The local government has expressed its “strong dissatisfaction with and resolute opposition to” content relating to the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) in the ‘2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ issued by the US Department of State earlier this week, according to a statement released through the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) last night.
“The self-styled report contains unfounded accusations and biased assertions regarding the human rights situation in Macau,” the statement, issued in Chinese, Portuguese and English, said.
“Since its return to the motherland, with the unwavering support of the Central People’s Government, Macau has steadfastly implemented the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle and the Macau Basic Law,” the statement said, adding that “the MSAR has achieved steady economic growth, maintained long-term social stability and harmony, continuously enhanced people’s livelihoods and well-being, and made comprehensive progress in human-rights protection. These accomplishments are undeniable and cannot be smeared by the US report.”
In the statement, the local government reaffirmed that “the legal system of Macau is robust and well developed, with an independent and impartial judiciary. Legally, residents enjoy extensive rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, of assembly, and of demonstration, while labour rights are fully safeguarded.”
The statement also said that “the Law on Safeguarding National Security effectively upholds national security and the prosperity in Macau,” adding that “under the principle of ‘patriots governing Macau’, all sectors of society stand united to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
This, the statement said, is both the constitutional duty of Macau residents and the foundation of the MSAR’s stable development.
The statement concluded that “the format of US report, issued year after year in violation of international law and the basic norms of international relations, represents a blatant interference in China’s domestic affairs and in the MSAR’s internal matters.
“The MSAR government urges the US to view objectively – and respect the facts of – Macau’s extensive achievements under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
“The US should cease its malicious slander and criticism of the MSAR’s human rights situation. Such baseless accusations will not shake either Macau’s confidence, or its determination to pursue unity and further development.”
