First arrest under Macau’s national security law: former pro-democracy lawmaker in custody

The authorities in the former Portuguese colony have arrested Au Kam San on charges of collusion with foreign entities under Article 13 of Macau’s national security law. According to police, the former lawmaker provided “false and seditious information” to anti-China groups after 2022. The arrest comes amid growing repression in the territory. In May 2023, the local security law was toughened, while 12 candidates, including an incumbent lawmaker, were disqualified for the upcoming September legislative elections.

Macau (Asia News) – Macau saw its first arrest under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2009. Former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San, 68, was taken into custody on Wednesday, accused of having close ties with foreign groups that threaten China's security.

Au Kam San, a primary school teacher and, until 2021, a pro-democracy member of the Legislative Assembly of the former Portuguese colony, was arrested by the judicial police and handed over to public prosecutors.

The charges are based on Article 13 of Macau’s national security law, which relates to collusion with foreign entities.

According to the authorities, Au Kam San provided “a large amount of false and seditious information to an anti-China group " for public exhibitions online and abroad starting in 2022, and "stirred up hatred" against the governments of Macau and Beijing.

He is also accused of spreading disinformation to various groups, which police believe affected the 2024 elections and prompted some foreign countries to take hostile action against Macau. The police did not name the groups involved.

Au Kam San was one of the founders of the New Macau Association, an organisation that for years represented one of the few pro-democracy voices in the city.

As a pillar of the small opposition camp, he dedicated years of his political career to issues such as social welfare, corruption, and electoral reform, before deciding not to run again in 2021.

Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1999 under the "one country, two systems" model, and the city has seen fewer protests than Hong Kong.

The peak of activism in the former Portuguese colony came in 2014, when around 20,000 people took to the streets, with Au Kam San’s support, to protest privileges for retired government officials.

However, following major protests in Hong Kong in 2019, Beijing also extended its crackdown to Macau. The city, known for its many casinos banned in mainland China, expanded the scope of its national security law in May 2023, with the stated aim of preventing foreign interference.

Recent months have seen a rise in repression. In December, former judge Sam Hou Fai became Macau's new leader in an unopposed election, and this month, 12 candidates in the September legislative elections were disqualified on charges of not supporting Macau's constitution or failing to pledge allegiance to the city.

One of them is incumbent lawmaker Ron Lam, who called the reasons for the disqualification "ridiculous".

According to the online news portal All About Macau, the judicial police also took away Au Kam San’s wife, Virginia Cheang, who said she was listed as a witness and did not know the reasons for her husband's arrest.

• macau
• china
• national security law
• arrest
• au kam san
• crackdown