Macau secretaries on China youth trip, reviewing mainland’s development

Sonia Chan, Secretary for Administration and Justice

Launched on July 13, several study and exchange trips named “Walking Together in the New Era” have been organized by the Liaison Office and the Macau SAR government.

The Chief Executive and five of the city’s secretaries led local groups on visits to mainland cities to allow them to learn more about China. The trips will all be completed by July 25.

In total, 500 “excellent local youth” representatives have been selected for the visits, which have been divided into five “study and visit” groups.

At the launch, Chief Executive Chui Sai On emphasized that the key purpose of the trips is to enhance Macau youths’ knowledge and understanding of “the extraordinary developmental progress of the Chinese nation in terms of standing up, getting rich and becoming powerful.”

The five groups will visit Hebei, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Hunan provinces, joined by the Chief Executive, the five secretaries, and the director and four deputy directors of the Liaison Office.

The Chief Executive and the secretaries will be the team leaders of the five groups, but each will be accompanied by one director-level official from the Liaison Office working as a consultant.

Sonia Chan, Secretary for Administration and Justice, led a visiting group to Pingtang, Guizhou province, to witness China’s state-key scientific and technological facilities.

Chan claimed that by simply spending one day visiting Guizhou, the 100 youth have enhanced their existing friendships and built new friendships with other youth from Guizhou.

In 2018, according to statistics released by China, Guizhou ranked 29th in GPD per capita among the mainland provinces. Despite this, Sonia Chan remarked that Guizhou’s economy is developing rapidly.

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong led a visiting team to Jiangsu province, and in particular, to Nanjing, Yizheng, Yangzhou and Changzhou. During the trip, the youths visited advanced Chinese enterprises, and cultural and educational projects. Upon the trip’s completion, Leong concluded that it had deepened their understanding of China.

“Understand the country’s history, know the country’s condition, remember national humiliations, chant the country’s grace, have the heart to serve the country, bear the country’s responsibility, reinforce the country’s strength and achieve the country’s dream,” Leong said to the youth after the trip.

Leong observed that Macau could learn from Jiangsu in terms of establishing an iconic landmark, integrating businesses and investing in patriotic education.

As of press time, no updates have been provided about the other trips.

Lionel Leong, Secretary for Economy and Finance