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 His Excellency the Chief of Executive Macau Special Administrative Region Macau
His Excellency the Chair of Macau Legislative Assembl
His Excellency the Chair of Macau Legislative Assembly
Legislators of Macau Legislative Assembly
Mr Ng Kwuok Cheong
New Macau Association Members
Macaus Decent and Anti-Corruption Citizens

Excellencies,

The earlier months of the Macau Administrative Region existence were staggered due to the Jorge Álvares Foundation’s event, a regretful incident that, nevertheless, did not affect the relations between Portugal and Macau/China.

Excellencies, firstly, we would like to congratulate the Macau Chief Executive’s decision of appointing an enquiry team, whose final conclusions about the methods for financing such foundation are doubtless, as far as the illegality and nullity of the act, after becoming public by the media in Portugal and Macau.

At this very moment, we consider the Portuguese and Chinese both in Portugal and Macau are well informed about the issue. In Macau, the fusion of both local Foundations was welcome with great interest. It is hoped that it will give place to a transparent institution with well-defined objectives aiming to serve the real interests of the RAEM’s communities.

Nevertheless, it is with great surprise and revolt that we have been listening to the clarifications and statements without any kind of impunity of Mr. Jorge Rangel, president of the Macau International Institute, former Under Secretary for Education and Culture Affairs under Mr. Rocha Vieira’s administration and his political ally. As you may be aware, the above mentioned person, today a Macau itinerant resident, besides being the Jorge Álvares Foundation’s spokesman, has launched a campaign to support such institution. He has been using all means and making all sorts of statements,in Portugal and Macau, showing such behaviour as he was solely and exclusively under the former governor’s dependence as before.

When he answered to the inquiry ordered by you on the Foundation Jorge Álvares, he was the only curator at the Foundation for the Development and Cooperation of Macau who defended the defenceless- the money transference to Portugal – because he was also involved as curator in his second foundation, among others.

But, his career is an example of irregularities, if one wishes to avoid using other shameful expressions, but perhaps more adequate. A few months before the Macau handover, when he still worked at Vieira’s administration and was in charge of the Office for the Handover Ceremony, he announced in an interview to Radio Macau, that he created the Macau International Institute. He also unveiled that his foundation had money at a great scale enough to establish co-operation agreements with the Macau Education Department and the Macau Public Service Department. Such agreements looked quite incredible and rather incongruent, because, at the time, he was the highest person in charge of both departments. He went on detail, stating that his Institute would give training courses after the handover.

Under the Macau Special Administrative Region’s rule, we were informed, through a local Portuguese newspaper, that Mr. Rangel, responsible for the Office of the Handover Ceremony, has authorised that the referred office would give a great amount of money to the magazine “Focus” to be published by the Macau International Institute. At that time, the chair of the referred institute was his chief of office as Under Secretary, Mr. Amaral, a man without any qualifications at all that become chife of cabinet by a special decree since he did not fullfill the necessary requirements. After the handover, it is not necessary to add that Mr Rangel replaced Mr. Amaral as Chair of the Macau’s International Institute.

When these facts were made public, Mr. Rangel not only confirmed them but stated that they were completely normal. He started giving multiple interviews and on the radio, among other inconceivable statements, he said that Macau should continue to be followed by highest personalities from Portugal, such the Portuguese army and he menaced those who criticised him, saying openly that those persons should be identified, then isolated or expelled from Macau.

By then, many Portuguese recalled the times when he had secrets files with the names of those public servants he disliked and ordered his collaborators to fill in them with personal details in order to persecute and not renew their contracts.

But worse that his verbal menaces, has been his letters and interviews to the media both in Macau and Portugal, mainly to the daily “Público” from Portugal, where he insults the Portuguese RAEM’s media considering then parochial.

In addition, in Macau, in his last long interview to the Portuguese TV channel, he criticised the conclusions of the inquiry that Your Excellency ordered considering it a very bad inquiry. But, at the same time, he boasted having excellent relations with the Macau Chief Executive with whom he implied having regular contacts and his support.

Again, by invoking the fact of being the descendent from a family with four generations in Macau, as the dynasties should have the political power in China or Portugal, Mr. Rangel considers himself as the spokesman for the entire Macanese community whose members don’t recognise him as such. He also launched the idea of a federation of all Portuguese/ Macanese foundations by implying that he might be the leader.

Excellencies, concerning Mr. Vieira’s acts, and as The Chief Executive stated, only the President of Portugal might and could act, because he depended upon on him. But, as far as Mr. Rangel is concerned, the situation is completely different. He is a Macau resident, the founder and the chair of an institute with its headquarters and assets in Macau, therefore he should be responsible for his acts when he held official positions during the handover.

Therefore, we congratulate you for the recent inquiry on the way the Macau International Institute was allocated funds (as requested by Mr. Ng. Kwuok Cheong) and what are its connections to the foundations that are at the stage of being fused. But, so far we are still waiting for the results on the inquiry: Mr. Rangel should be accountable for his acts.

This appeal does not intend to be any kind of persecution. It must be understood as an appeal from Macau residents who, at a particular moment, wish those methods of financement of the Macau cultural institutions, in particular, the Macau International Institute, be analysed and clarified once for all.

It seems that in a State of Law, a person who had a public position could not, without any shame and respect for legality, to use public money to finance his own private institution and even becomes annoyed when questioned about that. He even boasts of having used public money to finance his own institution as a normal procedure and acceptable. His institutions, whose projects are vague, are definitely not for the Macau culture. It only serves his own ambitious and particular plans. Mr Rangel may finance his Institute with his own money or with his huge perks and retirement pension, which he received for being the dearest collaborator of Mr. Vieira. And if does not want to obey the law in force in Macau, he should devote exclusively to Jorge Álvares Foundation and install himself in Portugal for good, where, by the way, he spends most of his time, in meetings as curator of Jorge Alvares Foundation. In fact, it was in his capacity as curator that he collaborated in a recent decision of not returning the money illegally transferred from Macau. We also appeal that any protocols signed by the Macau International Institute with Education, Culture and Public Service sectors or other sectors such as Macau Foundation , Macau Polytechnic should become public or cancelled.

He managed to install his family ( his sister has one of the highest salaries and she has no qualifications at all) and friends (Mr. Bruxo,Oliveira Dias who has been persecuted by the banks as a debtor) without any qualifications at the Macau Polytechnic where, besides high salaries they earn considerable perks. Above all, Mr. Coelho , who lives in Portugal and is the Foundation Jorge Alvaress jurist has a contract with the Macau Polythenic while doing nothing. Mr Rosa, who already left Macau and works for a telecommunication company there, untill recently was still receiving money from the institute for doing nothing as well. Mr Coelho is supposed to come soon for the opening ceremony of the institute with everything paid as he usually does. Besides that, Rangel invited the Chinese Chair of the Macau Polytechnic Institute to join his Macau International Institute in order to control it or him.

Now Rangel is back to Macau and he stated manipulating again. Last week, he organized a conference at The University of Macau where he made a speech accusing those who criticize him of "localized nationalists who Beijing doent take into consideration". he also said thar after the handover "many persons in the local society chose not expressing his opinions". There is to say for Rangel there is no freedom in MSAR! Only during the general Rocha Vieiras colonial admnistration there was freedom of speech. His intents are clear: he just wants to have another political protagonism using his influences through the persons he placed at several sectors . At the same time, the Founthere dation Jorge Alvares, which is not yet recognized in Portugal, is going to use the money to organize the Meeting of the Macanese in Macau in 2001 in order to bring Vieira to Macau as it was announced at the local tv news.

Yours faithfully,
A concerned citizen