President Xi Jinping visited yesterday morning the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), and Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Director Kong Chi Meng said that Xi’s inspection of the development of Macau’s tertiary education was a “great encouragement” to the sector.
Speaking to the media after Xi’s visit to the university in Taipa, Kong said, according to public broadcaster TDM, that he had briefed Xi on the changes in Macau’s tertiary education development over the past 25 years since its return to the motherland in 1999, as well as the work done to respond to the nation’s needs in general and Macau’s needs for an appropriately diversified economy in the future in particular.
He cited Xi’s satisfaction with and recognition of the overall development of Macau’s tertiary education, especially the development of patriotic education, while also affirming the complementary role of Macau’s higher education disciplines in the appropriately diversified development of the city’s economy.
Citing the president’s hope that Macau’s higher education would continue to thrive and prosper, Kong told the media that there are currently more than 60,000 tertiary education students in Macau, close to one-tenth of the city’s population, demonstrating the popularity of higher education.
Kong remarked that Xi had expressed his expectation of continuing to strengthen Macau’s patriotic education, as well as the opening up of more disciplines that meet Macau’s development needs in the future.
Kong cited Xi’s message of “Macau’s education and the Special Administrative Region (SAR) are growing together, and Macau’s education will be better tomorrow” as his wish for the development of Macau’s higher education.
According to Xinhua, during the two-hour visit to the university, Xi, accompanied by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, was briefed on the development of Macau’s higher education, as well as the latest scientific research achievements of the state key laboratories on lunar and planetary sciences (SKLPlanets) and the quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), underlining the importance of inheriting, developing, utilising, and promoting well “the precious treasure left by our ancestors” to the rest of the world. Xi, as cited by Xinhua, which also underlined his confidence that Macau has proven to be capable of conducting cutting-edge world-class scientific research, as evidenced by the nation’s achievements in lunar exploration.
Xi also visited the data centre for science and application of the satellites at the university, during which, Xinhua noted, he stressed that “Macao Science 1” is a successful example of deepened high-tech cooperation between Macau and the mainland, showcasing the outstanding innovative and creative capabilities of Macau’s sci-tech sector.
In his exchanges with the students, the president also encouraged them to cherish their precious time of learning, advising them to come up with great ideals, share the destiny of the motherland, keep pace with the times, and realise the value of their lives.
Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Director Kong Chi Meng speaks to reporters after President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Taipa yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
