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JULY 21, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 28 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK Unrest hits Macau too The flashpoint: 28,000 imported workers By YULANDA CHUNG Gangland shootings are down, but demonstrations are up. That is the story of Macau six months after the Chinese national flag was raised over the former Portuguese territory. On July 2, about 200 angry protesters tore down police barricades and unleashed volleys of bamboo scaffolding poles, javelin-style, into the ranks of the security forces. They replied with tear gas and water cannon. It wasn't the biggest demonstration this year, but it was notable for the degree of violence and for the fact that it was the first time since the riots of China's Cultural Revolution era in the 1960s that tear gas had been used. This demonstration, like others earlier this year, was organized by unions demanding an end to the government's labor-importation scheme. Officially, unemployment stands at 7%, but some believe it is even higher. Despite this, around 28,000 of Macau's 217,000 workers are imported, mostly mainland construction workers, but also Filipinos, who are increasingly apparent working in restaurants and shops. "Give us back our rice bowls," read the Chinese characters on a poster carried by one of 1,500 workers who rallied in May in the largest demonstration in Macau since China's Tiananmen Square killings in 1989. Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah is standing firm on the need to bring in workers to fill some of the lower-paid jobs. "If we deport the foreign workers, industry will relocate to the mainland and make matters worse," he says. In his policy address to the Legislative Assembly in March, Ho said: "The economy has already overcome its most difficult phase." Maybe. One bright spot is the marked decline in the gangland-style killings that sullied Macau's image in the period immediately before the handover. Analysts point to the arrest of feared gangsters such as 14K triad boss "Broken Tooth" Wan Kuok-koi, better cross-border coordination, a crackdown on corruption in the police force and possibly the presence in the territory of a small garrison of the People's Liberation Army. The feeling that Macau is safer may be one reason for a rebound in tourism. The number of visitors increased by 21.7% during the first five months of the year. In his March policy address, Ho stuck to generalities. He offered no far-reaching designs such as the controversial post-handover pledge by Hong Kong's Tung Chee-hwa to build 85,000 homes a year -- and thus no real targets for critics to shoot at as they have in Hong Kong. One poll showed only 5.6% were disappointed in the speech. The Economist Intelligence Unit commented: "Mr. Ho seems talented at reaching compromises where possible, and forthright in acknowledging cases where Macau cannot fight the central government." Write to Asiaweek at mail@web.asiaweek.com
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