As special administrative regions directly under the Central People's Government, Hong Kong and Macau each have a unique "resident status" system, but the difference is that the construction of the latter is much more difficult than the former, because during the Portuguese colonial period in Macau, the authorities only focused on The construction of Macao's resident identity with "Portuguese nationality" as the center has led to the exclusion of the Chinese who account for the majority of the population. It was not until the return of Macao was confirmed that it was overturned, and the legal basis was gradually established, rights and obligations were clarified, and identity was shaped.
"Hong Kong 01" recently had a dialogue with Chen Zhenyu, a Macau research scholar who published the book "Trust and Evidence - The Development of Macau ID Cards" at the end of last year, to see how the local system has changed from "decentralization" to "unification" and from "identity identification" What is the historical process of "identity certificate" for Hong Kong?
"Macau Identity Policy" 2bis
Policy solution. ID Card｜In addition to "distributing money" - how do "Macao people" construct their identity?
"Identity" is an important concept to maintain the good functioning of society. It means that individuals affirm their own identity and believe that they have the same identity as members of the group to which they belong, thereby creating a sense of belonging to the group and making the group more united and harmonious.
Chen Zhenyu emphasized in "Trust and Witness - The Development History of Macao ID Card" (hereinafter referred to as "Trust and Witness") that the emergence of the "Macao Resident Identity Card" has a significant impact on the authorities' construction of "Macau Citizenship" and its identity. Words are very important.
However, until 1992, Macau had only a variety of identification documents, and without a unified identification document, it was naturally difficult to form a highly cohesive identity.
According to "Faith and Evidence", there were various identification documents in Macao-Portuguese period - identification certificates (Portuguese citizens, non-Portuguese Chinese), identity cards (Portuguese Chinese, non-Portuguese Chinese, Hong Kong people), Residence permit (foreigners from outside China and Portugal), temporary residence permit and non-local worker status card issued to solve the problem of temporary workers and illegal immigration (mainly from mainland China).
Although the Macau-Portuguese government tried to unify the identity system in 1923, 1957, 1976-1977, and 1989, it failed each time, resulting in the long-term existence of two types of identification documents: authentication certificate and ID card in the Macau-Portuguese society. .
After the Macao SAR issued permanent and non-permanent resident identity cards respectively in 2002, the question of "who is a citizen of Macao" was satisfactorily resolved.
The picture shows the return of Macau: the handover ceremony of the two governments.
(file picture)
Macao and Portuguese government divides Macao people into three classes
First of all, this is related to many problems in the governance of the Macao-Portuguese government. For example, the main reason for the failure of the first time was that the measures coincided with the re-election of the Australian Governor and the Director of the Police Department. The measures were not strictly implemented and failed; the third time was that the date of issuance was not indicated on the identification certificate, and the British Hong Kong government refused to accept it as a proof of entry to Hong Kong, which made citizens reluctant to apply for an ID card; the fourth time was due to entering the transitional period of the handover of the Macau government. , and had to wait for the Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group to negotiate, so it was postponed.
It was not until 1992 that China and Portugal successfully implemented a unified "Macao Resident Identity Card System" under the background of confirming the return of Macao to China.
Another crux of the inability to integrate the identity system is the strategic issue of the Macau-Portuguese government—it attempts to build Macau’s resident identity with “Portuguese nationality” as the center, while ignoring that the main local residents are all Chinese.
Chen Zhenyu explained that this approach means that the authorities have imposed on the Macau society the identity and identity of "Macau citizens" centered on "Portuguese citizens". In disguise, the Chinese who make up the majority of the population are excluded. acceptance and recognition.
This exclusion of other nationalities is not unrelated to the early Portuguese colonial thinking.
After Portugal successfully established its colonial rule in Macau in the mid-to-late 19th century, the population of Macau has long been divided into three categories - Portuguese citizens, foreigners and "indigenous people".
Among them, Portuguese citizens include Chinese who believe in Catholicism or speak Portuguese. In the eyes of the authorities, they belong to a group of "assimilated", while "aboriginal" refers to Chinese who were not born in Macau, or who were born in Macau but do not believe in Catholicism.
This three-class structure is typical of Portuguese colonial society, and objectively resulted in the "apartheid" between China and Portugal.
The Portuguese Empire established colonies in different parts of the world, and at the same time adopted the colonial thinking "indigenous system" as a way of governing the colonies.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Unable to transcend the racial divide
Chen Zhenyu pointed out that this “indigenous system” system is also applicable to Portuguese overseas territories such as Angola and Mozambique, but Macau is obviously different from other overseas territories in that Portuguese people do not have both political, administrative and economic lifelines in Macau, because The advantages of economic resources have always been in the hands of the Chinese, so different ethnic groups still have to rely on each other, and there are still opportunities for communication in daily life, but the grading system is not conducive to this demand.
Therefore, although different types of Macao people occasionally drink coffee together, "blow water" and play football, they basically still live in their own worlds, "because everyone (the various ethnic groups in society) does not have a deep intersection. In addition, the different ethnic groups have different life experiences and how the authorities treat them, so that the various ethnic groups in Macau have their own perceptions of what "Macau people" are, and basically say different things. “Residence in Macau”.”
