Lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho apologised to the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government yesterday for his comments about not having been invited to a recent dinner for representatives of the local Portuguese and Macanese communities hosted by the office recently.
Customarily, the term Macanese refers to Macau’s residents of mixed Portuguese and Asian descent.
The Portuguese-language newspaper Ponto Final broke the news on June 13, saying that Jorge Valente, a Macanese businessman who is now the third-ranked candidate of the electoral list headed by lawmaker Melinda Chan Mei Yi, had addressed the dinner.
Coutinho was quoted as saying that the dinner was organised “on purpose” so that a “supposed candidate” in the upcoming election could address the event. Coutinho, a retired career civil servant, said for a dinner organised by the central government “it’s a serious matter if only one of the two sides is invited.” He reportedly described the incident as a breach of the principle of the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee (CAEAL) that the election must be fair.
Radio Macau also quoted Coutinho as saying that he and his group “are one of the biggest supporters of [President] Xi Jinping”. He blamed “the people who work here in the Liaison Office” for the incident, adding he hoped that Xi could come to Macau “for a thorough clean out”, according to Radio Macau.
Coutinho published a statement in the Chinese language newspaper Macao Daily News yesterday, saying that he had spread “unsubstantiated speculation” about the dinner, adding his “extremely inappropriate” remarks had had a “bad effect” on the office.
At the end of his statement, Coutinho said “all” residents, including Macanese, agreed that the office cares for the Macanese community and has been contributing to the harmony of society. He also said he would like to express his gratitude to the office for its contributions to the development of the city.
Coutinho, who is of Goanese descent, is a prominent member of the Macanese community.
When asked by The Macau Post Daily last night to comment on his formal apology, Coutinho said he had nothing else to add.
The apology in Chinese was published in the form of a commercial advertisement.
Commenting on Coutinho’s statement, the office told the Macao Daily News yesterday that the office was willing to “listen to his words and watch his deeds”. According to the report, the office will continue to stay in touch with Macau people from various sectors and support the chief executive and the local government in administering Macau in accordance with the law.
The director of the office, Wang Zhimin, is the central government’s highest-ranking official posted to Macau.
