In a speech at yesterday’s opening ceremony of an exhibition on national security education, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said that Macau must continuously improve its legal system and implementation mechanism for safeguarding national security and step up capacity building in this regard.
Ho pledged that Macau will not only advance its capabilities for safeguarding national security but also fully implement the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Macau”, apart from safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests, and resolutely opposing any interference by external forces in Macau’s international affairs.
Ho said that the government’s redoubled efforts to optimise Macau’s legal system and the enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security would ensure that the country and Macau could pursue in a sound national security environment an ever more sustainable development pattern in the new era.
The National Security Education Exhibition is jointly hosted by the local government and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR). The exhibition is taking place at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Nam Van.
In his speech, Ho underlined Macau’s long-standing patriotic tradition, pointing out that a strong sense of national identity, belonging and national pride is the right way forward for Macau’s future generations. Since its smooth return to the motherland in 1999, Macau has enjoyed a sound environment for implementing the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Macau”, he noted.
Ho also said that maintaining overall national security includes the safeguarding of national sovereignty, the promotion of national security, and the protection of national development interests. Maintaining overall national security is also a fundamental principle and basic requirement to ensure Macau’s long-term stability and prosperity, he added.
Fu urges ‘holistic view of national security’
Liaison Office Director Fu Ziying stressed in his speech the need for the Macau government to maintain its level of awareness regarding the country as a whole, to think in big-picture terms, and to take a holistic view of national security.
Fu shared his understanding of three necessary approaches: 1) the firm determination to safeguard the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests; 2) the unwavering dedication to maintaining Macau’s socio-economic stability and prosperity; and 3) the constant consolidation of the socio-political basis for loyalty to the nation and to Macau.
Through the joint efforts of the local government and local people from all walks of life, Macau will work, with firm determination and growing strength, towards a more comprehensive system for the safeguarding of national security and a brighter prospect for the ongoing implementation of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle, Fu confidently predicted. Fu is the highest-ranking central government official posted to Macau.
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Vice Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Macau Garrison Commander Xu Liangcai and some 350 guests attended the ceremony. Edmund Ho was Macau’s first chief executive from 1999 to 2009.
April 15 marks National Security Education Day. Since 2018, Macau has held three editions of the National Security Education Exhibition to coincide with the day.
This year’s exhibition, running until May 16, features four sections: national security at a time of major changes of a kind not seen in a century; adherence to a holistic view of national security; the safeguarding of national security to ensure the steady implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle; and national security as a responsibility for all.
The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information about the exhibition is available on https://eesn.gov.mo.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (front, left) and Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Fu Ziying (front, right) tour the “National Security Education Exhibition” at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Nam Van yesterday. Photo: Prisca Tang
