Opinion
'Far better' life, greater sense of security
By Huang Xiangyang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-16 13:01
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For Macao resident Chiang Peng Kuan, the pre-handover days were the hardest, as gang wars were the order of the day.
"They (the gangsters) used to open fire at random. We didn't dare go outside after ten in the evening," the 59-year-old bus driver, who works for the local branch of China Travel Service, recalled.
There is a greater sense of security and life has become easier. Finding a job is no longer as difficult as during the pre-handover days. Salaries too are much higher now, Chiang said.
The unemployment rate is a low 3.4-3.6 percent despite the global financial crisis, and the average salary is 8,500 patacas ($1,060). The unemployment rate was 6.4 percent and median salaries were 4,900 patacas before the handover, according to official statistics.
Chiang now earns about 10,000 patacas a month. His wife Leong Sok Kam, who works at a garment factory, earns around 2,000 patacas.
"I get paid by the number of clothes I sew, but I get another 2,000 patacas from the government to meet the minimum income threshold of 4,000 patacas," said Leong, also 59.
This year, the couple received a government handout of 6,000 patacas, credited into their bank accounts.
To help local residents survive the global financial crisis, the SAR government launched a massive cash handout program last year, starting with 5,000 patacas for each Macao permanent resident. For Chiang's family of four, the handout was no small amount.
Chiang has paid off the mortgage on his 70-sq-m apartment in the densely populated North District. He said worries were few thanks to the social welfare program. "Government subsidies mean the cost of visiting a doctor is low, and we (Macao residents) don't have to pay for the treatment of chronic diseases," he said.
Chiang's daughter, a 32-year-old teacher, got married last year and moved out, but his 27-year-old son, who works for the government, still lives with them as "housing prices are too high".
Chiang's chief grouse is against the booming gaming industry.
"There are too many casinos here," and some even operate from the neighborhood, he said.
Most native Macao residents, who are simple and honest, are averse to gambling, which Chiang believes undermines family harmony. The illusion of making quick and easy money also discourages the youth from finding a job, especially in the handicrafts sector, for which Macao had once been famous, he said.
As for his plan to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Macao's return, Chiang, a key member of the local transport workers' union, said proudly that he has received an invite from the government to attend an official celebration.
"Before that, we will have a big family banquet."
