September 22^nd, 2009

In the 4^th Macau Legislative Assembly Election, Civil Watch (Group 6) managed to achieve 5396 votes. While this number was not enough to earn us a seat in the Legislative Assembly, it is a solid proof that our visions and values have been widely endorsed and accepted. On one hand, we feel truly grateful for voters’ support; on the other hand, we have accepted the result and decided to move on.

The goal of Civil Watch’s participation in the election was not only to bring a diversity of voices into the Legislative Assembly, but also to “walk our talk” in changing the deep-rooted election culture in Macau. Therefore, we have done many things which had not been done by other candidates in previous elections. For instance, we invested tremendous amount of time and effort in writing the election platform. It is our strong contention that while we seek to monitor the government in the Legislative Assembly, we, Civil Watch, shall be open for monitoring by the public. And a comprehensive, detailed, and professional election platform is the best means to achieve public monitoring during the election period. In addition to the election platform, we have organized many rare but creative events, such as the Walk of Guts, Creative Carnival, Concern for Pets’ Rights, and fundraising activities. Through these events we aimed to arouse civil participation in the political matters, and at the same time change the bad moral in the election culture. And it is extremely encouraging to see that the ultimate vision we are looking for is slowly being realized. During the election period, as we traveled around the town we received both physical and verbal supports from almost every corner of the town. These encouragement and support have fueled us to keep pushing forward for a better future of Macau that we all dream of. We know that there are people who share the same vision with us, who have guts, and who are willing to fight despite the challenges. Civil Watch is not going to stop here; we will come back in four years. With your support our vision will no longer be a dream but an achievable goal. We can do it!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members in the election team, as well as other volunteers, our family members, friends, and coworkers for their enormous contributions. Without your help we would not be what we are today. Most importantly, we would like to thank the 5396 voters. It is your vote that moved us ahead. Thank you for supporting our visions and values, and thank you for choosing to change Macau with your guts!

We know that the path we have chosen is not smooth but bumpy, lengthy, and full of obstacles. We can’t do it alone; we need your help. We cordially invite you to join our team in the following four years, and together we could build a just, ethical, and democratic society we all love.

Thank you.

Agnes Lam, Wai Tong Kun, James Chu, Jack Ng, Hilda Leong

林玉鳳網站http://www.agnesmacau.net 澳門公民力量http://www.civic-power.org 爭氣群組http://www.facebook.com/haveguts