Political Participation and the 'Bill of Greed and Privilege' of Macau

Abstract

Much of the current debate about the citizenship of Macau people revolves around the question of participation. Several surveys and researches showed that majority of the Macau people lack regard for politics and political participation since before the handover of Macau to China. Macau people have been recognized as ‘politically apathetic’. They tended not to be involved in politics and they regarded ‘politics as dangerous’. At the same time, Macau people contained a weak civic competence and they recorded low score in political efficacy and political awareness. They barely believed that the local citizens could influence the government policies. It might be the case that they maintained a weak faith in Macau government and they believed the government would not be responsive to the public opinions. Studies showed that people seldom demonstrated their opposition or engaged in social movement even when their interests were violated by the government.