The Committee for Safeguarding National Security conducts eligibility review of candidates standing for the Legislative Assembly election in accordance with the law, which is a crucial institutional guarantee for implementing the principle of “patriots administering Macao”. In accordance with Article 33 (4) of the Electoral Law for the Legislative Assembly, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security must consider the following when determining whether a candidate upholds the Basic Law and bears allegiance to the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, namely:

(1) He/she must uphold the constitutional order established by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law, not organising or participating in activities intended to overthrow or undermine the fundamental system of the country established by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China;

(2) He/she must defend the unity and territorial integrity of the country, not carrying out acts that endanger the unity and territorial integrity of the country;

(3) He/she shall not collude with anti-China organisations, associations or individuals outside the Macao SAR to infiltrate the organs of power of the Macao SAR, not participating in trainings organised by those entities, nor receiving financial support from them;

(4) He/she must respect the political system established by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law, not attacking in bad faith, defaming, slandering or insulting the People’s Republic of China or its Macao SAR;

(5) He/she must respect the powers of the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, as conferred by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law, not attacking in bad faith, defaming, slandering or insulting the laws, interpretations or decisions adopted by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee;

(6) He/she shall not engage in acts against national sovereignty and security, not committing acts against national security as provided for in Law 2/2009 on Safeguarding National Security;

(7) He/she shall not provide assistance or facilitate the commission, in any way, of the acts prohibited in subparagraphs (1) to (6), nor to affirm, in any way, support for any acts that do not uphold the Basic Law or bear allegiance to the Macao SAR of the People’s Republic of China, nor to accept, for electoral purposes, the support of anyone who commits any of the acts referred to in this paragraph.

It has to be particularly pointed out that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 (4)(7) of the above-mentioned Electoral Law for the Legislative Assembly, although a candidate is not found to have committed any of the acts prohibited by subparagraphs (1) to (6), he/she will be deemed to be “not upholding” or “not bearing allegiance” for violating the provisions of subparagraph (7) if he/she has assisted or facilitated others in carrying out such acts, or has expressed support for acts that do not uphold the Basic Law or bear allegiance to the Macao SAR of the People’s Republic of China.

In addition, when a candidate on a list is deemed not to uphold the Basic Law or bear allegiance to the Macao SAR of the People’s Republic of China due to the commission of the acts specified in paragraph 4, other candidates on the same list who accept support from such a candidate for election purposes also constitute a violation of subparagraph (7) and be deemed to be “not upholding” or “not bearing allegiance”.