Macau Matters

The Macau Court of Final Appeal en banc upheld the Legislative Assembly Election Affairs Commission’s (CAEAL) disqualification of candidates brought by representatives of three democratic parties in Macau. The CAEAL is a local administrative body whose membership is appointed by the Macau Chief Executive. The democrats were noticed of their disqualification on July 9. The CFA's 70-page Chinese-language decision dropped on 31 July (no Portuguese available yet). The Court’s reasoning goes like this: Any right, even if it is "basic," cannot be absolutely unrestricted. The exercise of any basic right is regulated by law. Indeed, Macau Basic Law (MBL) Article 26 stipulates that the right of permanent residents' to vote and be elected is regulated "in accordance with the law. According to Article 6 (8) of the Macau SAR Legislative Council Election Law, amended in the aftermath of the Hong Kong oath-taking controversy in 2016, those who do not support the MBL or are ...

Macau’s Chief Executive ordered COVID testing for Macau’s entire population after the city confirmed four new coronavirus cases on 3 August 2021. The tests ran non-stop from 4 August to 7 August. The CE’s Executive Order followed an evaluation by Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center. The order is based upon Provision 3 of Article 8 of the Civil Protection Law. There is no evidence at this time of a legal challenge.  A rapid plan went into action. The government established 41 nucleic acid testing stations across the city: 27 on the Macau peninsula and 14 in either Taipa or Coloane . There were also an additional five non-government run testing stations at at Pac On Ferry Terminal, the Macau Forum building, Kiang Wu Hospital, the Workers Stadium, and the University Hospital of the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). Testing was free and appointments were not required, though lines were often long. Participants of the testing drive were req...

The National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China adopted a National Anthem Law in September 2017, setting strict punishments for anyone who disrespects the playing of “The March of the Volunteers” in mainland China. Beijing introduced the law into Annex III of the Hong Kong and Macau Basic Laws on 4 November 2017, thus requiring both governments to draft local implementing legislation. To that end, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council adopted a National Anthem Ordinance in 2020 [Legislation Publication Ordinance (Cap. 614), section 5]. The Preamble states that the legislation is enacted to promote patriotism. Part 2 spells out the standards for playing and singing the National Anthem, as well as listing the occasions upon which the national anthem must be played and sung. Part 3 creates new criminal offences, which provides in pertinent part:   (1) A person commits an offense if, with intent to insult the national anthem, the person publicly and intentionally- ...