Beyond the mass media, voices of dissent are growing louder in Macau.
Macau generally lags behind Hong Kong in democratization and public dissent. While half of Hong Kong’s legislature is popularly elected, just 12 of 29 members of Macau’s Legislative Assembly are chosen by the public, and political parties do not exist.
While critics of government policy in Hong Kong readily express their views through the media or through public protest, neither channel gets much exercise in Macau…
With the mainstream media shying away from difficult political issues, dissent is finding a home on Internet message boards and blogs, said Larry So, a political commentator and instructor at Macau Polytechnic Institute.