Academic proposes ‘Macau ambience’ for Hengqin success

Innovative social administration of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone will be required to make it successful, an academic at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) said yesterday, among other suggestions.
The MUST held a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development Forum yesterday at which professor Lin Guang Zhi, the university’s director of Institute for Social and Cultural Research, made the suggestion.
Lin proposed that in order for the cooperation zone to thrive, there are six areas in which innovation can take place. Among them, he suggested the innovation of how the zone is managed. He believes that a “Macau ambience” will be advantageous to the development.
On that foundation, he proposed that permitted Macau vehicles be able to enter Hengqin without pre-review.
Moreover, a Macau structure should be introduced in Hengqin, with the academic proposing that an Internet connection similar to that in Macau and Hong Kong should be established.
He added that areas such as education, healthcare and social work from Macau should gradually be connected to the GBA through Hengqin.
One of his other suggestions concerned the expansion of Zhuhai’s power. He noted that the city’s power should be expanded to implement a free harbor system – similar to that in Macau – in Hengqin, so that various factors can flow freely.
Lin also proposed a two-tier top management structure for the cooperation zone, in order to achieve co-administration and sharing of resources. To achieve that, a Guangdong-Macau coordination board, as well as a management committee that would be incorporated in a manner similar to a company should be established. In such a structure, Macau should have a leading position.
The two cities should also make plans regarding cooperative industry development, which, according to Lin, can help Macau achieve economic diversification. The two cities should also jointly set up companies, from which returns and investments should be borne proportionally.
It was also proposed that professionals bearing valid certifications or accreditations should be allowed to practice their professions freely in Hengqin. Macau residents should also be allowed to open duty-free shops on the island.
The master development plan of Hengqin should also be amended, as suggested by Lin, so that the island can be appropriately expanded to satisfy a cooperative form of development. He proposed that the two governments should establish a leisure tourism destination including the Wanshan Island, Macau and Hengqin.
Following Lin’s presentation, the forum also saw two other presentations featuring chair professor Zhang Ke Ke, director of the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences and professor Liu Cheng Kun, Director, The Institute for Sustainable Development.
Prior to the forum, the university unveiled a book, titled “The Development Report on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-
Macau Greater Bay Area,” which compiled articles by more than 20 academics from both mainland China and the two Special Administrative Regions. The MUST described the book as a yearly think-tank report.