Ties between Chui family and Macau's business elite grow stronger
As Fernando Chui is poised for a second term as chief executive, the connection between his powerful family and the business elite is deep
When Macau chief executive Dr Fernando Chui Sai-on's father, Chui Tak-seng, died in 1984, the former Portuguese enclave was a very different place than it is today. A monthly salary for most was about 3,000 patacas, there were fewer than 10 casinos, and just one bridge connected the main peninsula to Taipa Island.
Fast forward to 2014, and the average salary is almost five times more, the city boasts 35 casinos, and three bridges span the Pearl River Delta.
But some things have not changed. The Chui family is one of three that retain a significant influence that stretches back generations in one of Asia's most enigmatic and densely populated cities.
Despite its transformation from sleepy backwater to the neon-lit kingpin of global gaming, the family's influence - along with that of the Ma and Ho dynasties - endures through a network of political and business links that are coming under increasing public scrutiny.
The Chui family - originally from Xinhui in Guangdong with roots going back six generations in Macau - has achieved a status that gives its members respect and deference in equal measure in a society where traditional hierarchies matter.