Former Judge Sam Hou Fai to Stand Unopposed for Macau Leadership

Macau’s former top judge will soon attain the highest leadership position in the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

On Tuesday, Sam Hou Fai received a record 96% of the nominations to become the sole candidate for the chief executive position from a 400-strong pro-Beijing election panel. The nomination period for the SAR’s leadership election ended last Thursday.

Current leader Ho Iat Seng announced in August that he would not seek a third term as chief executive, citing poor health.

Sam, 62, stepped down as president of the Court of Final Appeal, Macau’s highest court, ahead of his announcement in late August that he would run for office. He will now stand unopposed in the October election, rendering the voting process somewhat meaningless for Macau’s citizens.

Concerns for Casino Sector?

A native of Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, in mainland China, Sam will be the first Macau chief executive to have been born outside the gambling hub. He will also be the first to hail from the legal profession as opposed to the business sector.

The panel’s emphatic support for Sam reflects his willingness to toe the party line. Certainly, his views on the gaming industry echo those of the central government in Beijing, which has long pressed for the diversification of Macau’s economy.

Beijing blames the industry for facilitating money laundering and capital flight from the mainland. The government is currently cracking down on illegal money exchanges that allow mainland gamblers to circumvent tight controls on the movement of money.

“For a period of time, the tourism and gaming industry developed in a disorderly manner and expanded wildly,” Sam said at a press briefing last month. “Having one dominant industry is not beneficial for Macau’s long-term development and has had a very negative impact.

“Macau’s long-term development is only possible with the country’s support,” he added, alluding to heightened cooperation with Beijing.

Pro-Beijing

Macau has its own financial system and a degree of political autonomy as an SAR under China’s one country, two systems policy. However, despite its capitalism, it has been far less resistant to the creeping influence of Beijing than has Hong Kong, its fellow SAR and neighbor across the Pearl River Delta.

That’s probably due to its population makeup. More than half of Macau’s 686,607 citizens have immigrated from the mainland in the past few decades. In contrast, most of Hong Kong’s population was born and raised in a liberal, free-market democracy.