Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng pledged yesterday that his government will join hands with all walks of life in Macau’s civil society to carefully study and implement the spirit of the ongoing “two sessions” in Beijing, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday.
The nation’s two sessions refer to the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in March.
Ho and his Hong Kong counterpart, John Lee Ka-chiu, attended yesterday morning’s opening meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People, when Premier Li Qiang delivered his first annual government work report.
Ho, who travelled to the nation’s capital on Monday, is scheduled to return to Macau today.
Lee, who flew to Beijing also on Monday, was also initially scheduled to return to Hong Kong today, but he arrived back yesterday evening earlier than scheduled.
The GCS statement noted that in his government work report, Li said that the central government will continue to comprehensively, accurately and unswervingly implement the principles of “One Country, Two Systems”, “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong”, “Macau people governing Macau”, and maintain a high degree of autonomy for the nation’s two special administrative regions (SARs).
Li said that the central government will continue to ensure the implementation of the “patriots governing Hong Kong” and “patriots governing Macau” principles.
According to the GCS statement, Li said that the central government will continue to support Hong Kong and Macau in developing their respective economies, improving the population’s well-being, giving full play to their own advantages, intensively participating in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), and better integrating themselves into the nation’s overall development.
In his work report, Li said that the central government will continue to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of the Hong Kong and Macau SARs, the GCS statement said.
‘Sincere gratitude’
According to the statement, Ho, on behalf of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), expressed his sincere gratitude to the central authorities for its long-term support of Macau’s development and the improvement in its population’s well-being. Ho noted that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) when it is also a crucial year for achieving the goals listed in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).
In the statement, Ho said that the MSAR government will join hands with all walks of life in Macau’s civil society to carefully study and implement the spirit of the two sessions, with the aim of opening a new chapter in the successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle with Macau characteristics which will “go far and proceed steadily”.
Ho pledged that his government will make new development achievements in welcoming the 75th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland, and the 3rd anniversary of the establishment of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin when its first-phase development goals are scheduled to be achieved.
After attending yesterday’s opening meeting, Ho and Lee posed for photos together at the hall, according to local media reports.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (centre) arrives to attend the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. – AFP
