Two of the most repeated phrases from Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng during his visit yesterday to the Legislative Assembly (AL) were “the need to find balance” and “the need to be patient.”
At the AL, taking part in a question and answer session with the lawmakers on matters related to this year’s Policy Address, as well as other social matters, Ho repeated the phrases whilst responding to the many requests from the lawmakers.
The CE called on lawmakers to be patient and wait for new developments, particularly when addressing inquiries related to policies related to, among other things: Hengqin, the expansion of visas and the types of visas for mainland residents, unbalanced economic recovery, and the development of policies to attract foreign investment.
The CE explained that most of these policies and suggestions are intimately related to the Macau’s development. Such policies, he said, are established by the central government and are not required by law to be debated or amended.
Concerning Hengqin, the CE concluded that the local government’s “main priority is the work related to the life of the population.” By this he meant those people who will soon occupy the Macau New Neighborhood in Hengqin and making the necessary adjustments so that “they can feel that they are in Macau.”
On the topic, the CE advanced a pilot project of allowing the recruitment of domestic helpers for local families living in Hengqin, as happens in Macau. This would be rolled out, as well as policies easing cross-border procedures for pets.
Earlier, Lawmaker Chui Sai Peng called on the need to recognize some professions in Hengqin, as well as projects from the government, related to the construction sector. Ho explained that, for the time being, the only related project is the Macau Neighborhood. He advised professionals who want to work in Hengqin to bear in mind the many present challenges and difficulties between it and Macau.
The need to “strike a balance” was also the phrase used in response to economy-related inquiries. Lawmakers drew attention to what they described as an unbalanced economic recovery that is providing no aid to anyone.
On that topic, the CE noted that the government is aware of such issues and is working on them, but that it is impossible for any government to “continuously rescue and support everyone” when businesses inevitably struggle economically.
“We know that economic development is not balanced. We are aware. During the pandemic, we also had the issue of people not being able to go out. Most stayed and consumed in Macau. So there are fluctuations,” he said, adding, “it is not always possible for the government to support everyone every time or issue consumption cards or vouchers. Resources are scarce and to support development is not just to issue consumption cards. Such was an extreme solution during the pandemic.”
Ho noted that now that the economy has recovered, there remain problems, namely with rents as landlords try to make up their losses from the pandemic period.
“We are in a transition period and we need to bear this for a time until we reach a balance,” he concluded, recalling that Macau has passed through similar and harsher difficulties and has always survived.
“We are studying measures. The Secretary for Economy and Finance is working on it. We have decided on the consumption carnival in the northern district [recently] and we need to evaluate the results of it to understand its feasibility and see if we can expand this idea to other areas. But we cannot apply this method to all areas.”
“We hope that landlords don’t raise their rents too much so that shop owners can breathe a little,” the CE said, noting that the government would not cap rent prices.
Ho blamed the lack of control in the past for over-speculation in the property sector which, according to his understanding, is now the cause of the problem; landlords have acquired their properties at very high prices and need to pay their mortgages.
Patience and balance were again argued for in responses to lawmakers Wang Sai Man and Wu Chou Kit. The former called for yet another special visa dedicated to residents of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities to use on weekends. The latter wanted to increase trade and cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries.
In response to Wang, Ho noted, once again, that visas are a national policy and depend on the positions attributed to Macau by the central government. It is, he said, not a topic for discussion, and he advised the lawmaker to wait for new policies on the matter, which are currently being developed by the central government.
As for Wu’s question, the CE noted that, due to next week’s 6th Ministerial Conference of Forum Macao, some advances would be made in this field.
According to the CE, “A new document of cooperation is to be signed at the Ministerial Conference in a couple of days, and this will expand cooperation at several levels.”
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