2010 Macau transfer of sovereignty anniversary protest

The 2010 Macau transfer of sovereignty anniversary protest (Chinese: 2010年澳門回歸示威遊行) occurred on 20 December 2010 on the 11th anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty over Macau. Protesters complained about the lack of universal suffrage and price of housing.

Background

In December 2010, the Chinese government sent two pandas to Macau for good will. The names of the two pandas were Hoi Hoi (開開) and Sum Sum (心心), which together mean 'happy' (開心) in Chinese.[1] The Macau government had already arranged a million dollar luxury home for the pandas, while many people were living in unaffordable poor public housing.[1] The 3,000m2 panda pavilion at Seac Pai Van Park was budgeted at 80-90 million patacas (about US$10,000,000).[2]

Protest

The protest initially started with the Macau pro-democracy camp and members of the labor union. The march went from Iao Hon Park to the government offices shouting slogans and waving banners.[3] The theme was to fight against government corruption, fight for democracy, and improve livelihood. (反貪腐、爭民主、保民生).[1] About 1,200 to 1,300 people participated wearing panda masks.[1][4]

More criticism followed that the pandas should be called Po Po (普普) and Syun Syun (選選), which together mean 'universal suffrage' (普選).[1] Others called for affordable housing and universal suffrage for the 2019 Macau chief executive election.[5] Chief Executive Fernando Chui was accused of ignoring high inflation and rocketing home prices.[5]

Reactions

Fernando Chui responded saying livelihood is his prime concern and he does listen to the demands and views of the public. Meanwhile, previous Macau chief Edmund Ho won the Grand Lotus Medal of Honour.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Worldjournal.com. "Worldjournal.com Deprecated link archived 2013-02-09 at archive.today." 澳門回歸11周年 1300人遊行爭普選. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
  2. ^ Macaunews.com.mo. "Macaunews.com.mo." Macau's panda pavilion to cost 90 million patacas. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
  3. ^ a b The Standard HK. "The Standard.com Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine." Macau demo hits graft, flat prices. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
  4. ^ 881903.com. "881903.com." 澳門回歸示威遊行逾千二人參加秩序大致良好傍晚散去. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
  5. ^ a b Macaunews.com.mo. "Macaunews.com.mo." Macau protesters call for reforms. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
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