Delegation visits Macau-funded projects in wake of quake

A delegation visited Sichuan province last weekend with the principal aim of visiting Macau-funded rebuilding projects undertaken after the Beichuan earthquake. The delegation was co-organized by the Macau Professional and Executive Women Association, the Zonta Club of Macau and the Macau Civil Servants’ Tennis Association.
The trip was also intended to act as a broader cultural, educational, sporting and charitable mission, a statement from the organizers read.
Led by Pou Yee Ieong, the delegation was comprised of civil servants and executives from Macau and various countries, including the US, Portugal, Germany, France, India and Hong Kong.
It was supported by both Macau and Chengdu entities, namely the Public Administration Bureau, the MSAR Government and the Coordination Department of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR.
According to the statement, the delegation was welcomed in Chengdu as the “truly United Nations of Macau” by local authorities. The statement added, “Through its multicultural advantage, Macau SAR brings the world to Chengdu.”
On arrival the delegation was offered a welcome dinner at Daoyutai MGM Boutique Hotel, where a Sichuan official, Zhang Yuan, thanked the government of Macau for the immediate support provided in the aftermath of the 2008 earthquake. She added that economic, cultural and sports exchanges between the two regions had been a defining characteristic of the Sichuan-­Macau friendship.
A representative of the Liaison Office in Macau SAR, Bian Tao, pointed to Sichuan’s offering of two pandas from the Panda Breeding Center of Chengdu as a sign of the friendship. During the trip, members of the delegation had the chance to visit “Mei Mei”, the panda adopted by MGM Macau, at the Panda Breeding Center.
On Sunday the delegation participated in a friendly tennis tournament between the Macau Civil Servants’ Tennis Association and the Chengdu Tennis Management Center. DB