Pro-democracy camp (Macau)

The pro-democracy camp (Chinese: 民主派; Portuguese: campo pró-democracia) or pan-democracy camp (泛民主派) is a political alignment of politicians and social activists in Macau who support increased democracy and may work together in areas of common interest or by not fielding candidates against one another in elections.

For the equivalent political camp in Hong Kong, see Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong).
Pro-democracy camp
Chinese name民主派
Portuguese namecampo pró-democracia
Founded1990 (1990)
IdeologyLiberalism
Direct democracy
Radical democracy
ColoursYellow and blue
(customary)
Legislative Assembly of Macau
2 / 33

Democratic activists are usually critical of the post-1999 Macanese government and the People's Republic of China's authoritarian government, which they say does not properly represent the will of the people. Its supporters also advocate a faster pace of democratization and implementation of universal and equal suffrage. The Pan-democracy camp is aligned with and similar to, but distinct from, the Chinese democracy movement.

Members of the camp represent a very broad social and political demographic, from the working class to the middle class and professionals. Opposite to the pan-democracy camp is the pro-establishment camp, whose members are perceived to be supportive of the central government of China.

Basic beliefs

History

Members of the camp include workers and social activists who are concerned about the question of Macau sovereignty and took part in Macau's elections in the early 1990s.

History of the pro-democracy camp can be traced back to the "livelihood faction"[1] (Chinese: 民生派) in the 1980s, which provided welfare service and basic needs to the community. The faction, led by Alexandre Ho, gained popularity and political support, becoming the biggest challenge to the pro-Beijing traditional associations after winning three out of six directly-elected seats in 1988.[2] However, as the associations started doing the same and allocated many resources to citizens, younger supporters questioned the pro-livelihood belief, citing the lack of competitivity for providing welfare when compared to the traditional associations. In 1996 legislative election, Antonio Ng, who represented the advocates of monitoring and overseeing the administration, was elected as lawmaker, while Ho lost his re-election bid, marking the shift of the mainstream ideology in the pro-democracy camp.[3] Some still used "pro-democracy and livelihood camp" (Chinese: 民主民生派) to show the close relationship between the two.[4]

Criticism of the movement

The movement is criticized by numerous groups including media which is controlled by the PRC mainland Chinese government authorities and post-1999 Government of Macau as an "opposition camp", since their concerns in regards to freedom of speech, freedom of press, and self-determination contradict the political stance of the PRC government. In some cases, pan-democracy activists have even been accused of high treason or being "traitors to Han Chinese".[5]

Members of the camp

Civil organizations, individual social activists, political parties, political groups and lawmakers who share a similar belief in democracy are all considered members of this camp (the number of Legislative Deputies is shown in brackets).

The following entities are routinely referred to as members of the Pan-democracy camp:

Electoral performance

Legislative Council elections
Election Number of
popular votes		  % of
popular votes		 Total seats +/− Status
2001 22,212Steady 27.43Steady
3 / 12
 — Minority
2005 35,896Increase 28.75Increase
3 / 12
 Steady Minority
2009 47,987Increase 33.83Increase
4 / 12
 Increase1 Minority
2013 39,727Decrease 27.13Increase
4 / 14
 Steady Minority
2017 46,442Increase 26.90Decrease
4 / 14
 Steady Minority
2021 18,232Decrease 13.81Decrease
2 / 14
 Decrease2 Minority

See also

References
  1. Yu, Eilo; Chin, Natalie (2012). "The Political Opposition and Democracy in Macao: Revolutionaries or Loyalists?". Government and Opposition. 47 (1): 97–116. doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.2011.01356.x. S2CID 145507276.
  2. Yu, Eilo (2019). "論澳門一國兩制模式的可持續性". 二十一世紀評論.
  3. Reis, Arsenio (2017-09-22). "澳門民主派的傳承". Plataforma Media (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  4. ""澳門選舉與政治文化的變遷與發展方向"座談會紀要" (PDF). 澳門學者同盟秘書處. 2009-10-31.
  5. Jensen, Lionel M. Weston, Timothy B. [2006] (2006). China's Transformations: The Stories Beyond the Headlines. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-3863-X.
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