By Mandy Lam
Macao, renowned for being the “Oriental Las Vegas”, used to be a little known fishing village. Thanks to the boom of the gambling and tourism industries, she has become an international city, making a tremendous amount of revenue. Life is never perfect, not all parts of the city can share in the economic boom. Some places are underdeveloped, bringing different kinds of hardship to the neighborhood. Fortunately, people pull up their socks and decide to raise the sail by themselves for a better living.
Ng Kun Cheong, the village head.
HH
The rise of casinos makes the development of the non-mainstream places stagnant, especially faraway places like Pacoação HácSá, an old small village located in the southeast part of Coloane, which is under-developed with worn-out cottages. Ng Kun Cheong, the native village head, said that the predominance of casinos is putting Macao at a threat. He pointed out, “Due to unsolved historical issues, the maintenance of cottages is illegal, making villagers’ life inconvenient.” Though it is a faraway village, they would like to develop it into a leisure tourist spot. The government is a key player in pushing the cultural industry, but the governmental procedures are complex and time-consuming.
The making of farm for family agriculture.
HH
HH
According to Ng, they never want to see their home to be destroyed by tall buildings and pollution. He believes that there are lots of valuable things aside from casinos, “but we need to tell people about it.” They proposed to the government to establish hostels and food streets, building more farms for family agriculture. These measures lead to development, an enhancement of people’s knowledge of traditional cultures, and an opportunity for people to taste and experience originality and nature. This also reduces the pressure of tourism in the Macao Island. Of course, life is not that easy, there has been no news for three years since their proposal. However, they are never stopped by these obstacles. Villagers have injected new elements to the village, offering free guided tours, conducting promotions through different kinds of media, negotiating and collaborating with different organizations. They will continue to persuade the government and improve the popularity of the village. Ng will never stop striving for the best for his village.
Ng also emphasized that balancing developments of every part of the city is, without a doubt, a hard task to accomplish, though the government has the key role to play in it, a step taken by each person can turn into a giant leap.