During his recent visit to Macau, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping inspected the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone, a development project he has been promoting. However, visitors revealed that the economic zone appeared like a “ghost town.” Since taking office, Xi Jinping has initiated several “flagship projects,” many of which have been found to show signs of being “unfinished.” Additionally, under the continued crackdown by the Chinese Communist authorities, Macau’s economic pillar, the gambling industry, has been severely impacted.
On December 20th, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping concluded his visit to Macau and returned to Beijing. According to the schedule, Xi Jinping stayed in Macau from December 18th to 20th. During his time in Macau, Xi Jinping attended the inauguration ceremony of the 6th Macau SAR Government and inspected activities in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on the morning of the 19th, Xi Jinping visited the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone and toured the “Harmony in Qin and Aomen – Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone Construction Theme Exhibition.” The report stated that the development of Hengqin was an initiative personally planned, deployed, and promoted by Xi Jinping.
The Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone is located in the southern part of the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai City, adjacent to Macau and Zhuhai. It is currently jointly governed by Macau and Guangdong Province, with a total population of 53,040, and has been closed to traffic since March 1, 2024.
Former Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping announced the development of Hengqin Island in 2009, with Zhuhai Hengqin New Area officially established as China’s third national-level new area, with an initial investment of over 72.6 billion yuan. Subsequently, there have been investments of billions of yuan in high-speed railways and a series of supporting facilities.
According to Radio Free Asia, the development of Hengqin has become one of Xi Jinping’s important achievements. As one of Xi Jinping’s “pet projects,” he has visited the area five times and took the opportunity during his Macau trip to visit Hengqin again on December 19th.
Official data suggests that the development of Hengqin has been relatively satisfactory, but what is the actual situation?
Recently, a real estate agent visited several large residential estates in the evening, pointing out that the occupancy rate was around 30 to 40 percent. Even the first comprehensive housing estate built for Macau residents, “New Street Neighbors of Macau,” which was supposed to provide over four thousand residential units, had very few occupied units, estimated to be less than ten percent.
This real estate agent then went to another estate near the border, the “China Resources • Qinhai Bay,” also with less than ten percent occupancy. The central commercial street was also sparsely populated.
At the relatively new shopping mall, Innovation Square, half of the shops were closed, with almost no foot traffic in the afternoon. Even the restaurants had less than ten percent occupancy. The videographer candidly stated, “Besides some arcade games, it seems there’s nothing much to do in this Innovation Square; it’s all dark as if it had closed down.”
After Xi Jinping’s visit to Macau and return to Beijing, the Chinese Communist official media, People’s Daily, published an opinion piece on the 21st, claiming that the 25 years since Macau’s return have been the “happiest period” for local residents and described it as a “great success recognized worldwide.”
However, as the economic pillar of Macau, the local gambling industry has been impacted in recent years. Due to the Chinese Communist authorities categorizing cross-border gambling-related fund flows as a national security risk and implementing strict crackdowns on overseas gambling activities, the Macau gambling industry has also faced scrutiny.
In July of this year, Alvin Chau, chairman of Macau’s Suncity Group, nicknamed “Ximihua,” was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Furthermore, Alvin Chau and nine other defendants were jointly fined up to 24.865 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Alvin Chau, known as the “Little Gambling King of Macau,” was involved in not just gambling but also expanded into finance, real estate, entertainment, and other industries, with business operations extending overseas, elevating Alvin Chau to the ranks of wealthy individuals in Hong Kong and Macau. Additionally, he held multiple public positions within the Macau government.
Alvin Chau’s arrest triggered a “quake” in the Macau gambling junket industry, with reports of several VIP room groups reducing operations or planning to close VIP rooms. As of now, three wealthy individuals from Macau with backgrounds in the “junket” industry, Alvin Chau, Chee Weng Lam, and Joe Hongpo, have fallen from grace.
According to reports by Sing Tao Daily, Beijing carried out a major crackdown on the “6 gambling halls in Macau,” with Xi Jinping reportedly issuing directives six times.
Commentator Yue Shan wrote an article for The Epoch Times, stating that the apprehension of Alvin Chau and others served multiple purposes for the Central Committee leadership: combating gambling-related money laundering and capital outflow, pressuring Macau’s gambling operators to divulge VIP client lists to aid in anti-corruption efforts, targeting the high-level protective umbrella shielding Macau’s gambling industry, and setting a benchmark case for “common prosperity.” However, fundamentally, it’s a case of one faction attacking another; the Beijing authorities seized significant assets through Alvin Chau’s arrest, enriching the party-state coffers while using it as an opportunity to clean up the political and business circles in Macau and the gambling industry, ultimately achieving Party control over the casinos.