VZCZCXRO4279
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #0255/01 0420236
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 110236Z FEB 08
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4103
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 000255 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP AND EAP/CM 
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2028 
TAGS: KCRM SMIG SOCI PGOV PHUM CACS CH MC MG HK
SUBJECT: TIP, MONEY LAUNDERING, PROTECTING AMCITS: CG 
CUNNINGHAM SPEAKS TO MACAU CHIEF EXECUTIVE HO 
 
REF: 07 HONG KONG 2775 
 
Classified By: Consul General James B. Cunningham, for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  In a productive and friendly meeting January 
29 with Macau's chief executive, Edmund Ho, Consul General 
Cunningham received positive initial reactions to our plans 
to expand contacts with the growing American community there 
and to strengthen liaison with the Macau government to ensure 
that we could better protect Americans in case of large-scale 
accidents or emergencies.  Ho was warmly welcoming of the 
U.S. presence there, and strongly supported improved 
emergency coordination between the U.S. Consulate in Hong 
Kong and his government.  Ho noted voices from "a minority" 
of Macau citizens, who complained about the effect that the 
large U.S. investors were having on Macau's small society and 
economy, but remarked that officials in Macau and Beijing 
understood the overwhelmingly positive effects the foreign 
investments were having in Macau -- but they needed to remain 
responsive to other viewpoints, as well.  The CG pushed 
strongly for Macau to complete its new legislation against 
trafficking in persons.  Ho affirmed that the anti-TIP 
legislation was near completion; a week later we received 
word that the legislation had just cleared the vetting 
process in the Executive Council (i.e., the cabinet) and 
would be presented to the Legislative Assembly for approval 
by mid-February.  In response to the CG's urging, Ho also 
stated his government would continue to tighten controls on 
money-laundering; he claimed that the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) 
was dying "a slow death," and its owner was trying to find a 
way to sell it.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) COMMENT:  Government decision-making in Macau flows 
straight from Chief Executive Ho, who has been very 
responsive, even visionary, in his ability to push his 
government to improve its capacity to deal with issues of 
serious concern to the United States, in particular, TIP, 
money laundering, North Korean exploitation of Macau 
financial institutions and protection for the burgeoning 
American business community.  He made perfectly clear that, 
despite grumblings and sometimes quite pointed anti-American 
rants in the press, his government and -- more importantly -- 
Beijing itself understood and supported the expanding U.S. 
business interests there.  These sentiments were echoed in a 
similarly positive meeting the CG had the same day with the 
PRC's MFA Commissioner to Macau (septel).  END COMMENT. 
 
¶3. (C) Consul General Cunningham opened the discussion with 
the chief executive (who was unaccompanied) by noting that he 
was in Macau to touch base with the American business 
community, the Macau government and the PRC Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs commissioner.  The Consulate wants to help 
ensure the U.S. community is perceived positively by Macau 
society. The CG stated he also wants to build up our 
Consulate General's ability to coordinate with Macau 
authorities and the American community in the event of an 
emergency affecting American citizens.  The ferry accident on 
January 11 (note: in which 19 passengers were seriously 
injured) was an example of the kind of incident for which the 
U.S. and Macau governments needed to prepare, the CG 
remarked. 
 
¶4. (C) Chief Executive Edmund Ho said Macau welcomed the U.S. 
investors and that Macau's development, spurred by inflows of 
foreign money and expertise, was going well.  Macau was 
experiencing a few negative effects, such as increased 
inflation, widening income gaps, and the sense among "a 
minority" of its community that some Macau citizens and 
businesses were "not benefitting as much as they should" from 
the rapid economic growth.  He noted that while most Macau 
citizens see the American presence as a positive thing, and 
the average workers "don't care where the money comes from, 
they just want the jobs that come with it," others, 
particularly local businesses, were complaining that it was 
difficult for smaller local companies to participate in the 
business boom. Many Macau businesses are not accustomed to 
dealing with the large-scale operations of the international 
companies and so had a hard time selling their products and 
services.  The large foreign investors feel more comfortable 
sourcing goods and services from similar large operations 
from Hong Kong.  "I have been pushing the Macau business 
people to step up to the challenge," said Ho. 
 
¶5. (C) Ho also remarked on the occasional explicit 
anti-Americanism that appears in public commentary in Macau. 
"The American presence is having a lot of political effects," 
he claimed.  "Some people are saying the U.S. companies help 
 
HONG KONG 00000255  002 OF 003 
 
 
the U.S. government interfere in local politics, or that the 
U.S. companies themselves may start interferring directly in 
politics, supporting legislators who might, in turn, support 
their interests.  The Macau government must work under the 
Basic Law and the Central Government.  We all have to walk a 
thin line between 'interference' and 'healthy interaction,'" 
he cautioned.  That said, Ho clarified that, "many 
politicians here and in Beijing correctly understand the 
situation (i.e., the positive effects of the U.S. presence 
and Macau's open-door policy) but they have to be responsive 
to people with many different points of view." 
 
