When senior Macau officials are asked about having studied in Taiwan, they are always quick to add mention of other academic qualifications obtained in Macau, Lisbon, or mainland China. "It's called sanitizing your record!" quips Tan Zhiqiang, Hong Kong and Macau bureau chief for the China Times, who was born and raised in Macau and wrote his doctoral dissertation on "The Question of Macau's Sovereignty."
許多司處長級官員在談及自己的出身時，台灣的學歷之外，也不忘加個「本土的」澳門大學或是葡國的里斯本或大陸學歷，「這叫漂白」，在澳門出生長大，以〈澳門主權問題始末〉為博士論文的中國時報駐港澳主筆譚志強開玩笑地說。