Queen’s birthday celebrated with new British consul general

Andrew Heyn (left) and Sonia Chan

A celebration was held last night at the Macau Tower to mark the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The U.K. consul general for Hong Kong and Macau was in attendance, marking one of Andrew Heyn’s first public appearances in Macau since he assumed the role in October 2016. Heyn formerly held senior positions in countries such as Myanmar, Portugal and Ireland.

Having been only in the role for around nine months, Heyn claimed to be a regular visitor to Macau.

“What an extraordinarily unique place Macau is,” he said yesterday in a short speech prior to toasting to the Queen’s health. “I have been [surprised] by the unique nature of Macau; it really is something special.”

Heyn also expressed his optimism yesterday for an information-sharing agreement between the U.K. and the MSAR on matters of taxation intelligence.

“We are working with [Secretary Chan’s] colleagues on a free exchange of tax information between [our two territories],” he explained. “We’re hoping that, in the coming months, the U.K. will be one of the first financial arrangements that Macau reaches to enable the exchange of tax information.”

With regards to British people in Macau, Heyn estimated that there could be as many as 1,000 Brits residing within the territory. He also said that British tourists are the most numerous among visitors to Macau out of all European Union countries.

The consul general was joined on stage by Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan, who was herself escorted by three members of the First Battalion of the Welsh Guards.

“The historic decision [Brexit] is expected to lead to numerous political and economic changes in the U.K., the EU and even the rest of the world. There is a famous saying: Progress is impossible without change. The Queen emphasized this repeatedly in Her Majesty’s first televised speech six decades ago; the importance of embracing change,” she said. “This holds true for the U.K. and for the Macau SAR as well.”

The Macao Orchestra Brass, directed by Professor Kevin “Kit” Thompson of the University of Macau, performed the national anthems of both China and the U.K. during the celebratory evening.

“I think that tonight has been very successful,” Thompson told the Times. “We’re only a small community here in Macau – by Hong Kong standards – but we are a very engaged community. And I think the good thing about Macau is, because we are so small, it’s very easy to do things like this.”