After waiting three years to release it, TDM or the public broadcasting station in Macau aired a television special about the Incident in 1999, the year of Macau’s hand off to China (Henriques 1999). The special was released in both Portuguese and Chinese and consisted of interviews with key figures such as the community leader Ho Yin, Taipa administrator Rui de Andrade, and Governor Carvahlo (Tang 2017). It is one of the only ways in which the 123 Incident has been remembered and documented on a public level.
The Chinese version of the special can now be watched on Youtube.
In the years following the Incident, there remained some discomfort with the topic among both the Portuguese and Chinese. The subject was seen as taboo, and for the Portuguese, the events that took place that day were considered “the greatest humiliation in the history of their presence in Macau” (Henriques 1999). Meanwhile, Macau people found this history of violence difficult to grapple with. Some residents called it a “tragedy” that they never felt pride in (Henriques 1999).
However, sentiments have been changing. In 2016, Macau people commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the Incident. Witnesses, who experienced the event, spoke on a panel, striving to promote public remembrance of what happened (Beitler 2016). These calls seem to be echoed by younger generations as well, given that classrooms and textbooks have failed to address its history (Tan 2017). Therefore, analyzing and understanding the 123 Incident, and how it was documented and responded to, is more important now than ever.
