The election of Macau’s new chief executive (CE) under its amended CE election law will be held on October 13, and Sam Hou Fai, the former president of the Court of Final Appeal (TUI), the only person to have declared his candidacy, has met with electors of the 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee, including the 12 local National People’s Congress (NPC) deputies, representatives of the committee’s cultural, social services, professional, industrial and commercial sectors, as well as members of the Legislative Assembly (AL), to listen to their views and suggestions on Macau’s future development.
According to a recent statement by the Sam Hou Fai Election Campaign Office, as early as on August 30, Sam – the potential sixth-term chief executive candidate – started sending 400 letters drafted and signed by him to all electors to seek their nominations.
The 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee consists of 120 electors from the industrial, commercial and financial sectors, 26 from the cultural, 29 from the education, 43 from the professional and 17 from the sports sectors, as well as 59 electors from the labour, 50 from the social services and six from the religious – Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist and Taoist – sectors, including Macau’s 12 deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) who are ex-officio members, as well as 12 representatives of Macau’s 38 members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), 14 of the 33 members of the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) and two of the city’s municipal organs.
Sam, accompanied by his election campaign trustee Lei Wun Kong, president of the Macau Legal Promotion Association; office head Ip Sio Kai, a member of the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) and chairman of the Macau Bankers’ Association and a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC; and deputy office head Chan Ka Leong, president of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau (commonly known as Kai Fong), paid a visit to the industrial, commercial and financial sector’s constituency yesterday at the Macau Chamber of Commerce (MCC) Building in Zape, during which Sam introduced his “candidature philosophy” to 98 electors, including Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM) Chairman Chui Sai Cheong and President Frederico Ma Chi Ngai – both being members of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC.
According to a statement by Sam’s election campaign office yesterday, Sam underlined during the meeting the importance of the continuous innovation of Macau’s economic development and proposed to focus on the government’s “One Centre, One Platform and One Base” policy, to promote the appropriate diversification of the local economy and the development of new-quality productivity, to support the transformation of traditional industries and the innovation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while encouraging the commercial, industrial and financial sector to adopt more practical measures to actively promote the construction of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Co-operation Zone in Hengqin in order to create a “highland of international talents” in Macau.
According to previous statements by the local government, the central government has positioned Macau as “One Centre, One Platform and One Base,” i.e., to become a “World Centre of Tourism and Leisure”, “China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform”, and “Exchange and Cooperation Base with Mainstream Chinese Culture and Coexistence of Different Cultures”, aiming to bolster the city’s economic diversification and sustainable development.
While meeting with 48 electors from the social services sector at the Kai Fong headquarters in Toi San district, including Kai Fong Chairwoman Ng Siu Lai – a local NPC deputy – yesterday, Sam, according to a separate statement by his election campaign office, introduced his election campaign manifesto, stressing that the original aspiration of creating a better tomorrow for Macau and enabling the general public to live a better life is one of the fundamental driving forces for his candidacy and that he would strengthen the nation’s “barrier” to protect its security, promote the spirit of patriotism and loving Macau, foster comprehensive progress in social undertakings, and continue to improve people’s livelihoods, making people’s aspirations for a better life the greatest pursuit of his administration.
As quoted by yesterday’s statements, Chui said in his speech he was confident that Sam was “competent enough” for the post of chief executive and called on his fellow electors to nominate him, while Ng said she believed that with his many years of experience in serving Macau, Sam would be able to lead the government and Macau to cope with different challenges, unite the strengths of all sectors of the community, better promote the appropriate diversification of Macau’s economy, seize the opportunities brought about by the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Guangdong Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, comprehensively enhance Macau’s competitiveness, and better integrate Macau into the overall development of the nation.
On Monday, Sam met separately with 36 members of the professional sector, 17 lawmakers and 11 local NPC deputies, on the sidelines of which Sam pledged that he would endeavour to enhance the effectiveness of governance and implement the “One Country, Two Systems” unswervingly, if succeeding in his election bid.
This handout photo provided by the Sam Hou Fai Election Campaign Office yesterday shows potential chief executive candidate Sam (fifth from left) posing with his campaign representatives during their visit to the industrial, commercial and financial sector’s constituency yesterday, at the Macau Chamber of Commerce (MCC) Building in Zape.
This photo provided the Sam Hou Fai Election Campaign Office yesterday shows Sam (fifth from left) posing on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting with representatives of the social services sector, at the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (known as Kai Fong in Cantonese) headquarters in Toi San district.
