Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam has said that the local government will advance the high-quality development of its patriotic education campaigns in three major aspects, including the setting-up of a top-level leadership group for strengthening its patriotic education among young local people.
O made the remarks during a one-day Q&A session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle on Friday about her portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year.
O underlined that the foundation of patriotic education in Macau has been solid for a long time. From the arduous and glorious struggles in modern Chinese history to the remarkable achievements in the new era, she said, the government believes that local students in general have gained a comprehensive understanding and deep appreciation.
At this new starting point, O said, the local government will now advance the high-quality development of its patriotic education campaigns for young local people in three major aspects.
First, O said, the local government aims to enable local students to gain a greater understanding of national stories and inspire their confidence and resonance.
O said that the government will tell Macau’s stories to students well, namely Macau’s development achievements, urban developments, and improvements in residents’ well-being since its return to the motherland thanks to the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, such as the extended implementation of the government’s free education system and the inscription of the Historic Centre of Macau as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In terms of telling the nation’s stories well, O said, the local government will revise the officially published history textbook for schoolchildren by adding the nation’s latest major policies and initiatives such as the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Second, O said, the local government will innovate its scenario-based patriotic education and enhance local students’ practical experience.
O said that the local government will create a “walking classroom” for the students by leveraging Macau and the mainland’s rich patriotic education resources. In addition to continuing to organise students’ visits to Macau’s youth patriotic education base located in Nape, O said, the local government will also organise students’ visits to newly established patriotic education bases for young Hong Kong and Macau people in the mainland.
Moreover, O said, the local government’s patriotic education campaigns will include elements of the nation’s celebrations, commemorations, and traditional festivals more often, adding that in addition to National Day and May Fourth Youth Day, the patriotic education will also more often integrate elements of the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as the nation’s beliefs and customs and local traditional folk festivals such as A-Ma and Drunken Dragon Festival.
Third, O said, the local government will strengthen its empowerment of private schools and community associations to get involved in its patriotic education campaigns, with the aim of creating a more diversified and coordinated patriotic education system.
In terms of top-level institutional design, O said, the local government will set up the Leadership Group for Youth Patriotic Education consisting of different public entities with the aim of further advancing its patriotic education campaigns.
O said that the government will strengthen its patriotic education training of school teachers and roll out measures to encourage community associations to devise and launch innovative activities promoting patriotic education.
‘Tea-break’ sessions to gather public opinion, São Lázaro district’s revitalisation
Meanwhile, O also said that the government is planning to host “tea-break” sessions in different neighbourhoods regularly next year where bureau directors under her portfolio will directly engage in exchange and communication with residents to gather their opinions and answer their questions.
O said that the government was planning to host the sessions once every one to three months.
Meanwhile, O said that the government was planning to revitalise the district surrounding São Lázaro Church with the aim of creating an integrated cultural and creative zone there.
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man noted during the Q&A session that São Lázaro District features the most extensive ensemble of extant old Western-style building complexes in Macau.
Meanwhile, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said during the session that the government would study the feasibility of setting up no-smoking zones in more outdoor public areas with dense pedestrian flows.
Lo also underlined that the government aims for the public Macao Union Hospital in Cotai to be able to shoulder 25 percent of the medical services provided by the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre in 2027, an increase from the current 10 percent.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam addresses Friday’s Q&A session about her portfolio’s 2026 policy guidelines in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo: GCS
