O n the sweltering afternoon of May Day, , a rare mass protest of construction workers, local civil servants and others took place in the streets of Macau. The march was organized by a coalition of six small labour unions but was joined along the way by many sympathetic bystanders.
The protests were evidence of the social tensions caused by the dramatic economic growth in Macau, which—paradoxically—has been increasingly integrated into the circuits of global capital since its sovereignty was returned to mainland China in Macau now has almost as many casinos as Las Vegas, and recently overtook it in terms of revenue.
Located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, 20 miles west of Hong Kong, and bordered to the north by Guangdong province, the territory comprises the Macau peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane—linked to the mainland by three road bridges, each over a mile in length.
The historic Portuguese centre of the enclave retains a Lusitanian flavour—cobblestone streets, colonnaded squares, pastel yellow and green churches and houses—combined with Chinese monuments: the A-Ma temple, carved stone gateways.
But much of its picturesque colonial architecture has now been submerged beneath a wave of high-rise construction, as luxury hotels, apartment buildings, entertainment complexes and mega-malls have mushroomed across the landscape, blocking out such landmarks as the 19th-century lighthouse on Guia Hill.
