Political Storm – Macau Today

Will the Pennsylvania shooting spark a political storm in Europe and Asia, thousands of miles from the United States?

On July 8, 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while participating in a campaign event in the Nara region. His death was a major loss to the then-ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally will have a decisive impact on the presidential election to be held in November next year. Trump’s response to aggression has attracted the attention of American audiences and voters. Since the candidate’s electoral prospects seem better than ever, further assassination attempts are unlikely. If Trump is elected, what changes will occur in Sino-US relations and the Russia-Ukraine conflict? All these factors will determine whether a political storm can break out.

Since the outbreak of the Sino-US trade war, the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea conflicts have continued to escalate. In February 2022, Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine evolved into a war of attrition between Russia and NATO countries. When the United States cannot mediate between the two largest ideological camps in the world, conflict is inevitable. It is important to minimize the severity of the damage caused by the conflict.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics were successfully held, but the Olympic spirit was not conveyed to the leaders of participating countries, and World War II broke out soon after. Will the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which will be held on the 26th of this month, bring a glimmer of hope to the war-torn people instead of further intensifying the conflict? Seeking peace and stability for the future of mankind should be the common desire of leaders of all countries. Political violence can never solve problems; it makes them more and more complicated.

At the same time as the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing, the election of members of the Election Committee of the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region was scheduled to be held on August 11, and 344 members of the Election Committee of the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region will be elected. 400 members of the Chief Executive Election Committee will be elected. The 348 registered candidates were evaluated by the National Security Protection Committee of the Macao Special Administrative Region and all met the national defense requirements of the Basic Law and their loyalty to the SAR. After verification, the number of eligible voters exceeded 6,200, which is more than 5,700 in the previous election. The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region does not provide for universal suffrage like the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Regardless of the election method adopted, the generation of the Chief Executive must be the result of broad representation and balanced participation, and public opinion is one of the most important factors in determining this decision. Although Macao society has not experienced major political turmoil since its return, the practice of the “one country, two systems” principle has also evolved with the situation in Hong Kong. As Macao transforms from “Macao governed by the Macao people” to “Macao governed by patriots”, the current governance characteristics of Macao are a combination of “high degree of autonomy” and “comprehensive governance by the central government”.

At first glance, Macau is a stable society, but from a development perspective, in the post-epidemic period, it still needs to work hard to catch up with the pace of economic recovery in other regions. Only those who face the storm can calm it!