A Dialogue on Cultural Diversity and Macau’s Economic Recovery

Roy Eric Xavier, Ph.D,
University of California, Berkeley,
Director, Portuguese and Macanese Studies Project

The following remarks were posted for students, staff, and faculty at the University of Macau during a visit to the campus in May 2023.

Introduction

Thank you for inviting me to address you. It has been a few years since I have had the pleasure of returning to Macau, and I was looking forward to seeing many colleagues at the university and around the city. After all we’ve been through recently, it is very nice to be back.

I’ll begin my talk today by briefly re-introducing myself and my research, and then by outlining some of the reasons why I have returned to your beautiful campus and city.

Let me begin by stating that in the United States it is common for scholars to hold several jobs, both inside and outside academia, before “settling” into a particular field of study.

I was no different.

As a young graduate student, I trained as a sociologist, and focused on European history, communications, and ethnic studies. But as I was nearing the end of my studies, I began to realize that traditional university appointments in sociology were scarce, especially for those, like me, who were supporting a young family.

So after deciding to write my dissertation on the history of cable television and its early days in digital communications, I was encouraged to find openings inside the media industry, and importantly, more opportunities to study uses of technology among different ethnic groups in the United States.

That was a major reason why I initially began working in commercial media, and not in the academy, after graduation. Fortunately, or unfortunately for my academic career, I was asked to lead a Tech start-up in the 1990’s offering services to county and municipal governments, and providing digital television and internet services to African-American and Latino residents in northern California, just east of Silicon Valley where a digital revolution was just beginning. That became my training ground in technology, my laboratory if you will, which would come in handy in the future.

Almost 20 years later, I decided to return to Berkeley as a researcher in ethnic and diaspora studies, and specifically to study the migration history of my own ancestors, the local Portuguese from Asia, and Luso-Asians who settled in Macau. This was not an easy task. Initially, I was surprised that so little research had been done, despite a 500 year history in Goa, Malacca, Macau, Hong Kong, and other Indian and Southeast Asian ports settled by the Portuguese since 1511.

As I continued, I was intrigued after learning through my research among diaspora associations that over 1.6 million Macanese and other Luso-Asians continued to live, often communally, in at least 35 countries.

In fact, many of these immigrants in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America work in a tech related field, and most use the web and social media to stay informed about Macau’s culture and its current developments.

This became the basis of my work studying Luso-Asians communities, their uses of technology, as well as reading the history of Macau and the Portuguese influence. Most recently, I began exploring how Macau, China’s “Center of Casino Gaming”, is using technology to recover from the recent economic downturn.

Why I’m Visiting Macau

That was one of the reasons why I returned to Macau: to help organize an “International Dialogue on Cultural Diversity and Macau’s Economic Recovery” at the University of Macau. My colleagues and I are interested in, and frankly, a little concerned about, the traditional relationship between Macau’s cultural diversity and its ability to maintain an economically diverse society. (We also share those concerns globally.)  

Clearly, since 2010 Macau’s economy has been dominated by casino gaming, despite numerous efforts to diversify into other industries. Business, as most know, has been booming for almost two decades. Over 50 casino hotels have been built, and millions of visitors came to Macau’s entertainment and cultural venues each year.

Then in 2020, like biblical plagues, a series of events brought everything to a grinding halt.

• It began with the pandemic that eventually reached all nations, then
  
• The “lockdown” of communities, and the isolation of countries from outside contact; then soon
  
• A war in Europe, the first major conflict (excluding the Balkans) since the end of WW II;
  
• And finally, a recession that led to a scarcity of energy supplies and depressed global trade.

Three years later, we now realize that everyone is potentially vulnerable, so we can reasonably say that it is up to each of us to find solutions. This is precisely a time for multiple strategies and many voices to be heard. Our recovery, in Macau and around the world, goes beyond economic solutions. Simply stated: We believe it is time to seek out models of diversity, both culturally and economically, that we might use in the future.

We chose the University of Macau as the site for an international dialogue involving scholars and professionals because it is located in a city that has been a center of Luso-Asian culture in which diversity, in many forms, was first introduced in the 16^th century.

For over 460 years, since Macau was jointly governed as a Luso-Asian territory, and recently as a Special Administrative Region of China, the city has served as:

• A conduit for trade and cultural exchange between China, Europe, and the Americas
• A modern link to a large community of Portuguese-speaking countries around the world
• A historical center for Luso-Asian diaspora communities in several other countries

Macau’s history of diversity has also led to periods of inclusion, stability, and innovation. For example,

• Soon after its founding in 1557, Macau became a multi-cultural trading port, inhabited by Europeans, Chinese, Goans, Malaccans, Japanese, Americans, and others from Southeast Asia.

• It remained an “open” city despite the rise and fall of the Manchu Dynasty, and the era of large trade enterprises led by Portugal, the Netherlands, and England into the 20^th century.
  
• The beginning of Macau’s economic diversification, I would argue, actually began with the introduction of mechanical printing in 1822, the year in which Macau’s first local journal, A Abelha da China, was published.

• By the late 19^th century up to WW II, printing in Macau and Hong Kong flourished under the leadership of Macanese entrepreneurs, becoming the foundation for other “information technologies”, including Journalism, Advertising, Publishing, Postal Services, Product labeling, and modern Banking. Each remains prominent in the global economy today.

• In the second decade of the 21^st century, printing’s transition to digital information and content creation has been achieved through software coding, allowing innovation into many other industries. In Macau and the Greater Bay Area region, we can see examples in semi-conductor applications on Hengqin Island, and device manufacturing in Shenzhen.

This history tells us that diversity and change can occur if we boldly pursue solutions. Thus, we turn to Macau as a fitting place to begin a dialogue among many stakeholders, seeking new voices to join in a global conversation on renewal and recovery that is relevant to all nations.

To guide the discussion in the future, allow me to pose three initial questions. They invoke Macau’s history, modern realities, and suggest the possibility of new strategies.

Modern Realities and New Strategies – Three Questions for Discussion

1. How has Macau’s history of cultural diversity influenced its present situation ?
   
   
2. Given the requirements for social and economic recovery, what strategies does Macau’s traditional tie to Luso-Asian communities suggest in the future ?
   
   
3. What specific areas of inquiry and study would you suggest that might provide models for cultural diversity and equitable economic development in Macau and other countries ?

I will conclude by thanking you for your future participation in this important and timely exchange of ideas. I also look forward to joining you in this discussion.