Policy Address | Ho sees Covid-19 vaccine as a way back to normality

The Chief Executive (CE), Ho Iat Seng, said that the economic recovery of the local economy, and with it, the solution for the problems and pressures faced by the population, depends on whether the scientific world can finally produce an efficient vaccine for the Covid-19.
Ho was speaking at the Legislative Assembly (AL) during the plenary session organized to reply to questions from lawmakers in relation to the measures presented in the Policy Address report for 2021 (LAG2021), also presented at the AL on the previous day.
Responding to a question from lawmaker Ella Lei, the CE said, “We are all facing this problem. The whole world is facing issues with labor and unemployment. The resolution of these problems will depend on the [Covid-19] vaccine. If we can get a vaccine and if we can supply it to the population in Macau and elsewhere, then we can take off our masks and open our doors to all tourists.”
For the CE, only when there is an effective vaccine and if all people submit to take it, can we think about a return to normality and ways to accelerate the resumption of economic activity.
“With the vaccine, the recovery will be fast. But now [the vaccine] is still under clinical testing and development. We need to wait a little longer,” the CE added.
Ho also hinted that the process of reopening the borders and allowing visitors to enter Macau will be progressive and will prioritize the neighboring regions.
“First, we need to open [the borders] to the neighboring regions and stop the NAT (Nucleic Acid Test) and then, progressively, open to all the others,” he said, expressing hopes that process of returning to normality will be catalyzed by the administration of vaccines.
Although Ho expects that the number of visitors will return to its historically high figures, he also notes that the crisis caused by Covid-19 was the ultimate warning that Macau needs to readjust and stop being dependent on a single industry. In light of this, Ho expressed the need for a concrete diversification of Macau’s economic sectors as opposed to a mere diversification of products within the tourism sector.
“This is why I say we need to adjust and balance our industries. We already experienced what happens when the facilities we have built to receive 40 million tourists suddenly see the potential customers reduced to just 600,000 ‘local tourists,” said Ho.
“It was not just us who suffered from the pandemic on the mainland; many industries also dropped due to the fall in exports. Currently [in the mainland] the primary and secondary activity sectors [namely extraction of raw materials and manufacturing] are back to thriving, but the tertiary activity sector services is also suffering,” the CE explained.
Nevertheless, Ho expressed hopes that the upcoming holiday season, which includes the Christmas, New Year, and Lunar New Year celebrations, will have a positive effect on local businesses.
Replying to a question from lawmaker Angela Leong, Ho said, “We know that we don’t have the borders open to Hong Kong, which is a very important market. So, for the time being, we can only explore opportunities on the mainland. We hope that over Christmas and Chinese New Year, we can have more tourists and receive them well, showing we are a safe place to travel to,” he concluded.

Details of Hengqin Cooperation Zone being kept secret by central gov’t

One of the topics that had stirred up interest from several lawmakers wanting to learn more about the Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone in Hengqin was conspicuously left out of the Chief Executive’s (CE) explanations.
Ho excused himself from providing insight on this, saying, “The Cooperation Zone has not yet been approved by the central government. Only after the central government approves, I can present here what is it about.”
In the reply to a related question on the potential enforcement of transborder legislation to regulate labor rights or conflicts occurring in the zone, the CE remarked, “According to the rules, if there are conflicts, we must abide by the laws of the place where the conflict occurred. We can’t produce laws that apply outside of our jurisdiction.” He noted that such an idea deserved some analysis and study however, it is “not likely” to be enforced.