Central Government’s Liaison Office in Macau listens to Wang Changfu, Chief of Congjiang Health Department, explaining on the health facility
Macau has provided poverty-relief measures to Congjiang County since 2018. This has helped the county improve educational facilities, achieve a better standard of living, sell agricultural products and increase the quality of training given to citizens.
A rural area in southwest China’s Guizhou Province has undergone profound changes in recent years, thanks to assistance from Macau. Since donations began, in line with assisting facilities and agreements, over RMB115 million has been collected in total.
Congjiang, a poverty-stricken area of Guizhou Province, is administrated by Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture and is one of the least developed areas in Southwest China’s Guizhou Province, suffering deeply from poverty.
In 2018, the Macau government and Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau identified Congjiang as their target for poverty relief activities. A total of 27 assistance agreements have been signed since 2018, covering education, industrial development, employment, medical services, travel and talent cultivation. This initiative has been carried out on two levels – the government level and civil society.
According to the summary report from the Guizhou poverty alleviation and development office, a series of relief measures have been carried out in six fields:
Education. Macau has invested a total of around RMB84 million into education funds in Congjiang. This has supported the construction of 13 primary schools and kindergartens, benefiting 3,330 students in 6 towns.
The new Dadai Elementary School campus, which sits in a remote village inhabited by the Miao ethnic group, is one of the key projects. With an investment of some RMB30 million from the SAR government, the school is almost entirely equipped with complete teaching facilities.
In addition, Macau has assigned experts in early childhood education and excellent English teachers to Congjiang County, and they have trained 400 teachers there. Some 1,186 local teachers have been sent to Macau for exchange in a bid to improve their teaching capabilities. A RMB500,000 award was set up for outstanding rural teachers in Congjiang County. Selected Macau schools became sister schools with six primary and middle schools in the county, resulting in a total of donation of RMB1.086 million.
Not only have schools provided assistance, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau has also actively encouraged their staff to donate. This effort led to a total of RMB4.5 million being collected to support 9,000 primary and middle school students from poor families in Congjiang. The Macau Foundation also provided scholarships worth RMB1.66 million to six Congjiang students. Tak Chun Charity Association set up a student fund in the county, which is expected to benefit more than 900 students.
Delegations from the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Office in Macau and the Macau SAR Government at the Gantuan Primary School donation ceremony
Health care – Macau provided a total of RMB8.9 million to build 24 clinics in Congjiang. The Macau Foundation and the Song Qing Ling Foundation have donated 7 ambulances, worth RMB1.05 million, to health centers in various towns. Various health care services and facilities were created to provide dedicated services to cataract patients, students, the disabled, and people with hearing difficulties.
Living environment. Macau societies jointly provided RMB6.64 million and helped 685 households in 9 villages in Congjiang renovate old houses to ensure living quality and housing safety. In addition, Macau’s enterprises and associations helped with the installation of environment-related facilities, such as streetlights, safety fences and rubbish bins.
Industrial development. With support from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation and Guiyang Customs, Congjiang County obtained a grain export quota and exported 112 tons of rice to Macau.
A donation of RMB2.93 million was made by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park as a collaborative effort between Guangdong and Macau, with an aim of improving Yao medicine, which originated in Congjiang. “The donation will help with the construction of the Yao medicine processing plant, the establishment of the Yao medicine planting demonstration base, the development of research and talent training,” a report states.
In addition, the MSAR actively provided exhibition platforms for Congjiang. The county has been invited to participate in Macau International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) and Guangdong and Macau Branded Products Fair (GMBPF) for three consecutive years. With sale channels expanded, orders cumulatively reached RMB2.62 million. Since 2020, Macau has purchased more than 13,000 gift boxes with Congjiang products, reaching a total sales figure of RMB2.52 million.
35 Congjiang teenagers performing in 2019 Macau Chinese New Year Floral Floats
Culture and tourism – China Travel Service (Macau) Ltd. invested MOP1.5 million in 10 bus-body advertisements for Congjiang. The company also provides travel-related training for practitioners in the county.
Moreover, Congjiang was invited to participate in the 30th Macau Arts Festival, the 8th World Tourism Economic Forum, the 7th Macau International Tourism (Industry) Expo, and the 2019 CNY float parade, which enhanced Macau people’s knowledge and understanding of the area.
Employment. The China-funded (Macau) Employment Agency Association has provided more than 600 Guizhou citizens with jobs in Macau in the past three years. This year, a special matching service was held between Macau and Congjiang, and 10 people from the county were hired to work in Macau.
People from all walks of life from Macau have actively provided assistance to help Congjiang shake off its poverty – as well as to boost Guizhou’s economic growth. This assistance has often taken the form of donations.
The team of Bank of China, Macau Branch with students from Gantuan Primary School, which they sponsored
Guizhou officials said that with the support of Macau, the people living below poverty line in Congjiang fell from 14.77% to 3.6% of its population.
Macau is an important platform for exchange and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Guizhou is one of the first groups of national inland areas set as an “economic pilot zone” and is an important land-sea connection for the Belt and Road Initiative in western China.
Guizhou and Macau could possibly develop a closer relationship and deepen cooperation through the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the Pan-Pearl River Delta region’s economic and trade cooperation, and the construction of New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.
Dadai Primary School, sponsored by Macau
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