The Third Standing Committee has discussed a bill concerning a “legal system for attracting talent” and yesterday introduced the first six articles. Of these, the committee paid particular attention to the composition and operation of judging committees tasked with attracting overseas talent.
The government passed the bill August 11. The main contents of the bill is about establishing the classification and definition of three types of talent, being high-end talent plan, excellent talent plan, and senior professional talent plan.
After the meeting, the committee president, Vong Hin Fai, said that the committee agrees with the six articles of the bill introduced by the legal advisory group of Legislative Assembly (AL) including the relevant process for attracting talent using tax incentives.
In the second article – the objectives of the bill – Vong said some in the committee queried how the government would provide education, promotion, and training to the talent attracted to Macau, as these details were not explained. The committee also queried whether this content should be included in the objectives of the bill.
“[We would like to know] how the government can attract, accommodate and introduce talent into Macau, and what these three concepts mean,” Vong said. Vong said further clarification was also needed to clarify whether the key industries mentioned in the bill are related to the big four industries mentioned in the government statement. These key industries need also be defined.The third article names the three types of talents, but is not clear enough about the first two types of talents, and some in the committee is concerned that the overall definitions of the three types of talents were not specific enough. They also claimed the bill does not clearly explain what standard the government will use to measure and classify people into the three types.
The committee also addressed two terms in the fourth article: first are the powers of the Chief Executive (CE) in the bill, claiming the bill does not list the extension of residence permit power for relevant talents. The extension of the residence permit powers is mentioned in article twenty-two, but not mentioned directly among the powers of the CE.
Second, concerning the authorization, part of the committee questioned whether the authorization can happen between classes of the government (for example, the CE authorizing the Secretary, the Secretary authorizing the director, and so on).
Some committee members believe the bill is important for the government, and that authorization should only be a power of the CE. Some committee members also considered the judging committees formed to attract talent, such as composition direction (which was the purpose of establishing the department), operation, and the person managing the department.
For the operation of the department, Vong expressed whether the department will set up different committee groups to deal with different affairs.
Vong said that the committee hopes the government can provide more details about the bill.
For article six, he advised the committee to formulate special institutions for online video meetings.
According to the previous statement of the government, “high-end talent” refers to those who have outstanding talents or technical abilities and have achieved internationally recognized outstanding achievements or who have made significant contributions in a specific field.
“Excellent talent” refers to those who are beneficial to the moderate diversification of the local economy, especially those who can promote the development of key industries, possess professional experience and technical capabilities, and perform outstandingly in their professions or industries.
“Senior professional talent” refers to those who have professional experiences and skills, can support the development of key industries, or make up for the development needs of Macau, but are in short supply. Staff reporter
