New Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai pledged in his inauguration speech yesterday that his government will strive to achieve five major tasks: enhancing public administration and governance capabilities, advancing appropriate economic diversification, improving people’s well-being, leveraging Macau’s unique advantages to better integrating itself into the nation’s development, and enhancing governance capabilities at grassroots levels.
Sam made his speech after he was sworn in by President Xi Jinping at yesterday’s gathering celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland and inauguration ceremony of the Macau Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) sixth-term government at the Macau East Asian Games Dome in Cotai.
Sam was sworn in by Xi yesterday as the MSAR’s sixth-term and fourth chief executive, after which Sam’s nine principal officials, and chief public prosecutor, were together sworn in by Xi.
Afterwards, Sam administered the oath of office of the 11 members of his top advisory Executive Council (ExCo), after which he delivered his inauguration speech.
Sam said that over the past 25 years since Macau’s return to the motherland, with the support of the central government and the mainland as well as the leadership of Macau’s first three chief executives, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Fernando Chui Sai On and Ho Iat Seng, the MSAR government, together with all sectors of Macau’s civil society, has broken new ground and worked tirelessly, creating a miracle of development drawing global attention.
Macau is a “lotus flower in full bloom”, glowing with inimitable radiance, the newly sworn in chief executive said.
Sam said that Macau is now a city with harmony and stability, while its economy is developing with prosperity, where residents live and work in peace and contentment, and diverse cultures enhance one another’s beauty, vividly demonstrating the immense superiority and strong vitality of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
Practice has proved that the great motherland is and will always be Macau’s strong support, Sam said.
The new chief executive pledged that he will lead his administration, with the strong support of the central government, to unite all sectors of Macau’s civil society in comprehensively, accurately and unswervingly implementing the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, firmly safeguarding the constitutional order established by the Constitution and the MSAR Basic Law, resolutely safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests, and faithfully implementing the “patriots governing Macau” principle.
Sam underlined that the local government will continue to strengthen patriotism education while also supporting the continuous development and growth in the forces promoting love for the nation and love for Macau and constantly improving the MSAR’s legal system and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security.
5 major tasks
In his speech, Sam laid out five major tasks that his administration will strive to achieve.
Firstly, Sam said, the government will strive to enhance capabilities in public administration and governance. With its people-centred approach and the objective of good governance, Sam said, his government will continue to administer Macau in accordance with the law while deepening the reform of the city’s public administration and legal system, improving its judicial system, and building a law-based and modern service-orientated government with diligence, integrity, efficiency and impartiality, with the aim of making it more convenient for residents to complete public administrative formalities.
Secondly, Sam said, his government will strive to advance Macau’s appropriate economic diversification. With Macau’s positioning as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base” and the government’s 1+4 appropriate economic diversification plan, Sam said, his administration will bolster the city’s economic development in a sustainable and healthy manner.
The Macau government’s “One Centre, One Platform, One Base” concept refers to Macau developing itself into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and an exchange and cooperation base with Chinese culture as its mainstream and co-existence of different cultures.
Sam pledged that his administration will create a good combination of a capable government and an effective market, adding that it aims to realise its appropriate economic diversification plan by constantly improving the city’s business environment and economic policies and tools.
Sam said that his government will promote the development of emerging industries while also strongly supporting the transformation and future development of traditional industries and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the aim of tackling the city’s “unbalanced” economic development and creating broader development space for residents and SMEs, he said.
Thirdly, Sam said, his government will strive to continue to improve people’s well-being, pledging that it will come up with solutions to issues generally regarded by the population as the most important ones such as social security, healthcare, elderly care, childcare, transport, and urban renewal.
Sam said that his administration will also continue to support young people’s personal development while advancing comprehensive progress in various social undertakings, with the aim of constantly enhancing residents’ sense of fulfilment, happiness and security.
Fourthly, Sam said, his administration will strive to leverage Macau’s unique advantages with the aim of better integrating its development into and serving the nation’s overall development.
Sam said that Macau will align itself with national development strategies and bridge connections between the mainland and the globe, adding that Macau will give full play to its role as a service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and more deeply participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Sam pledged that his government will write a good chapter in the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Fifthly, Sam said, his administration will strive to enhance governance capabilities at grassroots levels. Sam said that his government will support the development and growth in patriotic community associations while also strengthening its management of the city’s community associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with the aim of consolidating Macau’s sociopolitical governance foundation and maintaining its long-term prosperity and stability.
Sam underlined that thanks to the strong support by Xi and the central government as well as residents’ concerted efforts, his government is confident in achieving a greater success in the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle while also making greater contributions to advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Newly sworn in Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai delivers his inauguration speech during yesterday’s gathering celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland and inauguration ceremony of the Macau Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) sixth-term government at the Macau East Asian Games Dome in Cotai. – Photo: GCS
