Three Chief Executives agree last 20 years were Macau’s best

In separate interviews with mainland state media outlet CCTV, Macau’s three Chief Executives each expressed that in their opinion, the last 20 years since the handover have been Macau’s best period in history.
Yesterday, Chief Executive- elect Ho Iat Seng, current Chief Executive Chui Sai On, and former Chief Executive Edmund Ho were interviewed by CCTV, which serves as a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
During their interviews, they all endorsed the implementation of “one country, two systems” in Macau and the necessity of maintaining the city’s stability.

Chief Executive-elect Ho Iat Seng used Macau’s budget as an example to demonstrate how Macau had achieved great economic growth since the handover.
He also remarked that Macau had a budget of only 13 billion patacas for 500,000 to 600,000 people in the first year after the handover, yet the budget will have increased almost ninefold to 103.3 billion patacas by next year.
“Without ‘one country, two systems,’ we couldn’t have achieved it,” said Ho Iat Seng. Previously, he had called stability Macau’s first mission, and he highlighted the importance of stability once again during yesterday’s interview.

“No change is the [bedrock] of our current stability. Our tradition of loving the country and loving Macau, our immutability for the country cannot change and will surely not change,” he said.
Chui Sai On agreed that “stability is the most important.” Chui then continued by saying that Macau especially cares about the constitution law and the Basic Law. Not only has Macau implemented the Basic Law comprehensively, it also promotes the study of the Basic Law in society.
Chui also told CCTV that Macau values its young people and, in particular, it wants to pass on the core value of ‘loving the country and loving Macau’ to younger generations.
Former Chief Executive Edmund Ho declared that Macau “will become better and better” in terms of stability. Ho said that Macau’s fate was intertwined with that of the country.
Both Edmund Ho and Ho Iat Seng voiced their opinions on Macau’s economic diversification. Ho Iat Seng said that Macau hopes to develop the Chinese traditional medicine industry and reach African, Portuguese-speaking and Southeast Asian markets.
Edmund Ho then spoke about the Greater Bay Area strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative. He believes that the Greater Bay Area is a golden opportunity for Macau.
However, Edmund Ho also said that Macau lacks talented people and resources. He hopes that the central government will provide some beneficial policies for Macau in the upcoming 30 years for the development of the Greater Bay Area. The former Chief Executive believes that these beneficial policies “will lead Macau to participate further in the country’s development.”