Gov’t pledges to safeguard press freedom

The Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng pledged that the government would continue to ensure freedom of the press and support development of the news media.
In his speech at a lunch reception with Chinese-language local news organisations on Friday, Ho praised news organisations for demonstrating – especially during the beginning of the Covid-19 alert– “courage and commitment in fulfilling their social responsibility, in order continuously to provide the public with timely and accurate information on the pandemic.”
“Such effort had helped the government effectively to deliver and implement its disease prevention policies and measures,” said the top official.
Ho also remarked that the government would follow its strategy of preventing imported cases and a rebound of the epidemic, leading to create favourable conditions for “restoring normal social and economic order,” and ensuring the forthcoming Legislative Assembly election proceeded smoothly.
Further, he pledged that the government will continue carrying out its governance functions in strict accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law, to protect freedom of the press and support development of the news media.
“I hope that the Chinese-language media will continue upholding their tradition of loyalty to our country and to Macau, hold fast to the correct approach and integrity, fulfill the monitoring and guiding functions of their editorials, objectively report on society and people’s lives,” he concluded.
He then stressed that the overall economic and social development remained stable, and that the government had maintained steady progress over the course of the administration. LV