This column usually talks about published books and public performances. But this time I would like to break this rule and discuss a book that is “yet to be published”.
Fifty years ago in Macau, a fierce social conflict took place – the 12-3 Incident. On November 15, 1966, the acting chief of the Islands municipal authority, Rui de Andrade requested assistance from the police to stop the expansion construction of the Fong Chong School of Taipa. This seemingly minor incident escalated rapidly and, on December 3, the Portuguese Macau government dispatched the police force to disperse the protesting leftists gathering in front the Governor’s Palace.
However, the situation quickly became unmanageable. From Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (San Ma Lo), furious protestors stormed public entities and toppled the statue of Colonel Vincente Nicolas de Mesquita that was seen as a symbol of colonialism.
The authorities declared martial law early in the evening. The public only rebelled even stronger. Most of the casualties were local Chinese residents.
This was also the period when the Cultural Revolution was taking place in Mainland China. After considering the delicate political circumstances of the three parties (China, Portugal and Macau), the incident drew to an end with the Portuguese side throwing in the towel.
On January 29, 1967, the newly inaugurated Macau governor Nobre de Carvalho signed a declaration of apology and put an end to this tension that had been building up for two years, culminating in a two-month long conflict.
Given that wars and political unrest have rarely been seen in the modern history of Macau, the 12-3 Incident was indeed a high-profile historical event, which had a profound impact on Macau and neighboring Hong Kong. The authority of the ruling Portuguese Macau government took a serious blow; the pro-Taiwan (KMT) influence in Macau was almost annihilated; and the incident also indirectly encouraged the 1967 Hong Kong Leftist Riots.
Nevertheless, after half a century, there is still a lack of comprehensive recording, research and analysis of this major incident, which is indeed disappointing (of course, it is also possible there is already such a publication that I have failed to notice).
As far as I know, the Macao Daily News was the first to publish information about the 12-3 Incident. On September 1, 1967, the newspaper, published in Chinese, Portuguese and English an article entitled Opposing the Sanguinary Atrocities Perpetrated by the Portuguese Imperialists in Macao. This journalistic photo collection has both photos and descriptions, containing many valuable images.
Moreover, quite a few Macau scholars have published relevant research, such as An Account on the Issue Regarding Macau’s Sovereignty (Taipei: Yung-yeh Publishing, 1993) by Tam Chi Keung; The Way of Survival: Discourse of Macau’s Political System and Development (Macau: Macao Association for Adult Education, 1998) by Wu Zhi-Liang; and Lei Foc Lon’s Macau’s Four and a Half Centuries (Macau: Associacão dos Empregados de Escritório de Macau, 1993). There is also a master’s thesis The 12.3 Incident and Portuguese Colonial Rule: an oral historical approach by Lee Chi Hou from the Hong Kong Baptist University, which explores the incident from oral history perspective.
But the most famous material about the 12-3 Incident has to be the television special 12-3 Incident prepared by TDM’s former reporter Agnes Lam and Ricardo Pinto. The special has both a Chinese and Portuguese version, with the former running for two hours (available on YouTube) and the latter said to last for six hours.
This TV special interviewed several major figures in the event from both the Portuguese and Chinese sides, including Ho Yin, Chui Tak Kei, Chui Lok Kei, Rui de Andrade, Governor Nobre de Carvalho and Wong Man Fong. Many of them have already passed away, which makes the special a record of very valuable first-hand information.
Although the 12-3 Incident took place half a century ago, it is still the responsibility for us, the younger generation, to publish a systematic analysis of this incident that had a profound impact on Macau, be it a clarification of historical facts or lessons that need to be learnt.
