Sam Hou Fai, chief justice of Macau, has resigned his post and announced his candidacy to become the next chief justice of the Chinese enclave, media outlets reported Wednesday. Outgoing Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has declined to seek a second term, giving ill health as the reason.
Fai’s resignation ends 25 years atop the Macanese bench at the Court of Final Appeal. According to Reuters, his election will be a formality, as he’s not expected to be opposed. The election, held by a 400-member cadre of Beijing loyalists, will be conducted on October 13.
A native of Guangdong Province, Fai would be the first non-Macanese to hold the chief executive’s position. Sixty-two years old, Fai is a graduate of the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
At the press conference announcing his candidacy, Fai laid out aims that closely tracked with the central government’s priorities. According to Bloomberg, Fai said, “For a period of time, the tourism and gaming industry developed in a disorderly manner and expanded wildly.”
He added, “Having one dominant industry is not beneficial for Macau’s long-term development and has had a very negative impact.” This accords with the economic-diversification agenda that was a leading part of the criteria laid out by Beijing for casino-concession renewal.
The longtime judge also decried the casino-centric Macanese economy as constraining the career choices of young residents. Calling for innovation and reform, Fai avoided policy specifics.
Nevertheless, Bloomberg opined that Fai’s comments “could add to the worries of the industry.” Casino stocks on the Hong Kong bourse reacted adversely, with both Sands China and MGM China down at least 2.5 percent.
The former justice also blasted the casino industry for growing and developing in an uncoordinated manner. He promised a closer alignment of Macanese economic policy with that of mainland China, according to the South China Morning Post. He also promised to uplift small businesses.
One Fai skeptic is Intelligence Macau founder Anthony Lawrance. He told Reuters, “It seems ridiculous to think that a chief justice might be qualified to be chief executive. However, it needs to be kept in mind that Macau is a small town of 650,000 people.”
