Screen capture from Macau TV via HK01 YouTube channel.

Macau’s former top judge, Sam Hou Fai, the sole candidate running for the city’s chief executive position, received 394 out of 398 votes and became the Chinese casino hub’s designated top leader on October 13, 2024. The election process took about one and a half hours.

Since the former Portuguese colony was returned to China in 1999, Macau has been a special administrative region of China under the “One country, two systems” policy. Since 1999, Macau has typically seen two candidates compete during its chief executive election. The representatives have always been locally born with strong ties to the business sector. Sam, however, was born in mainland China and has few local business connections. 

Ex-judge Sam Hou-fai named Macau leader after securing 394 votes in 1-man electionhttps://t.co/Ek6v41485S

— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) October 13, 2024

Some reports described him as a cadre inserted into Macau by Beijing. Born in 1962 in Guangdong province, Sam graduated from Peking University and became a practising lawyer in Guangzhou before moving to Macau.

According to Au Kam San, a former pro-democracy lawmaker in Macau, Sam was sent to Macau by Beijing in the mid-1980s to study the city's legal system. Later, he joined the Macau government’s legal training program, travelled to Portugal to study the language and law at the University of Coimbra, and became a judge upon his return in the early 1990s.

He was appointed the top judge at the age of 37 as Macau was given to China on December 20, 1999. Au Kam San explained on his Facebook that Sam Hou Fai’s Beijing affiliation could be viewed as an advantage:

「京人」則因為他們本就受命於朝廷，在中央有根有莖，對掌握政策，把握紅線較為容易，這也許是其優勢。

‘Beijing-appointed people’ receive directives from the top and have roots and stems in the central government. They are better at implementing policy and drawing the lines, which is probably one of their relative advantages. 

The sudden announcement of current Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s decision to give up his second term in August, citing health reasons, came as a surprise to many. Under his leadership, Macau had seen a relatively strong economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the city was ranked the second richest jurisdiction by GDP per capita in the world after Luxembourg. 

At the same time, other potential candidates failed to gain enough nomination tickets to enter the race, leaving Sam Hou Fai as the sole candidate endorsed by Beijing. 

Hence, some political analysts saw Sam’s transition from the legal system to the political arena as evidence of Beijing’s plan to reshuffle the casino hub through anti-corruption campaigns. For example, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said: 

The central government might have seen something in him: The ability to be fair and just, without being caught in any family interests, but still be familiar with the overall situation in Macau. Although Sam might have relatively few connections, he should not have too much trouble solving problems with Beijing providing tremendous support.

When acting as the city’s top judge, Sam was in charge of the corruption trial of former Chief of Transport and Public Works, Ao Man-long, who was sentenced to 29 years in prison in 2012 after being found guilty of taking more than MOP 31.9 million (approximately USD 4 million) in bribes. He also handled a number of politically sensitive cases, including disqualifying 21 democrats from running in the 2021 legislative elections and banning the annual peaceful candlelight vigil held to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Soon after Sam announced his candidacy, he opened fire on the gaming industry, saying the sector has been developing “in an uncontrollable manner” and adding:

The Central Government’s proposal for Macau to develop its economy in an appropriately diversified manner is a mandatory question for the Macau SAR Government, not a question of choice.

Sam vowed to regulate the development of Macau’s gaming industry but later assured that the sector “will not shrink or be shut down”.

Former Macau judge Sam Hou Fai, who has warned against the outsize influence of the gambling industry in the city, has been elected as its new leader. https://t.co/2NLPcwPnDG

— Bloomberg (@business) October 13, 2024

Ho Iat-Seng laid out Macau’s 2024–2028 economic diversification plan last year under a so-called 1+4 strategic plan, which involves billions of construction projects to support new industrial sectors, including health, IT, exhibition and cultural industries. 

Sam Hou Fai stated in his policy platform that he would follow the lead of Ho's administration in diversifying the city's economy and continue integrating Macau into the southern China Greater Bay Area development plan. In a post-election press conference, he promised to support the local economy as he acknowledged that local businesses have suffered from the shift in consumption habits as local residents prefer spending money in mainland China during weekend and holiday travels.

As the 325,000 registered voters did not have an option in their leadership, very few voiced their expectations of Sam’s upcoming term. One small business entrepreneur told a reporter from the independent media outlet All About Macau:

而加做生意真係好難做，希望佢有啲政策嘅傾斜，令到大環境好啲，改善經濟呀，搵到錢先會開心㗎嘛，（提升）幸福感呀嘛。唔係淨係六大博企賺晒啲錢囉，希望分到少少畀中小微企。

It is tough to do business here. I hope he can adjust the policy and improve the economic environment. People can’t be happy if the economy doesn't improve. Money should not [only] end up in the six casino operators; micro, small, and medium-sized businesses should have a share. 

Despite strong economic recovery with an influx of more than 26 million tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong since reopening after the COVID-19 shutdown in early 2023, most revenue has been channelled to the gaming industry while the city’s retail revenue dropped by 17.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024. 

Sam is expected to assume office upon the official appointment by the Central Government on December 20, 2024, the 25th anniversary of Macau’s handover to China.