P.O. Box 434
						Greenwood, Indiana 46142

						October 5, 1997

To Macao Governor General Vasco Rocha Vieira
   Macao Legislative Assembly
   Macao Chief of Police Brigadier Manuel Soares Monge
   Macao Chief Justice
   Clube Journalistas de Macau

 

	An Open Letter To Our Beloved Hometown: Macau 
 
We, the undersigned, are a group of students and professionals who are 
presently residing overseas and have great interest in the current affairs
of Macau. We are writing this letter to express our grave concern about
the recent social disorder in our beloved hometown.
 
The outbursts of violence in the streets of Macau have caused ripples 
around the world, but more importantly, have taken us to heart about 
the place where many of us grew up and hope to return.
 
Although these outbursts were directed at very specific targets, they left
terrible impressions in the minds of many Macau citizens and those of us
watching from afar.
 
In particular, the foreign press has taken Macau to task describing the
gang war and the murders vividly, putting the place that is so near and
dear to our hearts in a very unfavorable spotlight.  Evidently, this
negative press has already contributed to the decline in the number of
visitors to Macau and her tourism industry.
 
We are pleased to see the recent passing of several anti-crime measures
in the legislative council and some aggressive approaches taken by the
Macau Police Department. However, we would also like to address several
concerns.
 
Can challenges to the Macau police force be ignored? Can challenges to
the Macau government be left unheeded?  After all these years of tranquil
colonial rule, will the Portuguese civil servants leave Macau in chaos
with the highest crime rate recorded? 

We hope that you can join us in answering a resounding, "No!"  There are
more actions that can be taken to restore the good name of Macau.  If we
sound too bold or too demanding, it is because we strongly feel that the
future of Macau is in yours and our hands.  What we, as government and
civilians, do now will greatly affect our future roles  as the residents
of Macau and of the rapidly growing Pacific Rim.

We need to restore law and order to make our streets safe again.  Without
a stable environment, we cannot prosper and grow into the top echelon of
the Pacific Rim cities in the 21st century.  The Macau government must
call a truce to this flagrant disorder. We must not let a few  months of
chaos destroy four and a half centuries of history in this unique part of
the world.

For our hometown, our future, and the next generation, we urge the local
authority, the law enforcement community, and our families and friends to
work together to combat the increase of crime and corruption.  Let us
all work together to bring peace, security, and prosperity back to Macau.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
The undersigned

(names omitted)