Liaison Office Director Fu Ziying reaffirmed yesterday he hoped that “everyone will firmly safeguard the overall jurisdiction of the Central People’s Government over the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
Fu, the highest-ranking central government official posted to Macau, also said he hoped that everyone will safeguard the constitutional order of the MSAR as determined by the nation’s Constitution and the Macau Basic Law, safeguard the national interests of sovereignty, security and development, implement the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Macau” and ensure that the practice of “One Country, Two Systems” in Macau does not deviate from its proper direction and will proceed steadily and go far.
Fu, who has headed the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR since December 2018, made the remarks during a Spring Festival reception hosted by the office at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Nam Van. The reception was attended by senior officials of the local government and civic leaders such as Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Vice Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah, who was the MSAR’s first chief executive between December 1999 and December 2009.
Fu also said that the appropriate diversification of Macau’s economy is the only way ahead for Macau’s sustainable development, “and it is also the common expectation of all.”
‘Healthy & orderly development of gaming industry’
Fu also said he hoped that while fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and recovering the economy together, “we will promote the healthy and orderly development of the gaming industry, actively explore the cultivation of diversified industries and strive to set up a reasonable industrial layout, so as to lay a solid foundation for the long-term prosperity and stability of Macau.”
Fu underlined that “Macau has the advantage of “connecting the East and the West and facing the world,” adding that Macau “is the bridgehead of the country’s two-way opening-up.”
Fu also said that Macau “has an important position and a unique role in the historical process of realising national reunification and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” He urged everyone in Macau to participate in the central government’s global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and also to promote resolutely the development of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone, based on the “one centre, one platform and one base” concept for Macau’s future development.
He also urged everyone in Macau to heed President Xi Jinping’s “important instructions” concerning Macau’s development.
Fu also said that based on President Xi’s care for Macau and trust in Macau, the MSAR is called upon to write a new chapter in the successful practice of “One Country, Two Systems” with Macau characteristics in the Year of the “majestic” Tiger.
Fu also urged Macau citizens to promote the spirit of patriotism and to pass it on from generation to generation. “Macau compatriots have a patriotic tradition,” he said, adding that this “is the most important reason for the successful practice of “One Country, Two Systems” in Macau.
Fu also said he hoped that “under the banner of patriotism” and loving Macau, everyone in Macau will support the Communist Party of China (CPC.
In his comprehensive speech, Fu quoted President Xi as saying that “the motherland has always cared about the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau.”
Ho says 2021 was an ‘unusual year’
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said in his speech at the reception that “the year 2021 was clearly an unusual year.” He listed a string of endeavours that Macau undertook last year such as its successful fight against COVID-19, its smooth Legislative Assembly elections, its full implementation of the principle of “patriots governing Macau”, the successful launch of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin project, further efforts to improve the legal framework of Macau’s national security, and Macau’s integration into the national development process.
The chief executive thanked the Liaison Office and all the other central government entities in Macau for always supporting the MSAR. He also said that 2022 is a crucial year for the nation to reach its second centenary goal [of becoming a strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious, and modern socialist country in 2049, i.e., the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China].
The chief executive noted that the Year of the Tiger will bring new opportunities but also new challenges. He underlined the government’s ongoing efforts to speed up the appropriate diversification of the local economy and to accelerate the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Fu Ziying delivers a speech during yesterday’s Spring Festival reception hosted by the office at the at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Nam Van. Photo courtesy of Liaison Office
