Journalists at Macau’s public broadcaster have been ordered to promote “patriotism, respect and love” for China, as Beijing stifles dissent in its gambling enclave.
At least six journalists have resigned after the introduction of the editorial rules. It is the first time that Portuguese language media in the former colony, which was handed back to Beijing in 1999, have been targeted.
The crackdown follows Beijing tightening control over media and civil society in Hong Kong, China’s other special administrative region that is governed under the “one country, two systems” formula.
Two senior journalists at Macau’s public broadcaster TDM read out the rules, which also forbid staff from relaying “information or opinions contrary to the policies of the central government” in Beijing, at a meeting last month, Reuters said.
One of the journalists at the meeting, who did not want to be identified, said: “We knew things might change one day, but this came as a total surprise to us.”
Advertisement
The “one country, two systems” formula in Hong Kong and Macau promises freedoms not afforded in mainland China, including freedom of the press.
But Hongkongers complain they are rapidly disappearing since Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory last year, which has made it easier to crack down on dissent.
Authorities have accused Hong Kong’s public broadcaster, RTHK, the only independent, publicly funded media outlet on Chinese soil, of having an anti-government bias and last month put a bureaucrat in charge of it.
The government in Hong Kong denies that the national security law has affected people’s rights and freedoms.
In Macau, a one-hour ferry ride away, Portuguese and English media typically operate with more flexibility than the local Chinese press, which has faced tight censorship for more than a decade. Most people in the territory speak Cantonese and Mandarin, while only about two per cent of its 700,000 population speaks Portuguese.
Advertisement
Macau’s Portuguese-language media reported extensively on the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong, unlike most of their Chinese-language counterparts.
That independent coverage is likely to have caught Beijing’s attention and made it a target, even as Chinese officials praised Macau for upholding the “one country, two systems” formula as huge protests were held in Hong Kong.