NEVER CEASE NURTURING PATRIOTISM
Chui, born in Macau in 1957, is about to end his second term, wrapping-up his 10 years in the post of chief executive.
In his work review titled “Ten years of Policy Implementation for Achieving Long-term Stability,” “to advocate the core value of being loyal to the country and to Macau” was among those highlighted concepts.
Chui told Xinhua in a recent interview that Macau has seen a long tradition of being loyal to the country and the city even before it returned to the motherland in 1999. Since 1999, the tradition has been maintained at different levels of government, communities and in education.
Since Macau returned to the motherland on December 20, 1999, Chui said, the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law have been promoted in the whole society, laying a legal foundation for the region.
Communities loyal to the country and to Macau have joined hands with the MSAR government in economic development and livelihood improvement, Chui said, adding that the education sector has also spared no effort in promoting the core value of being loyal to the country and to Macau, which will hopefully be inherited generation by generation.
All educational institutions in Macao hoist the national flag, where patriotic education is a regular practice.
The MSAR government launched a program in the curriculum year of 2004-2005 to improve knowledge of and passion for the motherland for both teachers and students in Macau. Some 65,000 people have since participated in the program.
Since 2016, more than 3,000 Macau students have toured the Chinese mainland for study and cultural exchanges under a government-sponsored plan.
A great number of cultural exchange activities between the Chinese mainland and Macau have boosted the mutual understanding between both education sectors.
Chui said these activities help Macau people know more about the motherland’s history thus encouraging compatriots to nurture their loyalty to the country and to the MSAR.
Since returning to the motherland 20 years ago, Macau has been finding it relatively easy to tackle problems, and this is mostly due to the widely-cherished loyalty to both the country and the MSAR, Chui said.
He therefore stressed that to nurture loyalty to the nation and the MSAR shall be a long-term and systematic undertaking.STICKING TO PATH OF DEVELOPMENT
Macau saw a proud per-capita GDP of over US$82,000 last year and a low unemployment rate of 1.8 percent in August this year.
“Economic development and livelihood improvements have been the important guideline during my 10 years at the chief executive office,” Chui said.
He outlined Macau’s four-facet future role as a combination of an international tourism and leisure center, a platform for trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, an active participant of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and one of the four center cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA).
He praised Macau’s achievements in building the tourism center and in boosting ties between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, hoping to see a bigger role for Macau to play in enhancing people-to-people exchanges under the BRI
The chief executive said Macau is preparing to set up a technical innovation corridor for Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau.
“Talents and education are crucial for the future,” Chui said, adding that Macau encourages its youth to participate in the GBA development and welcomes people from Guangdong to come to Macau for education and career development.
In need of talents in sectors of the conference and exhibition industry, cultural innovation, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), finance and high-end services, Chui said Macau wishes to both cultivate local talents and recruit talents from other areas.
“We are pleased to be allowed into the country’s development scheme. We do cherish the opportunity,” said Chui, promising that Macau will wisely implement the policies of the central government and actively participate in regional cooperation and sustainable development.
Chui acknowledged the risks posed by Macau’s overwhelming dependence on the gaming industry, vowing to continue the development of a more diversified economy.
“Developing is our must-do, as we attach great importance to people’s basic needs including education, health, social security and disaster risk prevention and reduction,” Chui said.
“People’s livelihoods is our top priority.”
In the past, in face of the outcome of the international financial crisis and a declining growth rate, the MSAR government has always prioritizeds safeguarding people’s livelihood, Chui said.
The government has spared no effort in stimulating the economy, stabilizing employment through financial and aid programs and controlling the impact of the economic slowdown on people’s life.
Chui hailed the central government for caring for Macau residents’ welfare, saying that with the country’s support, the MSAR government has put forward a development scheme in which people’s livelihood improvement is highlighted.
Chui said the MSAR government has been trying to benefit all residents concerning public services and their income.MACAU-MAINLAND HEART TO HEART
“I have been working in Macau for over 30 years, observing that the hearts of the Macau people and the mainland people are bonding together, which cements the base for the loyalty to the country and to Macau,” the chief executive said.
Citing the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) aid efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Hato in 2017, the chief executive expressed gratitude to the central government, as it always lends a helping hand promptly when Macau is faced with difficulties.
He also recalled the SARS epidemic in 2003, which dragged down Macau’s tourism-dependent economy. Macau’s recovery has been much attributed to the central government’s medical aid and launch of the individual visit scheme.
“As to the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, the country means the strongest support,” Chui said.
He also praised Macau people for their passionate loyalty to the country, as when disasters take place on the mainland many Macau people rush to the affected areas to support the aid efforts and donate funds and other resources.
“Their love and care for their mainland compatriots is sincere,” Chui said.
Nearing the conclusion of his 10 years at the helm of the MSAR government, Chui chose “stability” as the key word during his term.
He said Macau people and their mainland compatriots share a future for a long run instead of a short term.
Chui’s term ends at midnight on December 19. – Xinhua, MPD
Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On speaks in an interview with Xinhua in Macau on November 21. – Xinhua
