The State Council decided yesterday, upon the proposal of Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, to remove Anton Tai Kin Ip from the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance after he had submitted his resignation to Sam “for personal reasons”.
In a statement yesterday, Sam said that his government was working on the nomination of a new secretary for economy and finance, and would submit the nomination to the Central People’s Government in due course for appointment.
Sam also praised Tai for his contributions to making new progress in the local government’s work in the economic and financial portfolio since Sam’s administration took office on December 20, 2024.
The State Council is synonymous with the Central People’s Government.
Tai’s resignation took effect yesterday. It has been less than 16 months since he took office as the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance on December 20, 2024.
Before his then appointment to the secretary for economy and finance, Tai was the director of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT).
The Central People’s Government shall appoint or remove the MSAR’s chief executive, principal officials and prosecutor-general, according to Article 15 of the MSAR Basic Law.
According to the MSAR Basic Law’s Article 50, the chief executive “nominates and reports to the Central People’s Government for the appointment” of the MSAR’s principal officials and prosecutor-general, and recommends to the Central People’s Government their removal.
Xinhua released a dispatch yesterday morning about the Central People’s Government’s decision to remove Tai from the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance, according to which the “State Council decided on April 16, 2026 to remove Tai Kin Ip from the position of secretary for economy and finance, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and upon the recommendation of Macau Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai”.
Shortly after the release of the Xinhua dispatch, Tai issued a statement confirming his resignation from the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance “for personal reasons”.
In his statement, Tai said that he formally requested to resign from the position of the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance from Sam “some time ago” for personal reasons.
In the statement, which was released by the Secretariat for Economy and Finance, Tai expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Central People’s Government and Sam for the trust and support they provided during his tenure as the MSAR’s secretary for economy and finance.
Tai also expressed his thanks to all public servants working in the economic and financial portfolio for their efforts and cooperation, according to the statement.
In his statement, Tai also said that he will continue to care for, cooperate with, and support the MSAR’s chief executive and government in exercising law-based governance, as well as the development of various undertakings in the MSAR.
Shortly after yesterday morning’s release of Tai’s statement, the MSAR government also issued a statement on the matter, which also said that Tai tendered his resignation to Sam “some time ago” for personal reasons. Consequently, the statement said, Sam submitted to the Central People’s Government his proposal for the removal of Tai from the position of secretary for economy and finance, in accordance with the MSAR Basic Law’s Article 50.
In the statement, Sam said that since the inauguration of the current-term MSAR government on December 20, 2024, Tai, as the secretary for economy and finance, had been committed to putting into practice the MSAR government’s governance philosophy and work plans, while leading public servants and officials under the economic and financial portfolio in exercising law-based governance, with a sense of responsibility, determination, and efficiency, thereby making contributions to making new progress in the local government’s work in the economic and financial portfolio.
Sam, according to the statement, also expressed his sincere gratitude and full recognition for the efforts and contributions made by Tai to Macau’s development.
Sam also said in the statement that the MSAR government is currently processing the nomination of a new secretary for economy and finance, and will submit the nomination to the Central People’s Government in due course for appointment.
The statement also said that until the new secretary for economy and finance takes office, all functions and powers inherent to the position will be exercised by the chief executive, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the MSAR Basic Law.
Yesterday’s announcements of the removal of Tai from the position of secretary for economy and finance came on the eve of Sam’s scheduled departure tonight for his working visit to Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium.
Sam is leading a delegation comprising local officials and representatives from the business sector on his working visit to Portugal and Spain. Afterwards, the government delegation will proceed to Switzerland and Belgium, before returning to Macau next Sunday.
This trip is the current-term MSAR government’s first working visit to foreign destinations.
Tai, born in 1968 in Macau, began working for the Economic Services Bureau (DSE), the predecessor of the current Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT), in 1995 where he was an acting deputy director between 2000 and 2009, when he was appointed as a deputy director, a position which he held until April 2016 when he became the bureau’s director. Tai holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Portugal and a master’s degree in Government Studies from Macau’s Catholic University of Saint Joseph (USJ), formerly known as Macau Inter-University Institute.
Tai’s tenure is the shortest of any policy secretary since the establishment of the MSAR in December 1999.
This file photo shows Macau’s then secretary for economy and finance Anton Tai Kin Ip addressing the opening ceremony of the 14th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo at Cotai Expo on Friday last week. – Photo: GCS
