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70 Eilo Yu Wing Yat tendering system (Macao Daily News, April 23, 2009). These developments provide some evidence that legislators have been seeking to respond to demands for greater accountability and transparency in the critical areas of land and public ¿nance. Legislators have also sought to extend their role and participation in the policy process with the aim of improving government performance. Towards the end of her term as President, Susanna Chou became a strong advocate of strengthening the role of theAssembly in making policy (Macao Daily News,August 14, 2009). She argued that the government could not make good policy without the input of legislators and that policy had to be written in the form of law; otherwise, the administration, she said, would face dif¿culties in implementation. She criticised the executive branch for lacking a legislative plan and for expecting the Assembly to make law in a very short time, as was evident in the process for the Legal Framework on Gambling and Casino Operation in 2001 and the Chief Executive Election Law in 2004 (Macao Daily News,August 14, 2009).As a result of this pressure, she claimed, the quality of legislation had suffered. Chou’s remarks reÀected the perception that the executive branch had undermined the legislature’s efforts to become more involved in the making of public policy. Case Study: The Making of Labour Policy The formulation of labour policy demonstrates the Legislative Assembly’s growing inÀuence in the policy process. Labour issues have been among the major causes of social instability in Macao. There were violent clashes between the police and protesters at the May Day demonstrations in 2000, 2006, 2007 and 2010. As a response to these events, the government has begun to reform its labour policy while recognising that its lack of capacity to implement policy means that it will need support from various social and political groups and organisations, including the legislature. Therefore, the development of labour policy over time shows the way in which the government’s relationship to the legislature has changed. Before the establishment of the Legislative Assembly, the colonial government issued decree laws to regulate labour processes as well as to protect the interests of the working class. For instance, in the 1960s, the Macao Governor issued various decree laws covering working hours and holidays embodying the principles of the International Labour Organization. When the LegislativeAssembly was inaugurated in 1976, the Macao government continued to rely on decree law in making policy on matters such as workplace hygiene and the protection of labour. Disregarding opposition from the trade unions, the government issued two important decree laws in the 1980s on the importation of labour which were designed to reduce labour costs to maintain the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector (Choi, 2005). In 1995, the government did submit a bill on employment and labour rights to the 71 Executive-Legislative Relationships and the Development of Public Policy legislature which de¿ned general principles on the protection of labour interests. However, the law focused mainly on general principles and did not provide details on implementation. The government was able to issue decrees freely to shape policy with little check from other political forces. Since the handover, the government has been under pressure to adjust its policies to provide more protection of working class interests. Hundreds of unemployed people demonstrated on the streets during April and May 2000, many complaining that the imported labour policy had resulted in their unemployment (personal interview, Jeremy Lei Man Chow, June 18, 2005).5 The demonstration turned violent and the police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. The labour issue had begun to threaten political stability and the government decided to review the decree laws regarding the importation of labour in October 2000 (Jornal Va Kio, October 10, 2000). Additionally, it planned to issue decree laws to regulate the labour process and the indemni¿cation rules on industrial accidents. The government recognised that it could not determine the policy unilaterally but had to¿nd a consensus among the various interested parties. The proposals were discussed in the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs, a consultative body for labour issues composed of representatives from trade unions and business groups. However, the representatives could not reach a consensus on such issues as quotas, minimum wages and the industrial sectors for which imported labour could be recruited, and so forth (Jornal Va Kio, December 25, 2001; Macao Daily News, January 21, 2002...

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