32 專題探討 • TOPIC INSIGHT 澳大新語 • 2024 UMAGAZINE 30 the laws during class or require students to memorise them. ‘Instead, I follow the UM Structured Teaching Plan for the Constitution and Basic Law Education, where I explain the background of how the two laws were created, and how the articles relate to each other. To keep students engaged, I incorporate storytelling and the historical context of the post-World War II era while discussing how China established its current socialist system.’ The general education course was updated in 2022 to include national security topics, which cover the evolution of the Chinese government’s approach to national security and the key concepts of the holistic approach to national security. According to Prof Lai, the university allows students to take the course in either Chinese or English, ensuring that students from Macao, mainland China and elsewhere gain a comprehensive understanding of the significance of the Constitution and the Basic Law in the Macao SAR. To help international students understand China’s political system, Prof Lai compares it with those of other countries. ‘By the end of the course, whether they took it in Chinese or English, most students gain a much clearer perspective on China and a greater sense of belonging to the country. Some were so motivated that they came up to me after class to talk about current affairs in mainland China and Macao, continuing the discussions we started in class.’ Encouraging Students to Promote the Constitution and the Basic Law Since 2021, UM and the Macao Basic Law Promotion Association have been running the annual ‘UM Constitution and Basic Law Student Ambassadors Training Programme’. Three editions have been held so far, with participants selected from undergraduates who have excelled in the course on the Constitution and the Basic Law. After completing the training programme, these students are prepared to promote knowledge of the Constitution, the Basic Law, and national security in their residential colleges. In parallel, the university has introduced a training programme for faculty and staff in residential colleges to deepen their understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law, and national security, and to enable them to support and guide students in promoting these laws more effectively. According to Prof Lai, FLL instructors assessed students in the general education course based on their potential and enthusiasm for teaching the subject. Following these evaluations, three to five 澳大法學院憲法與基本法研究中心於2019年成為國家教育部人文社科重點研究基地——北京大學憲法與行政法研究中心的夥伴基地 In 2019, the UM Faculty of Law’s Centre for Constitutional and Basic Law Studies became a partner of the Center for Constitutional and Administrative Law at Peking University, a key research base for the humanities and social sciences recognised by China’s Ministry of Education.
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