Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday warned Hong Kong and Macau to remember that they are part of “one China,” as pro-democracy campaigners in both semiautonomous territories call for free leadership elections.
Dozens of protesters marched through Macau’s historic center yesterday afternoon as Xi wrapped up his two-day visit to mark the 15th anniversary of the territory’s handover from Portugal — just days after police cleared the last remaining protest sites in neighboring Hong Kong.
Residents of all ages walked in the middle of the road through the historic district shouting: “We want universal suffrage” through megaphones, some wrapped in banners and others with slogans painted across their faces.
Photo: EPA
“I am uncertain about Macau’s future, so we have to come out to make noise for ourselves,” said Mark Pang, a 15-year-old high-school student who held up an open yellow umbrella — the symbol of the Hong Kong democracy movement.
The protest march culminated in a public square where about 100 demonstrators remained in the early evening, though some bystanders were confused by the scene.
“Are these people from Hong Kong?” one asked.
Xi warned both territories against a “misguided approach” in a speech.
“We must both adhere to the ‘one China’ principle and respect the difference of the two systems,” Xi said at the inauguration of Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui (崔世安), who was selected for a second term by a pro-Beijing committee in August.
“At no time should we focus only on one side to the neglect of the other. This is the only way leading to sound and steady progress. Otherwise, a misguided approach from the beginning, just like putting one’s left foot into the right shoe, would lead us to nowhere,” Xi said.
He also warned against “external infiltration and interference” to safeguard the stability of Macau. Beijing has accused foreign forces of stirring up the Hong Kong protests.
There were also reports that some visitors and journalists from Hong Kong were denied entry after being told their names were on a blacklist.
Both Macau and Hong Kong enjoy freedoms unseen elsewhere in China — but their leaders are selected by a loyalist committee.
“In the light of Hong Kong’s Umbrella movement, I think Macau people should escalate our actions for democracy,” local protest leader Jason Chao (周庭希) told reporters.
“We need a democratic political system in which the citizens can hold the officials accountable,” Chao said, adding that despite a huge economic boom in the gambling enclave in the past decade, the quality of life for residents has been on the decline, with government officials seen as too close to big business.
Similar discontent over corruption and social inequality partly underpins the Hong Kong movement.
Although Macau’s democracy movement is not on the scale of Hong Kong’s, the territory saw its largest ever protest in May over proposed cash benefits for retired Macau officials, with 20,000 people.
Xi gave his backing to Hong Kong Chief ExecutiveLeung Chun-ying (梁振英), who he met in Macau on Friday, pledging “full trust” in him after the clearance of protest camps that blocked Hong Kong highways for more than two months.
Xi’s visit was also a chance to assert that the territory needs to diversify away from casinos, which have seen revenues dive owing to a national anti-corruption drive and a stuttering economy.
He called on Macau to “promote appropriately diversified and sustainable economic development” during his speech, before leaving the enclave in the late afternoon.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS