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Pro-democracy camp | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 民主派 |
| Portuguese name | campo pró-democracia |
| Founded | 1990; 35 years ago (1990) |
| Ideology | Liberalism Liberal democracy Factions: Localism Socialism |
| Colours | Yellow andblue (customary) |
| Legislative Assembly of Macau | 3 / 33 |
Thepro-democracy camp (Chinese:民主派;Portuguese:campo pró-democracia) orpan-democracy camp (泛民主派;campo pan-democrático) is a political alignment ofpoliticians andsocial activists inMacau who support increased democracy and may work together in areas of common interest or by not fielding candidates against one another in elections.
Democratic activists are usually critical of the post-1999Macanese government and thePeople's Republic of China'sauthoritarian government, which they say does not properly represent thewill of the people. Its supporters also advocate a faster pace ofdemocratization and implementation ofuniversal and equal suffrage.
Members of the camp represent a very broad social and politicaldemographic, from theworking class to themiddle class and professionals. Opposite to the pan-democracy camp is thepro-establishment camp, whose members are perceived to be supportive of the central government ofChina.
Members of the camp include workers and social activists who are concerned about the question of Macau sovereignty and took part in Macau'selections in the early 1990s.
History of the pro-democracy camp can be traced back to the "livelihood faction"[1] (Chinese:民生派) in the 1980s, which provided welfare service and basic needs to the community. The faction, led by Alexandre Ho, gained popularity and political support, becoming the biggest challenge to the pro-Beijing traditional associations after winning three out of six directly elected seats in 1988.[2] However, as the associations started doing the same and allocated many resources to citizens, younger supporters questioned the pro-livelihood belief, citing the lack of competitivity for providing welfare when compared to the traditional associations. In1996 legislative election,Antonio Ng, who represented the advocates of monitoring and overseeing the administration, was elected as lawmaker, while Ho lost his re-election bid, marking the shift of the mainstream ideology in the pro-democracy camp.[3] Some still used "pro-democracy and livelihood camp" (Chinese:民主民生派) to show the close relationship between the two.[4]
The movement is criticized by numerous groups includingmedia which is controlled by thePRC mainland Chinese government authorities and post-1999Government of Macau as an "opposition camp", since their concerns in regards to freedom of speech, freedom of press, and self-determination contradict the political stance of the PRC government. In some cases, pan-democracy activists have even been accused ofhigh treason or being "traitors to Han Chinese".[5]
Civil organizations, individual social activists, political parties, political groups and lawmakers who share a similar belief in democracy are all considered members of this camp (the number of Legislative Deputies is shown in brackets).
The following entities are routinely referred to as members of the Pan-democracy camp:
| Election | Number of popular votes | % of popular votes | Total seats | +/− | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 22,212 | 27.43 | 3 / 12 | — | Minority |
| 2005 | 35,896 | 28.75 | 3 / 12 | | Minority |
| 2009 | 47,987 | 33.83 | 4 / 12 | 1 | Minority |
| 2013 | 39,727 | 27.13 | 4 / 14 | | Minority |
| 2017 | 46,442 | 26.90 | 4 / 14 | | Minority |
| 2021 | 18,232 | 13.81 | 2 / 14 | 2 | Minority |
| 2025 | 43,361 | 26.73 | 3 / 14 | 1 | Minority |
