Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng said this weekend that the current government had been fully acknowledged by President Xi Jinping and the Central Government.
“Over the first two years in office, the current-term government had enhanced its ability to think strategically, while public administration services have pressed ahead with work linked to promoting adequate economic diversification,” the CE said Saturday during a governmental exchange session named Retrospective and Perspective of Governmental Cooperation.
Ho highlighted “such efforts had been fully recognized by President Xi Jinping and the Central Government.”
The exchange session, hosted by Ho, aimed to review and present various perspectives on the government’s work and announced new requirements to develop and implement government activity.
The administration stressed that local authorities should do their best to improve the quality of the city’s development and not to disappoint the Central Government, following the care and concern it had shown for Macau.
“Such initiative upheld the spirit of the Central Government’s directives to Ho during his visit to Beijing in 2021,” the Government Information Bureau (GCS) indicated.
Ho added that the government should seek to promote innovation regarding existing institutions, mechanisms and systems, in order to further integrate Macau into overall national development, said Ho.
The exchange session, held at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex, was attended by some 280 officials.
The attendees included top government officials; department-level officials; and officials appointed by the MSAR Government to work in the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Secretaries comment
During the session, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, André Cheong, pointed out that over the past two years, the SAR Government has been promoting the integration of departmental functions, optimizing the structure of departments, promoting the reorganization and merger of autonomous funds or reforms, actively promoting the reform of the funding system of the Macao Foundation, and implementing staffing management in public departments.
Cheong said the government will also continue to enhance the three-tier pandemic prevention framework for cold chain food, environment and practitioners, and use the Cold Chain Food Tracking System to track the movement of goods in a timely manner.
Moreover, he stressed that the MSAR Government will continue to improve open spaces and the walking environment for residents.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, said that in the future, it is necessary to deepen the cross-border integration of “tourism+,” strengthen the interaction between tourism and related industries “such as MICE, sports, e-commerce and cultural and creative industries, promote the in-depth integration of health and tourism, collaborate on innovative tourism products, and accelerate the development of modern finance.”
The Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said that in 2022 work will be carried out in nine areas, including national security protection, law enforcement deployment, modern civil defense, police construction, technology-enhanced policing, cooperation between the police and the public, port management, correctional re-entry and financial intelligence.
Wong indicated that the SAR Government has implemented the legal system and enforcement mechanism, as well as strengthened the system and capacity for safeguarding national security.
“The Government has effectively combated various types of crimes and ensured the stability of social security,” Wong stressed.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ao Ieong U, expressed that in the future, the pandemic prevention work will continue to be carried out, especially to increase the vaccination rates among children and the elderly.
She also said that this year, the government will continue to implement various measures to enhance the protection of people’s livelihood and promote the construction of a medical complex on the outlying islands, with the Seac Pai Van Health Centre coming into operation this year.
The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, pointed out that despite the impact of the pandemic, the SAR Government has persistently invested in major infrastructure projects to consolidate economic development.
“The government office buildings in N12 and N25 of the new Outer Harbour Reclamation will commence in 2022, while the government office building at plot 6K in the ZAPE has entered the fitting-out stage,” he added.
He also pointed out that traffic is a serious issue of concern to the general public.
CE’s Four Key Requirements for Civil Servants
1. Devote unrelenting effort to speed up the city’s adequate economic diversification and to deepen anti-epidemic work.
Adequate economic diversification was of utmost importance for the MSAR Government. Revision work related to Law no. 16/2001 “Legal Framework for the Operations of Casino Games of Fortune” would be continued this year.
The MSAR Government would devote additional resources to consolidate the advantages of the city’s traditional industries.
In addition, further effort would be made to foster the development of a ‘big health’ industry, with traditional Chinese medicine research and development as an entry point; expedite development of modern financial services; promote high and new technology industries; and ensure development of cultural tourism, convention and exhibition, sports, and commercial and trade industries.
“Advances have to be made in these areas, to spur Macau’s economic development,” Ho streesed.
Regarding anti-epidemic effort, the MSAR Government would remain vigilant, work stringently to maintain the city’s anti-pandemic mechanisms, and remain as prudent as at the beginning of the pandemic.
“Further effort would be made to improve joint epidemic prevention and control mechanisms with regional partners,” the CE highlighted.
2. Constantly optimise social and livehood-related work, and enhance digital public services.
Ho said that the Government should persist with people-oriented policies, while continued effort should be made to resolve issues regarding housing, healthcare, education, care for senior citizens, and employment opportunities for local residents.
Moreover, he added that the government should strengthen the development of public infrastructure, enhance the quality of support services for the community, and respond actively to demands from the public.
“Advancing digital public services was a policy goal of the Government to provide the public with greater ease of access to public services,” he shared.
3. Pragmatically promote the development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and proactively engage Macau in the country’s overall development.
Ho stressed that work for advancing the Cooperation Zone had to be conducted in coordination with the original purpose of helping to diversify Macau’s economy, and in line with four strategic positions,
“For instance, a new platform for promoting Macau’s adequate economic diversification; a new space in which Macau residents could live and work; a new showcase to enrich the implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle; and new and high-level grounds for promoting development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.”
“In order to ensure the integration of Macau into overall national development, the city’s roles, positioning and strengths would be maximised, to serve the country’s ‘dual-circulation’ development pattern for the economy,” he explained.
4. Keep enhancing the quality of governance and promote coordinated planning of legislation.
The CE called on government officials to absorb the spirit of the important speeches by President Xi when he visited Macau.
“Adherence to law-based governance was a fundamental principle of the MSAR,” he
emphasised.
“They should also have a better grasp of the master plan of the city’s development, and be able to expand their horizons, fulfil their duties, increase efficiency and complete their tasks, in order to ensure stability of Macau’s politics, economy and society,” the CE advocated.
“All public departments have to strengthen their political awareness and responsibilities. Further effort should be devoted to ensuring social stability and the security of the nation, which were the premises for economic development,” Ho added.
In addition, he said that team spirit within governmental departments and cross-departmental communication should be encouraged, while inviting greater participation from the community in government work, as these were helpful to push forward projects relating to people’s livelihoods.
