RSSMacau´s Legislative Assembly has completed the legislative process of the national security bill but some residents, including Christians, fear it will mean the end of democracy and freedom of speech.
The assembly on Feb. 25 discussed and voted on each item in the national security bill, after more than two months of discussions and deliberations. The general outline of the law was already approved on Jan. 5.
In the latest meeting, 25 of the assembly´s 28 legislators voted in favor of all items in the bill. It is set to come into effect in early March, after Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah endorses it and it is promulgated in the government gazette. Two pro-democracy legislators voted against the law while one abstained from voting.
The national security law would enact Article 23 of the Basic Law, the mini-constitution for Macau after it reverted to Chinese rule in 1999. It is designed to outlaw seven kinds of acts regarded as undermining the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity or national security of China.
These are: treason, secession, subversion, sedition, theft of state secrets, foreign political organizations or groups jeopardizing national security, and political organizations or groups in Macau having contact with foreign political organizations or groups that jeopardize national security.
The bill was tabled at the Legislative Assembly for discussion in mid-December last year after revisions were made from opinions collected in a 40-day public consultation from Oct. 22-Nov. 30, 2008.
On the eve of the assembly´s Feb. 25 meeting, about 30 local residents, including Christians, gathered for a candlelight vigil to express their opposition. The pro-democracy New Macau Association organized the vigil, during which a participant pasted an adhesive tape over his mouth to protest what the group considers as the end of democracy and freedom of speech.
The two legislators who voted against the bill belong to the association. It had made an eight-point suggestion to the Macau government to amend some areas in the bill that might be abused. The suggested was rejected.
Chan Wai-chi, a Catholic member of the association, said his group is disappointed with the short period of time given for consultation and the government´s disregard of “grey areas” in the bill.
The group issued a press statement on Feb. 26 calling on all Macau residents to work toward building a pluralistic and mature civil society, and a democratic political system with checks and balances to prevent abuses of power while helping the nation to progress.
Chan, who directs the Catholic weekly Observatorio de Macau, said the legislative process has given Catholics an opportunity to get to know Church social teachings. However, he noted that Catholics need time to understand the document Gaudium et Spes (joy and hope, the Second Vatican Council´s “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World”) to appreciate their role in society.
The layman also observed that Church leaders have remained largely silent. “They might have their concerns but do not want to jeopardize their relations with the government,” he surmised.
Canossian Sister Agnes So Ying-suen, president of the Catholic Schools Council, said the majority of their members agreed that they should trust the “collective wisdom” of the government and the legislators.
The formulation of a law is a technical and professional issue, she said, adding that Catholic schools have always taught students patriotism and the need to maintain the country’s security.
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