Macao: EU report highlights growing emphasis on national security that risks undermining fundamental freedoms

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The European Commission and the High Representative have today adopted their 23rd annual report to the European Parliament and the Council on political and economic developments in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). This report covers developments in 2022.

The report shows a growing focus on national security that bears the risk of undermining fundamental freedoms in Macao and eroding the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and Macao’s high degree of autonomy.

On 15 December, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill to amend the 2009 national security law. The expressed aim of the bill is to enable the law to safeguard national security to the same extent as the laws of mainland China and of Hong Kong. The amended law expands the scope of the existing offences to include non-violent actions under subversion, and further widens the definition of sedition. The scope of the charge of collusion has been broadened to include any organisation, association, and individual outside of Macao. The amended law ultimately became effective on 30 May 2023.

The year was marked by stringent COVID‑19 related social and travel restrictions. It implemented mainland China’s ‘dynamic zero-COVID strategy’. The related travel restrictions, including a two-week hotel quarantine, continued as in 2021 to prevent officials from the EU Office from visiting Macao or holding events there for much of the year. This hindered the Office’s work and limited contacts with SAR government officials.

In the first 11 months of 2022, the EU overtook mainland China to become Macao’s largest trading partner in goods, accounting for 30% of the SAR’s total trade in that period. The EU remained Macao’s fourth-largest source of foreign investment in 2021 (excluding offshore centres), after Hong Kong, mainland China and the US. According to Macao’s official statistics, the EU accounted for 5.8% of the total foreign direct investment stock in 2021.

Background

Since the handover of Macao to the People’s Republic of China in 1999, the European Union and its Member States have been closely following political and economic developments in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.

In line with the commitment given to the European Parliament in 1999, the European Commission and the High Representative issue an annual report on political and economic developments in Macao.