Ho Iat Seng discusses his popularity among Macau people

Yesterday, the Chief Executive-elect Ho Iat Seng held an exclusive interview with CCTV’s Radio the Greater Bay, during which Ho discussed his insights on “winning” the Chief Executive Election, the Greater Bay Area, Macau’s economy, local youth, the ‘one country, two systems’ policy, as well as Macau’s Love the Country and Love Macau education.

His remarks differ slightly to his previous statements in regard to several of the topics.

When questioned by the interviewer on why Ho “has always had such high trust and popularity,” Ho said that it was because “Macau [has] an election,” indicating that he became Chief Executive through the support of his peers in Macau.

“The election committee is produced from different sectors. Thus, basically, the general public has some understanding about me. I am a rather responsible person. I fulfilled my duty in the National People’s Congress […], I basically work in accordance with my duty in the Legislative Assembly and in [Macau’s] Executive Council, where everybody endorses [my work],” said Ho.

During the Radio the Greater Bay interview, Ho was naturally asked questions related to the Greater Bay Area.

The Chief Executive-elect noted that, as of today, the majority of commentary about the Greater Bay focuses only on the nine cities of the mainland. Ho reminded the audience that Macau itself is a part of the Greater Bay.

“By sitting in Macau today we are already in the Greater Bay Area. But many young people don’t understand that, [as they] think that only by going to the mainland are they going to the Greater Bay Area.”

While speaking about Macau’s specialty compared with the other 10 GBA cities, Ho discussed Macau’s European history.

“Is there another city in the Greater Bay Area with 400 years of combined Chinese and Western culture? There is not. We have a strong background of European culture,” said Ho.

When asked if mainland China has more opportunities for Macau youth, Ho said, “there are certainly opportunities in the mainland, but we [Macau] offer more opportunities.”

Citing Macau’s unemployment rate, Ho said, “Everybody has a job, therefore most youth do not need to go to mainland China for work. They can explore their special skills in Macau.”

The interviewer also asked Ho “why Macau has such a strong foundation of Love the Country and Love Macau.”

“Macau has 77 elementary education institutes. They are all education [institutes] that Love the Country and Love Macau very much. […] Macau people all cherish harmony. Before the handover, we had been through a period when the economy was not good and society was unstable. Everybody suffered and everybody knows today’s harmony didn’t come easily. […] We have a consensus about it.”

When asked about Macau’s changes before and after the handover, Ho talked about the Macau peoples’ “political identity.”

“I lived over 40 years before the handover and 20 years after the handover. First, there is a strong comparison, one which shows we are the owner of our house. The second is a comparison in terms of political identity. Before the handover, we didn’t have passports. After the handover, we have PRC Macau SAR passports, we have our own position. In the past, we didn’t know who we were. There were many troubles for many compatriots when they went abroad. Some of them took stateless passports, but we were Chinese nationals. Why did we take other [countries’] passports?” Ho questioned.

CE-elect’s sister hopes brother will live up to expectations

Ho Teng Iat, older sister of the Chief Executive-elect Ho Iat Seng, hopes that her brother will live up to the expectations of the country and Macau, according to a report by People’s Daily. “On the 25th of August, my younger brother Ho Iat Seng was elected as the fifth-term Chief Executive of the Macau SAR with the highest number of votes. This is a big thing for our family. While accepting congratulations from all parties, I also hope that he will live up to the expectations of the country and of Macau, and that he will bear in mind our father’s words and deeds about Love the Country and Love Macau,” said Ho Teng Iat.