Macau pro-democracy website suspends vote on universal suffrage after suspected cyberattacks from mainland China
- The group behind it said on Friday that the site was experiencing ‘abnormalities’, though it is unclear if this is connected to the earlier cyberattacks
- A recent attempt by Macau residents to hold a peaceful rally escalated into threats to organisers and led to dozens of people being identified by the police
A citizen-run voting platform in Macau asking residents whether the city’s chief executive should be elected by universal suffrage, which was a target of severe cyberattacks in the past few days, has now been suspended because of unclear “abnormalities”.
The poll, which was launched on August 11 by pro-democracy group the New Macau Association, was aimed at sparking discussions about political reform in the city.
“The voting website has faced severe cyberattacks since last week. Although I have no evidence to suggest whether the attacks are ‘state-sponsored’, I can tell that the attackers are professionals,” said Jason Chao Teng-hei, an activist who was running the website.
“Traces of their activities suggest that the origin is mainland China,” Chao added. “The purpose of the intimidation and the cyberattack is clear – to interfere with Macau people’s exercise of the right to express their view on universal suffrage.”
Sulu Sou Ka-hou, the leader of the group, said: “There are not many opportunities to discuss these issues in Macau, so we thought this was good timing to raise awareness for the need of a political reform.”
Polling was supposed to close on Sunday – the same day the city’s 400-member electoral college is set to anoint Ho Iat-seng, the only candidate running, as chief executive.