The government of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) has expressed its "firm backing of, and support for" the steps taken by the National People's Congress (NPC) "to improve the electoral system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" (HKSAR).
A statement released by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday, when the NPC began its annual session in Beijing, described the national legislature's step as "a major initiative to fully implement the fundamental principle of 'Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong', and to ensure the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong."
The NPC includes 12 deputies from Macau.
The statement also said that "ensuring that the powers stemming from a high degree of autonomy are in the hands of patriots is a crucial principle concerning the implementation of the 'One Country, Two Systems' [principle]."
The statement stressed that since Macau's return to the motherland in 1999, the government and people of Macau "have been paying great attention to the promotion of Macau's patriotic tradition, the unswerving adherence to the sense of national identity and love for the country, and the maintenance of the core values of loyalty to the country and Macau, as the mainstays of the community."
The statement also said it was the shared responsibility of all people in Macau to safeguard the city's social stability and to consolidate the foundations of the principle of "patriots governing Macau."
According to the statement, the Macau government "will keep optimising" the city's electoral system "according to Macau's practical needs." The statement underlined that the local government "is resolute in pushing forward democratic development with Macau characteristics... and strengthening the systemic basis for 'patriots governing Macau'."
Macau's next Legislative Assembly (AL) elections are slated for September. Based on proportional representation, 14 lawmakers are directly elected by universal suffrage, 12 are indirectly elected by registered association representatives and seven are appointed by the chief executive. Four of the current assembly's lawmakers - Ng Kuok Cheong, Au Kam San, Jose Pereira Coutinho and Sulu Sou Ka Hou - are generally regarded as non-establishment politicians.
