English and Portuguese language media efforts are “crucial to enhancing understanding about Macau and China across the world,” Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said yesterday during a lunch reception hosted for top representatives of the local Portuguese and English language media.
“Many Macau residents overseas, and foreigners who are friends of Macau, regularly receive information about the city, and learn about the development of China, through those news platforms,” added Ho.
The Chief Executive also called on local Portuguese and English language news outlets to continue “making use of their advantages, in order to play a more active role” in providing information on governance and public affairs to foreign-language communities settled in Macau.
For Ho Iat Seng, the “advantages” enjoyed by local Portuguese and English language media include their outlets based in Macau’s multilingual and multicultural environment, and “the opportunity available to their staff to have personal experience and insight into Chinese culture.”
The Chief Executive extended “special thanks” to the local Portuguese and English media professionals for their contributions to conveying the SAR government’s pandemic prevention and control information “in a timely manner, reflecting the aspirations of, and demand from, Portuguese-speaking and English-speaking inhabitants.”
As a result, he said, the MSAR Government was able to get a better grasp of the needs and expectations of various sectors and groups within the community.
On Monday, the Chief Executive met with representatives of the Chinese media and pledged that the SAR government will continue to observe the stipulations of Beijing’s Constitution and the Basic Law of Macau to “protect the freedom of the press and to provide support to local media regarding news reporting, event coverage and professional training.”
Both luncheons were attended by the five policy secretaries and other high officials of the SAR government. PC
