LATEST NEWS & VIEWS FROM THE SAR

Covid-19: Macau bans int’l passenger flights for two weeks over 3 imported cases
Macau has announced a two-week ban on any inbound passenger flights from outside of China after three coronavirus cases were found in passengers arriving from overseas. The move came the same day Hong Kong banned flights from eight nations and ramped up social distancing measures, leaving the two neighbouring Chinese territories even more cut off from…

Beijing’s top envoy in Macau given new role in ‘safeguarding national security’ – state media
China’s top envoy in Macau will start advising the local government on “national security” matters, state media reported Friday, the latest move by Beijing to increase control over the gambling enclave. State-run Xinhua news agency said Liaison Office chief Fu Ziying would be in charge of “supervising, guiding, coordinating, and supporting Macau in safeguarding national…
COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Hong Kong gov’t has to admit its failings over 2019 protests to win back public trust
On December 19 Hongkongers will go to the polls to elect a new Legislative Council (LegCo). For most of us our participation is limited to choosing 20 out of the 90 LegCo members in contests curated by the Chinese Communist Party. The authorities are worried about the turnout, as they should be after Macau went…

Macau media ‘gag’ forces Portugal out of its shell to issue stinging rebuke to China over its obligations
Last week the Portuguese Government issued a strongly-worded rebuke to Beijing over a controversial recent moves to censor Macau TV and radio, calling on China to abide by its international treaty obligations towards Portugal on fundamental rights. The rebuke came after HKFP revealed new guidelines issued to roughly 40 Portuguese and English-speaking reporters by the…
FEATURES

Macau follows Hong Kong in shuttering Taiwan office
Macau said Wednesday it was closing its representative office in Taiwan, following neighbouring Hong Kong which made the same move last month in protest at Taipei’s support for pro-democracy activists. Hong Kong and Macau are “semi-autonomous” Chinese cities, although foreign policy is all but dictated by Beijing and the central government has taken an increasingly…

Macau police ban Tiananmen Massacre vigil again, citing subversion, defamation and Covid-19 concerns
Macau authorities have banned the city’s annual Tiananmen Massacre vigil for a second time, on the grounds that the event’s purpose and slogans would violate a series of local criminal laws, including instigating subversion and defamation. The Macau Union of Democratic Development, the event’s organiser, said it will appeal the police decision in the courts.…

Covid-19: Hong Kong bans flights from India, Pakistan, Philippines over mutated virus strain
Flights originating from India, Pakistan and the Philippines will be suspended for two weeks starting Tuesday at midnight, the Hong Kong government has announced. The city put in place new restrictions on April 14, banning all flights from locations where five or more passengers test positive with the N501Y mutant virus strains over a period…