Letters | Why Macau is China’s obedient city, and Hong Kong the ‘rebellious’ opposite

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The focus on the gaming industry has made Macau more inward-looking, while Hong Kong is a globally connected city. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:05am, 11 Jan 2020Updated: 9:05am, 11 Jan 2020

I refer to the article, “Beijing’s governing formula may be the same but Hong Kong can never be like Macau” (December 15). I believe there are mainly two reasons to explain the striking difference between the situation of these two special administrative regions of China.

Firstly, geography forces Macau to rely heavily on the central government. Apart from one of the smallest cities in the world, it is also among the most densely populated. Therefore, it needs mainland aid not only for water and electricity supplies, but also emergency rescues after the devastation caused by Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.

Hong Kong, by contrast, is rather self-sufficient in terms of power supply and emergency services at least, and the city operates much more efficiently. We seldom ask the central government for help. As a result, a sense of gratitude has grown in Macau while Hongkongers have “no special feelings”. Furthermore, thoughts of “independence” can be spread more easily as people often regard their city as “self-sufficient”.

Secondly, Macau’s economic growth inspires public gratitude towards the mainland. Just a year before its return to Chinese sovereignty, Macau was going through hard times. The collapse of its low-end industry, combined with poor administration by the Portuguese colonial government, had left Macau with a weak economy at its handover in 1999.

However, a gift was given to Macau by the central government, when it did not object to the gaming industry. In fact, steps were taken in 2001 to inject new dynamics into it. Macau’s GDP grew rapidly, from US$6.1 billion in 1999 to nearly US$55 billion in 2018.

The focus on the gaming industry has made Macau more inward-looking, while Hong Kong is a globally connected city. Macau has also been used to a mainland-led government for longer. All these add up to mould Macau’s “obedience” and Hong Kong’s “rebellious” attitude.

While National People’s Congress chairman Li Zhanshu said, “Hong Kong should learn from Macau” on how best to implement “one country, two systems”, surely it will not be an easy task to shape Hong Kong into a “role model” just like our neighbour.