Gov’t to observe silence for former president Jiang Zemin

The SAR government will participate in formal mourning at the memorial service for former president of the People’s Republic of China, Jiang Zemin, tomorrow.

The principal officials of the SAR government, members of the Executive Council, and staff from the legislative and judicial authorities, will stand and observe a three-minute silence as a mark of respect tomorrow 10 a.m., during the live television broadcast of Jiang’s memorial service.

No government officials will attend any public entertainment activity, according to a statement issued by the Government Information Bureau.

All entertainment and celebratory activities organized or funded by the government and scheduled for the day will be suspended. The government has additionally appealed to all community associations, organizations, and all sectors of the community to suspend all entertainment and celebratory activities scheduled for the day of the memorial service, and to arrange for their staff to watch the memorial service and to participate in the mourning in silence.

The Education and Youth Development Bureau will arrange for all tertiary institutions, secondary schools, primary schools, and kindergartens in Macau to fly flags at half-mast on their respective campus facilities.

Any celebratory activities scheduled for that day will also be suspended at those educational venues, and teachers and students will observe the three-minute silence.

In front of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau SAR, where a mourning hall has been set up, people queued to express their grief.

Over recent days, people from across China have continued to mourn Jiang Zemin, who passed away Wednesday in Shanghai aged 96. LV