In the 8th Award for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievements of Higher Education Institutions (The Humanities and Social Sciences) organized by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the book Macao People’s Resistance War published by the Centre of Sino-Western Cultural Studies of Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) won in the category of “Popular Reading”. It is the first time for a Macao higher education institute to win in this category of the national award. Among more than 1,500 award-winning achievements nationwide, there are only 20 winners for the “Popular Reading” category, which shows that the research level of MPI has been recognized by academia and national authority.

Macao People’s Resistance War was edited by Lam Fat Iam, the director of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of MPI, and was jointly compiled by the academic staff of the Centre of Sino-Western Cultural Studies including professor Jiang Chun, professor Wang Xi, and lecturer Wan Hok Kun. The book features concise and clear content, succinct language, and exquisite graphic design. It was well received by a wide audience and attracted attention from local media such as Macao Daily, Lotus Satellite TV, MASTV, etc., with whom the book was represented in a variety of platforms including newspaper column, historical documentary, TV specials, and textbook supplement readings.

The book’s popularity and achievement is based on its innovative interpretation and illustration of Macao during the Resistance War against Japanese aggression. One original point made in the book is that, contrary to traditional historical opinion that Macao was a “neutral” area during that War, the “neutrality” was actually the stance of the Macao government under Portuguese reign, whereas the local society, with a majority population of Chinese ethnicity, stood against the Japanese invasion with Chinese people in the mainland area, which was not neutral. The book also points out that, although as conventional historical studies show that the Japanese army did not occupy Macao and Macao did not fight a war with Japanese forces, through publicity, charity, frontline rescue, and joining in the army, Macao people were never absent from the Resistance War against Japanese aggression. Macao people sacrificed their lives and social resources. The book employs empirical historical evidence to rewrite the history of the Resistance War of Macao people, and promotes it to the public, especially young people, in a concise and approachable fashion, so that the audience has changed their understanding of the period and thereby further strengthened the homeland identification of Macao people.

Since 2014, the Centre of Sino-Western Cultural Studies of MPI has carried out a comprehensive and systematic research on the history of the Resistance War against Japanese Aggression in Macao. With years of endeavor, the academic team of the Centre has delivered a number of academic research achievements. There are a huge collection and compilation of Chinese newspapers and periodicals during the Resistance War period, oral history record of the war witnesses, album of surviving photos and images, Catalogue of Historical Objects and Relics from the Resistance War Years, the Macao Journal of the Resistance War edited with great care, and the 10 issues of “Macao People’s Resistance War” written in collaboration with Macao Daily, which was later expanded into this award-winning popular reading book.

Lam Fat Iam says that the team of the Centre of Sino-Western Cultural Studies has long been committed to the research and education of Chinese traditional culture and Macao history. In recent years, it has achieved fruitful results in the fields including Resistance War history, cultural heritage, and oral history. Studying Macao and serving Macao are the academic traditions of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of MPI. Looking to the future, with the historical task of the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the team will work with a spirit of innovation on talent cultivation, academic research, decision-making consulting, etc., in the areas of humanities and social sciences, and strive to build a base for creativity for the humanities and social sciences of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

The Award for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievements of Higher Education Institutions (Humanities and Social Sciences) that MPI competed for, is an important prize granted by MOE for the outstanding achievement in philosophy and social sciences in higher education institutions nationwide, and a showcase of services by the higher education institutions to national undertakings in theory and in practice. Since its establishment in 1995, the award-winning candidates have been selected every three years, for eight times until now, with a total of 5667 awards for outstanding achievements.