Ho’s election campaign office | 6,000 square foot refurbishment for one million patacas

Macau Chief Executive candidate Ho Iat Seng has spent over 1 million Macau patacas to refurbish his election campaign office.

Yesterday, Ho’s election campaign office gave local media a tour, revealing everything from hardware to software, as well as the cost of the office, which occupies the entire sixth floor of Edifício Comercial Rodrigues.

Iau Teng Pio, an agent of Ho’s team, disclosed the refurbishment cost. “The place is small, but it is acceptable for a short period of use,” said Iau.

Previously, Ho stated that his election campaign cost would be totally financed from his own pocket.

Besides the renovation, Ho is also paying more than MOP100,000 for the rent of his office. “Mr. Ho has the sufficient finances to bear the costs,” said Iau.

The city’s election law regulates a maximum of 6.4 million patacas for any election campaign.

In total, Ho’s election office has 24 workers, eight of whom are volunteers, including Iau Teng Pio, Chui Yuk Lam, president of the Industrial Association and the director of Ho’s office, and former vice president of the Legislative Assembly (AL) Lam Heong Sang, who is the deputy-director of Ho’s office.

As of today, Ho’s office is still preparing his election platform, with the team having just made its first video earlier this week.

Speaking about being Ho’s agent, Iau said that he is “honored” to be in Ho’s team. “We went to the same school. After I started working for the AL, I learnt more about him, and we learnt about each other more,” Iau said.

Another volunteer, Chui Yuk Lam, joined Ho’s election campaign team because of his long-term relationship with Ho, and because they share the same opinions and ambitions.

“We have known each other for 25 years, and we have been working together for a long time. I very much respect his election concept,” said Chui.

Chui also indicated that, though the third volunteer, Lam Heong Sang, Ho will represent both the employers’ and the employees’ sectors, as Chui himself works in the former sector and Lam is from the latter.

So far, the public has three channels through which to issue their opinions to Ho’s office: Ho’s election website, a Facebook page, and a WeChat official account.

Regarding street campaigning, at the current stage, the office has no clear plans because the Chief Executive Electoral Affairs Commission has not provided a detailed timetable for the election.