Macau Expands NSL Legislation

Macau has kowtowed to China since its handover in 1999

When comparing Hong Kong with nearby Macau, the latter was always seen as the more obedient child to Beijing.

While Hong Kong loudly protested against passing Article 23, the security law back in 2003, which led the government shelving it for later, Macau happily legislated it without a fuss in 2009.

Fast forward 11 years and Beijing implemented the national security law in Hong Kong following the 2019 protests. Despite the NSL covering sedition, subversion, terrorism and secession, the city will revisit Article 23 in a bid to pass it next year.

Increased national security legislation in Macau

With the Legislative Council overwhelmingly stacked with pro-establishment politicians, it should be no problem to finally pass this controversial piece of legislation, which stoked fears of extradition to China to face trial.

However, Macau has found that it needs to catch up with Hong Kong's NSL and further expanded its own national security law legislation.

The updated law, which has come into effect, puts greater emphasis on foreign interference in the special administrative region.

The original NSL in Macau listed seven major crimes, such as treason, subversion, theft of state secrets and foreign collusion, where maximum punishments are 25 years in jail.

Meanwhile opposition to any central government department and the ideology in Beijing can be charged with subversion.

In addition Macau police now have the power to target suspects outside the city.

Now Macau's NSL similar to Hong Kong's 

Not surprisingly, critics of the new security law say it restricts people's liberties and rights in the former Portuguese colony.

Jason Chao was formerly president of the pro-democratic political party called the New Macau Association, and says the new law is "deeply concerning".

"Local journalists described the current situation as the ice age, and unfortunately the ice age is going to get colder," Chao said.

"The most worrying point is that people would not know whether or not they were committing a crime if they tried to criticise the government. We have observed how the national security law in Hong Kong has been vaguely interpreted," he said.

It seems the NSL was going to be passed anyway in both cities, even if Hong Kong didn't have the protests. But they gave Beijing the best justification for implementing it...