The Bahá'í Faith in Macau (also spelled Macau) was established much later than in China due, most likely, to the unique conditions of Macau being a Portuguese colony until 1999 and it being somewhat in the shadow of Hong Kong and larger centers in mainland China like Shanghai. The Bahá'í Faith arrived in Shanghai in 1862 and Hong Kong in 1870 but not in Macau until 1953.
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Beginnings and community growth
In 1953, along with other remaining parts of the globe where no Bahá'ís resided, Macau became a particular goal for expatriate Baha'is to locate. On October 20, 1953, Mrs. Frances Heller, a Bahá'í from California moved there to reside.
By 1954 there were four Bahá'ís in Macau – all expatriates – but they formed a cohesive group and became designated as a Bahá'í Group.
On July 15, 1954 the first resident of Macau declared his belief in Bahá'u'lláh after studying this system of belief for five months—Mr. Harry P.F. Yim (Yen Pei-feng or Yim Pui Fung), a small-business proprietor from Canton (Guangzhou), China. In October 1954 the second Macanese, Mr. Paul Kao became a Bahá'í. In that year, Mr. Manuel Ferreira, became the first Portuguese to become a Bahá'í in Macau.
By April 21, 1958 there were enough Baha’is so that Macau could elect its first Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1960 the first all-Chinese Local Spiritual Assembly was elected.
In the 1970s more pioneers arrived to continue to lay the foundation of the Bahá'í community in Macau and to expand its presence to the nearby islands of Taipa and Coloane. By 1973, there were eighteen believers spread out in three localities, the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. Later the membership climbed to 32.
In March 1974, mainly due to teaching efforts of several pioneers and travel teachers from places such as Malaysia, the Bahá'í membership climbed to 36 adults with eleven youth. A few months later reports showed 47 adult Bahá'ís and twelve youth in the three areas of Macau. A later statistical report, indicated there were 68 Bahá'ís, including nineteen youth.
In the years since the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Macau in 1989, the Macau Bahá'í community continued to expand, and in the 2009 Macau Yearbook their numbers are listed as 2,500, with three Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Administration
Administratively, in the early 1950s Macau was under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, but after the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia was elected in 1957 they were administered by that body.
In April 1974 the National Spiritual Assembly of Hong Kong was elected with Macau included in its jurisdiction. Two residents of Macau were elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Hong Kong.
In 1982 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Macau (peninsular) was granted certification by the government which was equivalent to its recognition as an incorporated charitable body.
In 1989 the number of Bahá'ís in Macau was such that, together with its status as a distinct territory, The Universal House of Justice gave permission for Macau to elect its own National Spiritual Assembly. It was the third National Spiritual Assembly in Chinese territory. Taiwan was the first, in 1967, with Hong Kong the second.
Modern community
Despite the agreement to transfer the sovereignty of Macau to the People's Republic of China in 1999 and its designation as a special administrative region (SAR) of China, the position of the Bahá'í Faith in Macau - its administration, membership and communities - in the context of local laws has remained unchanged. The "National" Spiritual Assembly is now referred to as the “Spiritual Assembly” or “Main Spiritual Assembly” in Chinese and still retains jurisdiction over the Local Spiritual Assemblies in Macau.
The Local Spiritual Assemblies of the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane are elected respectively once a year. The nine members of each Local Spiritual Assembly are elected from the generality of Bahá'í residents of the community through secret votes in a form of non-partisan democracy. Electioneering of any sort, candidacy and other tactics common in most political elections is prohibited.
The [Main] Spiritual Assembly of Macau is elected in a two-stage process. In the first stage, the entire Bahá'í population is divided into 19 electoral units, and each unit elects a delegate from the adult Bahá'ís residing within its electoral unit. The 19 delegates elect the nine members of the [Main] Spiritual Assembly at the annual National Convention.
Like numerous communities around the world, the Macau Bahá'í Community is heavily engaged in community-building activities in Macau: “meetings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; classes that nurture the tender hearts and minds of children; groups that channel the surging energies of junior youth; circles of study, open to all, that enable people of varied backgrounds to advance on equal footing and explore the application of the teachings to their individual and collective lives. “ [ Ref: Universal House of Justice, “To the Bahá'ís of the World” Ridvan 2010)
Bahá’ís all around the world as well as in Macau have adopted an education and training program which caters to the spiritual needs of its participants and is arranged for different age groups as follows: Ages 5 – 7: Children’s spiritual education classes Grade 1; Ages 8 – 11: Children’s spiritual education classes Grade 2; Ages 12 – 14: Junior youth spiritual empowerment program; Ages 15 and onwards: A sequence of 8 courses
The above systematic sequence of training courses is able to develop in participants a meaningful spiritual life and enable them, in various ways, to serve society. The above programs are usually delivered in the participants’ homes in small groups. An individual need not be a Bahá’í to take these courses.
In public articles and briefings the Bahá'í Faith is recognized as one of the five major religions of the Macau SAR and was included in religious delegations to mainland China.
Community relations initiatives
In 1988, the School of the Nations - a Bahá'í-inspired school in Taipa - was established. It is owned by the Badi Foundation. As an international school, it provides an internationally oriented English-medium educational program to meet the needs of both expatriate and local families. Like many other initiatives around the world, both the Badi Foundation and the School of the Nations’ efforts are examples of endeavors to translate some of the ideals and concepts of the Bahá'í Faith into actions that are of benefit to society at large.
In recent years, New Millennium Publications, based in Macau, was established and makes more and more literature on the Bahá’í Faith in Chinese available to Chinese readers.
Relations with the People's Republic of China
Since there is no administrative structure for the Bahá'í Faith in mainland China at present, the Macau Bahá'í Community, together with the Hong Kong Bahá'í Community, frequently act as liaison and contact points with the relevant government agencies of the People's Republic of China.
The Macau Bahá'í Community has been involved with exchanges, conferences and events with government, academics, and non-governmental organizations that explore and share the application of the Bahá'í teachings to the advancement of society.
The following is a non-exhaustive timeline of some of the recent activities of the Macau Bahá'í Community involving various institutions and government agencies of the People's Republic of China.