New Year’s message by Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa
A hundred years of hard work, a new journey, another spring in Haojiang*
On the occasion of leaving the old and welcoming the new, on behalf of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), I would like to extend my New Year's greetings to the majority of Macau compatriots, and express my heartfelt thanks to friends from all walks of life in the Special Administrative Region for their concern and support for the work of the Foreign Affairs Office!
2021 was a landmark year in the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country. With Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, the Party Central Committee united and lead the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party and successfully held the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party. Having won the battle against poverty as scheduled and building a well-off society in an all-round way as scheduled as well, the Party has achieved its first centennial goal. Economic development and epidemic prevention and control maintain a global leading position, starting a new journey to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way and marching towards the second centennial goal.
2021 was a year of significant new achievements for China's diplomacy. Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, China's diplomacy has been guided by the head-of-state diplomacy and the clear banner of building a community with a shared future for humanity, with the prominent theme of telling the story of the Chinese people and the Communist Party of China, and with the remarkable aspect of scientific response and proactiveness, serving national rejuvenation in a complex situation and promoting peaceful development amidst turbulent clouds.
In 2021, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, the MSAR government united and lead all sectors of society in working hard to ensure that Macau maintains a good trend of stable development. Moreover, its legal system and implementation mechanism for safeguarding national security have been improved, and new steps have been taken to integrate Macau into the overall situation of national development. The 7th Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) election was successfully held, and the principle of ”patriots governing Macau" was further implemented. The General Plan for the Construction of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin has added strong impetus to Macau's development. Macau successfully held and actively participated in important international events such as the International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Summit Forum (IIICF), the Cultural Week of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and the China International Import Expo (CIIE), and it has also made new contributions to promoting the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Foreign exchanges and cooperation in various fields such as the economy and trade, education, science and technology, culture, sports, civil society, and law have achieved new results, and their international influence has continued to increase.
In 2021, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fully and accurately implemented the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, and strictly performed its duties in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law. We actively publicised the major achievements of the Party's century-old struggle and promoted Xi Jinping's diplomatic thinking in depth. We resolutely opposed interference by external forces in the affairs of the MSAR, and defended national sovereignty, security, and development interests. We promoted the applicability of international conventions to Macau, practised “diplomacy for the people” and “diplomacy for the benefit of Macau”, and provided Macau compatriots with more convenient and warm-hearted consular document services and consular protection. We continued to organise diplomatic knowledge competitions and on-campus diplomatic and international law activities, supported Macau's youth to actively participate in United Nations affairs, and opened up a new platform for young people from the MSAR to expand their international horizons and enhance their international competitiveness.
In 2022, we will embark on a new journey to achieve the nation's second centennial goal. With the implementation of the second five-year plan of the MSAR and the General Plan for Building the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the successful practice of Macau's “One Country, Two Systems” will shine with new brilliance. We firmly believe that with the strong backing of the motherland and the advantages of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, under the leadership of Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and with the joint efforts of all Macau compatriots, Macau will surely usher in a better tomorrow together with the great motherland!
Facing the new situation and new tasks, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take Xi Jinping's socialist thought with Chinese characteristics and Xi Jinping's thought on diplomacy in the new era as the guide, give full play to the advantages of diplomatic resources, and make every effort to promote Macau's “one centre, one platform, and one base” development to continuously make new achievements, create a good external environment for Macau's prosperity and long-term stability, provide quality services, and welcome the 20th Party Congress with outstanding results.
I wish the great motherland more prosperity and strength in the new year and the successful practice of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle with Macau characteristics to write a new chapter, and I also wish Macau compatriots a happy and prosperous New Year!
(Liu's message in Chinese provided through the Macau Government Information Bureau; translation of the slightly abridged message by The Macau Post Daily)
*Haojiang (濠江) is an ancient name of Macau
