Explainer | Who is Macau election hopeful Sam Hou-fai, and will lack of ‘vested interests’ prove pivotal?
Former top Macau judge Sam Hou-fai recently announced he would run for the role of city leader, officially raising the curtain on the casino hub’s coming chief executive election.
If no challengers emerge, as has been the case in most of the previous polls, the 62-year-old former head of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal will become the first leader to be born outside the city and to lack a business background.
Sam is betting on his 25 years of experience in managing the judiciary and his promise to diversify the city’s casino-dependent economy, a task the previous administration has largely failed to achieve.
While some argue that Sam’s unique background could bring fresh perspectives, others question his ability due to his lack of political experience.
The Post outlines all you need to know about the election hopeful, the coming poll and the tasks facing Macau’s next administration.
1. Who is Sam Ho-fai?
Sam’s judicial background distinguishes him from current Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng and his two predecessors, Edmund Ho Hau-wah and Fernando Chui Sai-on, all of whom came from influential business families with deep roots in Macau.
The candidate identifies himself as an “old Macanese” despite being born and raised in Zhongshan, Guangdong province. Holding a law degree from Peking University and boasting experience as a lawyer in Guangzhou, Sam moved to Macau in 1986 when the city was still under Portuguese rule.
In 1990, the local administration sent him to study law in Portugal, where he also became proficient in Portuguese.
He returned to Macau in 1993, became a local judge in 1997 and was appointed head of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal in December 1999, the year the city returned to Chinese sovereignty.
Sam had served as the top judge for 25 years until his resignation on Monday last week. He took pride in the fact that no case heard in his jurisdiction had prompted Beijing to interpret the city’s Basic Law mini-constitution.
Still, he handled many sensitive cases during his tenure, including one that endorsed a local police ban on organising a June 4 vigil to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown and another that disqualified opposition figures from elections in 2021.
2. What are his strengths and weaknesses?
Sam has likened the task of managing Macau’s judiciary to running a “comprehensive and compact administration”.
He has stressed he has lived in the city for nearly 40 years and “knows Macau as well as many famous people”.
But Ieong Meng-u, an assistant professor at the University of Macau’s social science faculty, said: “His track record in the judiciary system has nothing to illustrate he was capable of handling economic restructuring, regional collaboration or even bridging Macau with the world.”
The academic said Sam’s role as top judge was not too conducive to building a strong social network, which could have provided talent for his administration.
Former opposition lawmaker Antonio Ng Kuok-cheong said Sam had also been unable to publicly articulate his views on key policies while he sat on the bench.
Despite this, some hailed Sam as an ideal candidate in the eyes of Beijing.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant with the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think tank, said Sam’s non-local roots and his previous job had set him apart from Macau’s political and business circles.
“Sam’s lack of vested interests in Macau makes it easier for him to implement reforms,” he concluded.
Eduardo Ambrósio, president of the International Lusophone Markets Business Association, noted that Sam’s proficiency in written and spoken Portuguese – a skill not shared by previous Macau leaders – could strengthen the city’s ties with Portugal, Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking nations.
3. What will the coming election campaign look like?
In Macau’s history under Chinese rule, only one of the five chief executive elections has featured more than a single candidate, when the first leader Ho defeated Stanley Au Chong-kit in 1999.
Many have anticipated the coming poll will remain a “one-man” contest, despite Jorge Chiang, the head of the Macau Institutionalism Association and the Macau Lotus Commerce Association, expressing his intention to run.
“Macau is not a politicised society. There is no need for Beijing to allow two candidates,” explained Ieong from the University of Macau.
Sam first expressed interest in running earlier this month, shortly after incumbent leader Ho announced he would not seek a second term due to unspecified health concerns.
In his declaration to run on Wednesday of last week, Sam openly stated that the gaming sector’s uncoordinated development had created “a very large, negative impact” on society.
He vowed to diversify the local economy and engage with small businesses amid a dip in consumer spending. He also said one of the key economic policy directions was to enhance Macau’s ties with Portuguese-speaking countries and Southeast Asia.
To enter the race, Sam must secure at least 66 nominations from the 400-member Election Committee, which will also choose the next chief executive.
His full election platform is expected to be released after the two-week nomination period ends on September 12.
4. What is on the cards for the next leader?
Official data showed that Macau’s economy expanded by 25.7 per cent year on year in real terms in the first quarter of 2024. The economy also recovered to 87.2 per cent of its size at the start of 2019, before the pandemic disrupted tourism.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Macau as a special administrative region, the midway point of Beijing’s pledge to preserve its capitalist system till 2049 under the “one country, two systems” governing principle.
Some observers have said they expect Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Macau to officiate the swearing-in ceremony of the new administration, following previous practice.
In its latest five-year plan, Beijing has tasked the gambling hub with diversifying its economic base and becoming a “world-class tourism and leisure centre”.
Macau has also been told to transform itself into a cultural exchange base and platform to serve commerce and trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, urged Macau to maximise its business edge, economic foundations and cultural inclusiveness to bolster growth during a recent visit.
Lawmaker Lam U-tou said the most crucial attribute for the city’s next leader was a willingness to listen to public opinion, an area where the current administration had fallen short.
