Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng pledged yesterday that the local government will adopt the spirit of “daring to venture and daring to try” with the aim of making achievements in the implementation of various measures that have been rolled out by the central government to support Macau’s continuous development.

Ho made the remarks during a meeting hosted by the Central People’s Government Liaison Office at its headquarters in Zape about this year’s “Two Sessions” – the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.

NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members from Macau as well as other community leaders and local and mainland officials attended yesterday’s meeting.

In addition to Ho, Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Director Zheng Xincong, and Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Macau’s first chief executive and now a vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, also addressed the meeting.

Chief executive’s 4 requirements

In his speech, the chief executive raised four requirements for Macau. 

Firstly, he said, Macau needs to fully, accurately and unswervingly implement the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and consolidate the social and political foundation that ensures the steady and long-term implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.

With the aim of achieving this, Ho Iat Seng said, the core is to accurately grasp the correct relationship between “One Country” and “Two Systems”. He said that it is necessary for Macau’s civil society to build awareness of “One Country”, and take the initiative to respect and safeguard the nation’s fundamental system.

The chief executive also said that Macau’s civil society needs to safeguard the MSAR’s constitutional order established by the nation’s Constitution and the MSAR Basic Law, as well as the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests.

Secondly, Ho Iat Seng pledged that the local government will speed up its drive to appropriately diversify Macau’s economy, as well as promote the city’s economic recovery and the full resumption of civil society’s normal operations during the ongoing post-COVID-19 period.

The chief executive also said that Macau needed to keep pace with the times in order to tackle the new changes in the tourism market following the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thirdly, Ho Iat Seng pledged that the local government would continue to improve the population’s living conditions, as well as create a better living environment for them.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect Macau in early 2020, the chief executive noted, the local government has rolled out various rounds of financial support measures for residents and businesses alike. He said that the local government would continue to launch new measures effective in meeting residents’ needs.

Fourthly, Ho Iat Seng pledged that the local government will intensively push ahead with the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

The zone is also colloquially known as in-depth cooperation zone.

The chief executive said that the MSAR government will work closely with its Guangdong counterpart with the aim of meeting the goals and objectives outlined by the Master Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, which was announced in September 2021.

Ho Iat Seng said that the MSAR government would join hands with various segments of Macau’s civil society to promote the spirit of “daring to venture, daring to try, and daring to be the first”, with the aim of the promoting the effective implementation of the central government’s various policies and measures that support Macau’s continuous development.

The chief executive also said that the local government would help “the new generation” participate in the nation’s overall development.

Zheng’s 3 ‘opinions’

During yesterday’s meeting, Zheng voiced three opinions for Macau’s development. 

Firstly, he said, Macau’s civil society needed to accurately grasp and understand the spirit of the “Two Sessions”, which took place earlier this month.

Secondly, Zheng called for civil society to strengthen its confidence in Macau’s sustainable and stable development.

Zheng said that as a microeconomy with a relatively high degree in internationalisation, Macau was experiencing a “strategically important” period providing the city with various development opportunities.

Zheng also underlined that the motherland is always providing strong backing for Macau’s development.

Thirdly, Zheng said, Macau needed to accurately grasp the requirements for its high-quality development, as well as to create a new landscape for the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle with Macau characteristics.

Edmund Ho calls for measures on young people’s GBA development

In his speech, Edmund Ho called for a study of possible new measures that could provide incentives for young local people to pursue their career or engage in entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), i.e., outside Macau in Guangdong’s nine GBA cities and Hong Kong. 

Edmundo Ho called for measures to enable young local people to create their own future that would be “closely interrelated” with the nation’s future. 

Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (left), Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Director Zheng Xincong (centre), and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Vice Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah address yesterday’s meeting at the headquarters of the Liaison Office in Zape about this year’s “Two Sessions” that were held in Beijing earlier this month. – Photos: Liaison Office