In commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing in 1995, the Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen) held a forum titled “Advancing Gender Equality, Building a Better Future” at Macau Tower yesterday morning.
The opening ceremony of yesterday’s one-day forum, which also celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the association’s establishment, was attended by guests such as Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Macau’s first chief executive and now a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Director Zheng Xincong, Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam, Zhang Xiaolan, a vice-president of the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), Fu Luen Chairwoman Lau Kam Ling, and Fu Luen President Un Sio Leng.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s ceremony, O laid out various achievements in gender equality Macau has made since its December 20, 1999 return to the motherland, including the rise in women’s educational attainment, improved healthcare access, greater employment equality, and an increased proportion of women in leadership roles in various sectors of civil society.
O also noted that the “Macau Women’s Development Goals Plan (2019-2025)”, which was drawn up by the local government in 2018, is now coming to its completion, with about 90 percent of the measures laid out by the plan having already been implemented, underlining that the implementation of the plan has strongly advanced women’s development in various fields, marking a significant milestone for women’s development in Macau.
O said that the local government was now drafting women’s development goals for the next phase where it would formulate new measures and policies in compliance with Macau woman’s development needs as well as in line with the opinions to be raised by various segments of civil society.
Also delivering a speech, Zhang praised the “remarkable achievements” Macau has made in its implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle with Macau characteristics. She urged the Macau Women’s General Association to continue uniting women from all sectors of civil society in supporting the local government’s efforts to boost the local economy, improve residents’ well-being, and promote social harmony.
Also delivering a speech during yesterday’s ceremony, Lau pointed that since Macau’s return to the motherland, the local government has been implementing the various provisions and measures listed in the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” (CEDAW), an international treaty adopted by the United Nations, in compliance with the foundations of the nation’s Constitution and the Macau Basic Law.
Lau also acknowledged the local government’s efforts to implement its “Macau Women’s Development Goals Plan”, ushering in a “golden era” for women’s development in Macau.
Lau also underlined her association’s determination to implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s various important speeches made during his inspection visit to Macau in December last year, according to which, she said, her association will strengthen its efforts to safeguard women’s rights, eliminate discrimination against woman, and promote Macau’s role as an international hub for women’s cooperation and exchange.
According to a Fu Luen statement, yesterday’s forum invited representatives such as those from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in several countries and those from UN Women* to discuss the achievements in the implementation of the “Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action”, which was adopted in the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, and the future directions for its implementation.
The statement said that the participants in yesterday’s forum exchanged views on various strategies to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in terms of policy, legal, and data-driven perspectives.
According to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC), females accounted for 53.7 percent of Macau’s population at the end of the first quarter of this year.
*The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. – Wikipedia
Guests and hosts including Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (centre), Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Vice Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah (fifth from left), Liaison Office Director Zheng Xincong (fifth from right), All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) Vice President Zhang Xiaolan (fourth from left), Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa (fourth from right), Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam (third from left), Fu Luen Chairwoman Lau Kam Ling (second from right), and Fu Luen President Un Sio Leng (left), symbolically launch yesterday’s “Advancing Gender Equality, Building a Better Future” Forum at Macau Tower. – Photo: GCS