All these have made it impossible for the Portuguese-Macao government to successfully construct an identity that is exclusive to "Macao citizens".
Chen Zhenyu explained the lack with the theory of "symbolic order" - when human beings understand real life experience, they need to use various concepts and concepts to organize what they see and hear, and digest them into certain words or symbols. "Marking" not only affects the individual's psychology and thinking, but also plays an important role in social development. When there is a lack of an identity system supported by legal standards that can clearly delineate relevant rights and obligations, it is difficult for local residents to use this as a way of mutual understanding and mutual understanding. The "marks" that identify with each other cannot break through the natural value gap formed based on racial identity.
Macao scholar Chen Zhenyu discusses the impact of the ID card on the formation of Macao's "citizen identity" and the construction of identity in the book "Trust with Documents - The Development of Macao ID Cards".
(provided by respondents)
However, with the establishment of the agenda for the return of Macau's sovereignty to China, the originally very decentralized identification system has finally been gradually transformed into a unified identification system.
In 1984, when Deng Xiaoping, the late top leader of the Communist Party of China and the architect of "One Country, Two Systems", met with the Hong Kong and Macau National Day spectators, he stated for the first time that "the Macau issue will be resolved in the same period and in the same way as in Hong Kong"; The British negotiated and signed the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration in 1987, in which the concept of "permanent residents of the Macao Special Administrative Region" was proposed for the first time.
In 1992, the authorities issued a "Macao Resident Identity Card" to all citizens in Macao who held identification cards, identity cards and temporary stay permits.
According to Chen Zhenyu's records, the Macau Identity Certification Division issued a total of 327,149 Macau resident identity cards, which is similar to the total population obtained in the 1991 census.
This approach enables Macau citizens of different nationalities to have a unified "citizenship", paving the way for the "permanent resident system" implemented after Macau's return to the motherland.
Chen Zhenyu: "Trust and Certificate - The Development History of Macao ID Cards", Sanlian Publishing: First edition in November 2021.
"Dual nationality" cannot be avoided
The fact of Macao's return has forced the Macao-Portugal government to face the question of "who are the citizens of Macao", but the implementation of "one country, two systems" has brought about another issue of "dual nationality" that cannot be avoided. Macao residents are all Chinese citizens, but the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China does not recognize "dual nationality". The nationality issue of some people who also hold Portuguese nationality or other foreign passports also needs to be resolved urgently.
In this regard, according to Annex II of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, the two sides have reached a basic consensus on "dual nationality": the Portuguese side declares that after December 20, 1999, no one shall acquire Portuguese citizenship due to the relationship between Macao; the Chinese side declares Macao Chinese citizens who originally held Portuguese travel documents may continue to use relevant travel documents after the return of Macao, but they may not enjoy Portuguese consular protection within Chinese territory.
However, in the context of "one country, two systems", the identity system at that time was not yet sufficient for a complete "marked order/symbolic order".
The "Macao Resident Identity Card" issued by the Portuguese government in 1992 did not distinguish the residents into "non-permanent residents" and "permanent residents", which was not in line with the future implementation of the "permanent resident system" in the Macao SAR. ” legal requirements.
Until the draft of the "Law on Permanent Residents and Right of Abode of the Macao Special Administrative Region" was passed by the Macao Legislative Council in 1999, the permanent resident system was implemented, and the Macao Special Administrative Region issued permanent and non-permanent resident identity cards respectively in 2002, the relevant issues were finally resolved. be satisfactorily resolved.
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According to the book "Faith and Witness", the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China passed the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on March 31, 1993. Birth in Macao and residence period of more than seven years specify the qualifications and conditions for Chinese citizens, Portuguese people, and "others" to obtain permanent resident status and the right of abode in the Macao Special Administrative Bureau.
The draft law passed by the Macau Legislative Council in 1999 further stipulated the implementation rules for "ordinarily resident in Macau" and "taking Macau as a place of permanent residence" in Article 24 of the Basic Law.
The former refers to those who legally reside in Macau and take Macau as their habitual place of residence, while the latter is in principle confirmed by signing a written document and/or submitting supporting documents, but who have held a Macau resident identity card on or before December 19, 1992. Portuguese descendants born in Macau and of Chinese descent are exempt from this requirement.
As for residents of Portuguese descent with Chinese descent, the "choice of nationality" plan is adopted, which stipulates that they cannot enjoy the right to be subject to the nationality system until they have not chosen their nationality after the establishment of the SAR; Macao permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality stipulate that The right to participate in public office is also limited.
(above table)
With the improvement of the legal system of "Macao citizens" and the official issuance of "non-permanent resident" and "permanent resident" ID cards by the Macao SAR government in 2002, Chen Zhenyu believes that the order of ID cards as a marker of citizen's identity has only been achieved at this time. Complete, so that citizens (Portuguese, Chinese, foreigners) who will live in Macau for a long time in the future can understand and construct Macau's "citizenship" with the help of unified and recognized identity documents.