¶6. (C) The Consul General agreed that the American business 
community needed to be seen as actively and positively 
contributing to Macau's society and he has been pressing them 
to find ways to do so.  Participation by local businesses in 
the economic growth was important, as was the need to bolster 
U.S. businesses' images as good neighbors in Macau.  Ho 
agreed those were good ideas, but urged -- twice -- that the 
U.S. business community in Macau find ways to actively assist 
people in the Chinese mainland, through charitable or other 
works.  "We in Macau have the money to take care of 
ourselves.  China is where they should work.  China (i.e., 
Beijing) thinks that with so many of its citizens spending so 
much money gambling in Macau, you ought to give something 
back."  (Note: Approximately one half of Macau's 27 million 
tourists in 2007 came from mainland China.) 
 
¶7. (C) Pointing to the estimated doubling of the size of the 
American community in Macau and the expected large increases 
in Americans working and visting there, the Consul General 
informed CE Ho that we wanted to work closely with his 
government to carefully protect the interests and safety of 
Americans.  The ferry accident, though thankfully no 
Americans were injured, was an example of the kind of 
situation that might arise that would require rapid, clear 
communication and coordination between our governments.  The 
CG noted that, even before the ferry accident, his officers 
had been assessing Macau's emergency response plans and 
capacity, visiting hospitals, transportation facilities and 
hotels and making important contacts for future emergency 
liaison.  CE Ho welcomed all of these actions and stated very 
clearly his government's willingness to work with us to set 
up these links and procedures before they became necessary. 
 
¶8. (C) The CG told Ho that, because of the rapidly expanding 
American presence and business interests in Macau, we felt a 
strong need to increase our interaction with and presence in 
Macau, and were now reviewing options to do so.  The CG 
ideally would like to be able to station an officer full-time 
in Macau, but that did not seem feasible in the near term. 
We were thus looking at alternatives, including other types 
of representation in addition to the existing informal warden 
system.  CE Ho took note of this, and said his government 
wanted to help us take care of the American community, but 
that we would all have to think carefully about what form the 
representation would take.  Ho wondered whether the Amcham 
would be able to help us in these duties and offered, without 
elaborating, to allow his staff to assist the U.S. in these 
efforts. 
 
Still Need Action on Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Money 
Laundering 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶9. (C) The Consul General then raised two issues on which 
we're looking for continued progress: trafficking in persons 
(TIP) and anti-money-laundering (AML).  Following up on 
several previous conversations between himself and the Consul 
General, CE Ho said that Macau's new anti-TIP legislation is 
in its final stages and he expects to have some news for us 
"soon."  The CG urged CE Ho to press the legislation forward 
to the Legislative Assembly (LA) quickly -- by the end of 
February, if possible.  CE Ho took the point, but judged it 
difficult to get it to the LA in that timeframe.  He would 
try, however, to ensure it was at least officially reported 
to the Executive Council (ExCo) for vetting by the end of 
February.  (Note: On February 1, three days after the CG's 
meeting with Ho, the Macau government announced several new 
anti-TIP measures: it has established a TIP reporting hotline 
and would be placing posters at border crossing points and in 
hospitals to raise TIP awareness, among other measures. 
Then, on February 6, Macau's second-ranking official called 
our deputy principal officer to report that, indeed, the 
Macau government had sped up vetting by the Executive Council 
of the new legislation: Exco had just approved it and the 
legislation would be presented to the LA for passage right 
after the Chinese new year, i.e., in mid-February.) 
 
HONG KONG 00000255  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶10. (C) On anti-money laundering, the CG raised the July 2007 
Asia Pacific Group mutual evaluation of Macau and urged the 
CE to implement the recommendations in the final report (ref 
A), including pursuing membership in the Egmont Group. The CG 
also noted that State Department INL DAS Ambassador Schweich 
would be coming to Macau later that week to discuss global 
narcotics and money laundering issues with the Macau 
authorities.  CE Ho affirmed the Macau government's 
committment to battle money laundering, pointing to the 
territory's legislative and bureaucratic improvements in 
recent years.  CE Ho then raised the Banco Delta Asia case, 
noting that the bank "is not doing well at all."  The North 
Korean issue was now completely "wrapped up," but the bank 
cannot do any other kind of business (note: they are limited 
to only local, Pataca transactions, and cannot even deal with 
Hong Kong dollars).  The Macau government had helped them out 
with a loan, said Ho, and had given them some "management 
assistance," but the bank is "going down the slope to a slow 
death."  The owner, Stanley Au, is "just looking for a 
buyer," claimed Ho. 
 
¶11. (C) In conclusion, the Consul General remarked on the 
expanding cultural and educational links between the U.S. and 
Macau.  We already have an American Corner at the University 
of Macau and a Fulbright program, but the U.S would like to 
set up something broader and more formal. We have been in 
contact with several universities in Macau about establishing 
a joint Association for U.S.-Macau Academic Exchanges 
(AMUSAE).  Universities wanted to participate, said the CG, 
but an issue about the Macau government approving their 
funding for it seemed to be a sticking point.  CE Ho said he 
would talk to the Secretary of Education and try to resolve 
the issue. 
Cunningham