Candidates for Macao's Legislative Assembly election must be patriots: commission

MACAO - Candidates wishing to compete in the upcoming Legislative Assembly election of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) must be patriots, the Electoral Affairs Commission for the election said on Monday.

While examining whether a candidate is qualified to stand for election, the commission not only checks if the candidate has signed relevant statements, but also needs to review if the candidate has conducted acts of not upholding the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, or not pledging allegiance to the Macao SAR, said Tong Hoi Fong, chairman of the commission, during a press briefing.

Once a candidate is found to have conducted relevant acts, he or she will not be qualified for the election, Tong said.

In addition, the commission has set seven rules regarding candidates' qualifications for the election, which requires candidates to uphold the constitutional order stipulated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, and safeguard national unity and territorial integrity.

The rules also prevent candidates from colluding with foreign or overseas forces to penetrate into the power organs of the Macao SAR. Candidates must also respect the political system established by the Constitution and the Macao SAR Basic Law, Tong said.

Tong stressed that criticizing the Macao SAR government's work is not rendered as breaking the above rules because all Macao residents enjoy the freedom of speech.

In line with the Macao SAR Basic Law, Macao's Legislative Assembly is composed of 33 seats. The SAR is set to hold the 7th Legislative Assembly election on Sept. 12 this year.

The commission announced on Friday that a total of 21 candidates were unqualified for the election for having not upheld the Macao SAR Basic Law, or not pledging allegiance to the Macao SAR.