Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said yesterday that the local government’s decision on whether to lift its entry ban on non-resident foreigners (i.e., foreign nationals without a Macau ID card) is a “trade-off”, according to which even after Macau has reached a high COVID-19 vaccination rate, the local government could only lift its entry ban on non-resident foreigners after getting a green light from the central government in Beijing, otherwise the mainland would impose mandatory quarantine on arrivals from Macau.
During a post-policy address press conference at Government Headquarters, The Macau Post Daily asked whether the local government would come up with a road map or timetable on the phased lifting of its entry ban on non-resident foreigners once the city reaches a COVID-19 vaccination rate of at least 80 percent.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, non-resident foreigners, in general, have been barred from entering Macau since March last year.
The press conference, which lasted 75 minutes, took place after Ho delivered his 110-minute 2022 Policy Address to the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday afternoon.
Ho said that whether Macau would open its borders to non-resident foreigners was a “trade-off”. Ho said that if the possible lifting of the entry ban on non-resident foreigners would result in new local COVID-19 cases in Macau, the mainland would impose mandatory quarantine on arrivals from Macau. Ho said that even if Macau does not have new local COVID-19 cases after opening its borders to non-resident foreigners, this would make the mainland authorities “worry”, because of which, according to Ho, the mainland would also possibly impose quarantine on arrivals from Macau.
Ho noted that currently on average 350,000 people – such as residents, non-resident workers and visitors – are travelling between Macau and the mainland per day, which means about 10 million travellers between the two regions per month. Ho said that if the mainland would impose quarantine on arrivals from Macau due to the local government’s lifting of its entry ban on non-resident foreigners, how could the local government explain it to the large number of local residents who commute between Macau and Zhuhai. Consequently, Ho said, whether to lift the entry ban on non-resident foreigners would be a “trade-off”.
Therefore, Ho said, the mainland would impose mandatory quarantine on arrivals from Macau if the local government decided to lift its entry ban on non-resident foreigners without obtaining permission from the mainland authorities first.
Ho underlined that Macau has to carry out its COVID-19 entry and quarantine measures in conjunction with the mainland, adding that that’s why Macau still cannot lift its quarantine for arrivals from Hong Kong. The lifting of quarantine will have to be implemented between the three regions of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau at the same time, Ho noted.
Electronic applications, tour groups
Ho told reporters in September that only after Macau reaches a COVID-19 vaccination rate of at least 80 percent, could the local government ask the mainland authorities to resume the electronic application process for mainlanders to obtain a travel visa to Macau, and to resume the permission to organise tour groups to the city.
Currently, Macau’s vaccination rate stands at about 70 percent, i.e., about 70 percent of the population has been vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once.
When asked by The Macau Post Daily about the matter yesterday, Ho said that after Macau reaches a COVID-19 vaccination rate of at least 80 percent, the resumption of tour groups to Macau will “surely” get off the ground in some provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the first phase. Ho underlined that the Macau government has been constantly discussing the matter with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Beijing.
However, Ho said yesterday that “last time I did not say that the electronic application process for a travel visa to Macau will resume” after Macau reaches a COVID-19 vaccination rate of at least 80 percent. But the chief executive was quick to add yesterday that the local government will constantly request the mainland authorities to consider resuming the electronic application process.
The issuing of Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) travel permits for all mainlanders to travel to Macau resumed in September last year. However, despite the resumption of the issuing of IVS travel permits, mainlanders wishing to visit Macau have still been subject to certain restrictions, such as the fact that the mainland authorities have still not resumed the electronic application process for a travel visa to Macau.
Without the resumption of the electronic application process for a travel visa to Macau, mainlanders have to go to police service points in their respective cities in person to file an application for a travel visa to Macau. With the electronic application process in place, which was implemented before the COVID-19 pandemic, mainlanders were able to apply for a travel visa to Macau in more convenient ways such as formalising their applications at self-service kiosks.
Ho said yesterday that the resumption of the electronic application process will result in an enormous increase in the number of mainland visitors to Macau with an IVS travel permit, which, Ho said, the mainland authorities do not want to occur for the time being.
National security law amendments
Meanwhile, Ho said during yesterday’s press conference that the local government will propose amendments to the local national security law, which was enacted in 2009, due to the changes in the international landscape and the new requirements on regional safety over the past decade or so.
Ho said that the local government has never applied the local national security law since its enactment, because of which, Ho said, Macau still does not have experience in enforcing the law. “We only have this law in place,” Ho said.
Macau enacted its national security law – the Law on the Defence of National Security – back in 2009 based on the Article 23 requirement of the Macau Basic Law.
According to the full version of the 2022 Policy Address, the government plans to submit a bill amending the local national security law to the legislature next year for debate and vote.
According to Ho, the local government will propose clearer and more accurate rules and procedures listed in the local national security law’s amendment bill, adding that the rules listed in the current version of the Law on the Defence of National Security are only written “in a general way”. “Due to the changes in the international landscape, we want the local national security law to have a more accurate wording,” Ho said.
Ho said that with the changes in the international landscape and the enactments of the country’s new National Security Law (which was enacted in 2015) and the Hong Kong National Security Law (which was enacted last year), Macau has to “move with the times by making adjustments to its national security law”.
“A good person or a person who never violates the law does not need to worry about the national security law,” Ho said, adding that the local government merely aims to come up with clearer definitions in its proposed amendments to the local national security law. The chief executive also underlined that every citizen has the responsibility to safeguard national security.
Ho also pledged that the local government would draft the local national security law’s amendment bill in a rigorous way, adding that Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak is preparing a public consultation on the drafting of the amendment bill.
Gaming law amendments
Meanwhile, Ho also reassured that the local government does not mean to “deliberately place obstacles” to gaming operators in its proposed amendments to the city’s current gaming industry law.
Ho noted that the government is now summarising and studying the opinions gathered from residents and representatives from the gaming sector during its public consultation period on the drafting of the gaming law’s amendment bill, which ended late last month. Afterwards, Ho said, the government will complete drafting the amendment bill and submit it to the legislature for debate and vote.
Macau’s current three gaming concessions and three sub-concessions will expire in June next year.
The city’s current six gaming operators are SJM, Wynn, Galaxy, Venetian, MGM and Melco. While SJM, Wynn and Galaxy are concessionaires, the Venetian, MGM and Melco are sub-concessionaires.
The government has still not announced whether it will extend the current gaming concessions and sub-concessions for a period of time before a bidding process for the granting of future gaming concessions is ready.
Ho noted yesterday that the government can choose to extend the current gaming concessions and sub-concessions for a period of time, if a bidding process still cannot be held in the run-up to their expirations due to the possible scenario in which a new version of the gaming law is still not in place.
Cash handout continues
Meanwhile, Ho also told reporters that the government will not change its way of sharing the city’s wealth with residents next year – i.e., continuing to share the special administrative region’s wealth with residents in cash.
According to the 2022 Policy Address, the amount of the government’s cash handout for next year will remain unchanged at 10,000 patacas for permanent residents and 6,000 for non-permanent residents.
Meanwhile, Ho also underlined the need for Macau to continue with a good performance in its COVID-19 prevention work so as to sustain its ongoing economic recovery process.
Ho also announced the continuation of a string of other welfare benefits, subsidies, allowances and tax exemptions and deductions for next year.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng addresses a post-policy address press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday evening. Photo: GCS
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng delivers his 2022 Policy Address in the hemicycle of the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday afternoon. Photo: GCS
