accused the local government of “substantial interference with the right of peaceful assembly; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious restrictions on political participation, including the disqualification of prodemocracy candidates in elections; and trafficking in persons” in Macau.
It also recalled a statement by Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s that the government would uphold press freedom, provided the press adhered to a “love of the motherland and love of Macau” principle.
In March, however, “public broadcaster TDM’s executive committee warned its English- and Portuguese-language reporters that they must toe the patriotic editorial line and promote ‘respect and love for mainland China’ in response to the CE’s announcement.” As a result, a number of journalists resigned from the state-controlled news station.
The report also recalled that civil rights advocates criticized the “seemingly arbitrary rules for restricting peaceful assembly,” noting that, in June, the SAR courts upheld a decision to disallow the annual public June 4 Tiananmen Square vigil.
“Unlike a similar case in 2020, when Covid-19 health restrictions were cited, the courts denied permission based on the conclusion that slogans and banners that were ‘provocative, defamatory, and contrary to the truth’ would slander the PRC government.”
The U.S. mentioned the foreign worker from Burma who sent the SAR government a request to hold an assembly to protest the military coup in March. However, the government denied the request.
Macau Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak later defended the principle that “equal rights are not absolute for migrant workers,” citing Article 43 of the Basic Law, which also confirms the Public Security Police Force’s argument that non-resident workers do not have freedom of political assembly in public places.
