The Mirror Image

Abstract

This chapter sheds light on the perception of Macao’s people regarding the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong and its implications for the youth movement in Macao. I argue that Macao society negatively evaluated the occupy movement as counterproductive to economic growth. It believed that the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong would merely harm the central- HKSAR relationship and hurt the development of the region in the long run. To Macao’s young activists, the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement was not necessarily a motivation for their political campaign for reform of the MSAR. The Umbrella Movement demonstrated the enthusiasm of Hong Kong young people for political reform but, at the same time, mirrored and reinforced Macao’s young activists’ political frustration.