3 ms·
Probably, but voters tend to minimise risk, rather than maximise reward, hence be more worried about HK than delighted with Macau.
by YorkshireSeason 8y ago
Probably, but voters tend to minimise risk, rather than maximise reward, hence be more worried about HK than delighted with Macau.
- Apocryphon 8y agoPerhaps I'm misinformed, but I've heard that prior to the handover, neither Portugal nor China particularly wanted Macau, as it had a reputation for being a lawless mess. Certainly it has improved greatly in the decades, but it's less than a tenth of the population of HK, much less Taiwan, and so likely a territory that Beijing can afford to be hands-off towards.
- bobthepanda 8y agoMacau is also not exactly a shining example. It is very small, and extremely dependent on a single industry subject to Chinese whims. > After years of steady growth, the city's gambling revenue posted year-on-year drops for six straight months from June. The annual total for this year is widely expected to fall below the figure for last year -- 360 billion Macau patacas ($45 billion). > The city's gross domestic product in the July-September quarter decreased by 2.1% from a year earlier for the first economic contraction in five years due mainly to the slump in the casino industry, which accounts for nearly half the economy. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Anti-corruption-campaign-hurting-casino-driven-economy https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Anti-corruption-campaign-hu...
- Apocryphon 8y agoAgreed. Macau is neither an accurate nor a desirable model for Taiwan to examine when imagining a future with China. Hong Kong isn't much better, either. It is a third the population of Taiwan, and lacks the bitter history of the Chinese Civil War that Beijing and Taipei share, not to mention the issues related to indigenous peoples pre-'49.