Heritage | Alexis Tam wants to preserve Iec Long Firecracker Factory

The external wall of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, has declared that if the court confirms previous decisions indicating that the Macau government can retake the land on which the Iec Long Firecracker Factory sits, he will request that the Cultural Affairs Bureau take swift protective measures to preserve the factory.

Tam hopes that the Iec Long Firecracker Factory can be preserved entirely, and has suggested plans to repurpose the factory as a space of recreation and leisure for the public.

If the government retakes the land, the IC will also request the personnel responsible for the Iec Long Firecracker Factory to pay severance fees.

Regarding the impact of changes in human resources within the department, Tam said, “The SAR’s public administration will not be affected by any principal official’s retirement or abdication […] It is an impossible matter, and [we] will not allow it to happen. I believe this is not only in Macau, but also everywhere else.”

When talking about Macau’s protection of the historical city, Tam reaffirmed that more consultations will be carried out in 2018. A report will be drafted and delivered to the mainland authority in charge of cultural relics, which will then deliver another report to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Macau’s behalf.