CE heads to Beijing to talk cooperation, 5-year plan

The Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, yesterday embarked on a three-day visit to Beijing, to invite Beijing authorities to be part of the next edition of the Macau International Trade and Investment Fair.
This morning, before his departure for Beijing, Chui said he would meet with the Secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee, Guo Jinlong, for detailed discussions on further opportunities for Beijing-Macau cooperation, according to a statement from the Government Information Bureau (GCS).
He said the next round of Beijing-Macau cooperation would cover administration and justice, economy and finance, and social and cultural affairs.  Further topics for cooperation might include sports, traditional Chinese medicine, environmental protection, culture, tourism, and youth affairs.
Beijing-Macau cooperation would help further drive Macau’s sustainable development and promote the diversification of the city’s economy, said Chui according the statement.
He added that it would also help the city in taking advantage of the growing number of opportunities in terms of regional cooperation, and in expanding ties with three economic zones on the mainland, respectively in the Pearl River Delta region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Bohai region.
The government already has established a long-term cooperation relationship with Guangdong Province, in the Pearl River Delta region. More recently, Macau established a partnership with Jiangsu Province in the Yangtze River Delta region. By deepening cooperation with Beijing, Macau would be able to strengthen its ties with the Bohai Economic Rim, covering Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.
The other highlight of the Chief Executive’s visit to Beijing will be a meeting with officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, and from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, to discuss Macau’s first Five-Year Development Plan.
Chui said the government had received nearly 4,200 submissions – featuring about 10,800 opinions – during the two-month long consultation period on the proposal for the five-year plan.

Property rights should not be affected

The Chief Executive said the findings of a Commission Against Corruption report  should not have a negative impact on the property rights of owners of apartments in the King Light Garden and One Central buildings. This was in consideration of the fact that they had completed the registration procedures for their respective flats. The King Light Garden and One Central private housing developments were built on sites acquired through a land swap deal involving in return the site of the former Iec Long Firecracker Factory. That land swap was considered null and void by the CCAC in its latest report.