HONG KONG — About 900 people converged on government offices in southern China's gambling enclave of Macau on Monday _ China's National Day _ to protest an alleged influx of illegal workers, police said.
The protest was peaceful, in contrast to a rowdy May Day demonstration involving more than 2,000. Police dispersed that gathering with warning shots and tear gas.
TV footage of Monday's demonstration showed police standing by, wearing riot gear and holding shields.
Police spokeswoman Lou Sin Man said the protesters, some on motorcycles, came from a workers' group and a casino construction workers' group.
Organizers said in a statement issued ahead of the march that ordinary Macau workers have not benefited from the territory's economic boom amid the recent expansion of its casino scene.
Macau, a former Portuguese colony also spelled Macao, ended its casino monopoly in 2002 _ letting in Las Vegas operators like Steven Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, who have built the Wynn Macau and the massive Venetian Macao complex.
The construction boom has led to labor shortages.
Protest organizers, who could not immediately be reached for comment Monday, complained that the government has not done enough to crack down on illegal workers, who the demonstrators claimed number about 70,000.
"The government completely ignores the life and death of Macau workers," the organizers said in their statement.
The protest was an unusual event in the generally pro-China territory. Macau leader Edmund Ho said the region "respects and attaches great importance to citizens' opinions and appeals expressed in a reasonable way," according to a statement on the government Web site. |
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