VZCZCXRO9456
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #1601 2360906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240906Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8389
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3574

UNCLAS HONG KONG 001601 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL OREP MC
SUBJECT: CODEL BERMAN MEETING WITH MACAU SECRETARY FOR 
ADMINISTRATION AND JUSTICE FLORINDA CHAN 
 
REF: HONG KONG 1587 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified -- please protect accordingly. 
 Not for dissemination outside USG channels. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  In their August 23 courtesy call with 
Macau Secretary for Justice and Administration Florinda Chan, 
CoDel Berman discussed international financial crimes and 
implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on the 
DPRK.  The delegation also discussed Macau's political 
development and the rule of law.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Welcoming CoDel Berman to Macau for a courtesy call 
August 23, Secretary for Justice and Administration Florinda 
Chan outlined recent steps Macau has taken to step up its 
ability to combat international financial crimes.  Chan 
praised the assistance received from the United States in 
developing Macau's 2006 anti-money laundering law.  Since 
then, Macau has worked to implement recommendations from the 
Financial Action Task Force and other international 
standards, including establishing a financial intelligence 
unit. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Asked by Rep. Kingston whether Macau had a threshold 
for reporting cash transactions, Chan said Macau was actively 
studying regional and international practice.  (Note: Macau 
does in fact have an MOP 500,000 (about USD 64,500) 
transaction reporting requirement.  End note.)  Chan also 
addressed Kingston's question about data privacy by 
explaining Macau law allows for reporting and investigation 
of suspicious transactions, but on a confidential basis that 
protects individual privacy.  Rep. Hinojosa asked about 
Macau's ability to share information to combat tax evasion, 
to which Secretary Chan replied that Macau's Legislative 
Assembly had passed legislation on double taxation at the end 
of July that allows sharing of tax information.  Chairman 
Berman asked whether Macau was implementing UNSCRs on the 
DPRK, and Secretary Chan assured him that, as the PRC adopted 
the resolutions (the central government manages Macau's 
foreign relations), Macau itself then implemented their terms 
as well. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Rep. Faleomavaega asked Secretary Chan about the 
prospects for democratic development in Macau.  Secretary 
Chan recalled that Macau had begun directly electing a third 
of its Legislative Assembly in 1979.  Since the handover, 
that portion has expanded to twelve seats (ten are indirectly 
returned by economic and social sectors, and seven are 
appointed.)  That number has held steady for the last eight 
years, Chan told the CoDel, because Macau has been focused on 
eliminating areas of election practice vulnerable to 
corruption.  While Macau's Basic Law does not spell out the 
same path to universal suffrage as Hong Kong's, it does allow 
for amendments, and she expected the number of 
directly-elected seats would expand in future. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Chairman Berman asked the Secretary about the rule 
of law, to which Chan replied that the five major legal codes 
-- commercial, criminal, criminal procedure, civil and civil 
procedure -- reflected the Portuguese legal tradition, 
maintaining an independent legal regime with which Macau 
people were "very comfortable."  Responding to a question 
from the Chairman, she stated that the media remains free to 
criticize Beijing even under the terms of the new Law on 
Safeguarding National Security (i.e. Article 23 legislation). 
 
¶6. (U) Participants: 
 
United States 
------------- 
Chairman Howard Berman 
Hon. Eni Faleomavaega 
Hon. Ruben Hinojosa 
Hon. Jack Kingston 
Acting Consul General Christopher Marut 
Consulate and Congressional Staff 
 
Macau 
----- 
Secretary for Administration and Justice Ms. Florinda Chan 
MSARG Staff 
 
¶7. (U) CoDel Berman cleared this message. 
MARUT