HC Byatt Esq CMG HM Ambassador British Embassy Lisbon
M120/1(A)
17 December 1984
MACAU ELECTIONS
"}
Thank you for your letter of 5 July. I have also read with considerable interest Paul Hare's letter of 23 August about the
Macau elections.
2. I recently had a chat with Stanley Ho and he cast some light on the way matters were "arranged". Apparently the number who actually voted out of the 52,000 registered electorate was no more than 31,000. Of these the Chinese and the Communists control 15,000 and Stanley Ho's Shun Tak companies between 3000 and 4000. This control allowed the Macau Government, the Communists, Assumpçao and Stanley Ho to arrange matters in advance.
-
3. In the event the election went according to plan. The result was that Assump cao's candidates captured 3 (not 4) of the seats, the Government took 2 and the Communists 1. Assumpçao appears in practice to have lost one of his assumed candidates to the Chinese (Lao Cheok-wa). The line-up in the Assembly is therefore as follows: Macau Government 5 appointed members plus 2 directly elected; Chinese subject to Communist influence - 6 indirectly elected members plus 1 directly elected; Assumpção 3 directly elected. Stanley Ho described the result as reasonably satisfactory for the Macau Government in that Assumpcao had been cut down to size. Whether the exercise was worth launching in the first instance is nevertheless debatable. It is also clear from Hare's letter that, it had done Almeida e Costa no good in terms of his political aspirations in Portugal.
5. Stanley Ho went on to express relief at recent hints by the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wu Xuequian, in Portugal, that Macau would be treated in the same way as Hong Kong. This had created a much better climate in Macau. He was, however, disturbed by the number of mainland Chinese visitors whom he foresaw bringing increasing influence to bear on decisions on Macau. It was one thing for Hong Kong to act as host to an endless flow of Chinese provincial Governors and technical experts; the territory was big enough and sufficiently visited by other foreigners to absorb them. The diminutive nature of Macau made these China visitors far too conspicuous.
16
}
{
CONFIDENTIAL