Kerry Allen
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
Absolutely. And today there's been a real emphasis on that. The suggestion that 25 years on that Macau has gone from being what some media have described as a backdrop for a lot of gangster films. It's a city associated with casinos. Instead, there's been an emphasis that it's become a
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
a sports hub, it hosts the Grand Prix, it's becoming a growing place for education development, that Macau is going to be a real development hotspot in the next few years. For example, its GDP in 2023 was seven times what it was before handover. So there's a real emphasis that it's not just a city full of casinos.
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
Yes, we have. Yes, it's something that's also used to describe Hong Kong. And generally, the idea is that both Hong Kong and Macau are under the umbrella of China, even though they have their own separate governments that falls under the umbrella of the Beijing Communist Party government. So, in a lot of respects, what you get in Macau and Hong Kong is more press freedom, you get more
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
local development that isn't the same as mainland China. And also, it's worth noting that Hong Kong's chief executive has also been at these events today. So there's really a message of all three regions coming together, but for China's overall development.
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
Well, in Macau, it's always been regarded as the good boy or the good girl when it comes to its relationship with the central government. The chief executive has always been a one-horse race. So it's always been known that there's going to be a towing of the party line, working very, very closely with China. You don't get as much with Hong Kong.
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
In fact, we know in recent years there have been lots of demonstrations and protests in the city. There's a lot of British expats who might want to change the status quo and not work so closely, kind of look back on the British era much more fondly than under China's reign. But Macau has not had that relationship.
Global News Podcast
Fatalities and injuries in German Christmas market attack
It's very much been regarded as very much towing the party line and as a result, developing at a fast rate. That's how Communist Party media often report this.