Wong says media should ‘embrace’ the GBA initiative

The media should embrace the opportunities offered by the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and actively participate in its promotion, according to the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, who voiced this directive during a speech at the opening of the First Media Summit of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area held in Guangzhou yesterday.
The Secretary was attending the event to represent the Chief Executive (CE), Chui Sai On, who was still on an official visit to Portugal (more on p6-7).
According to a statement from the Government Information Bureau, Wong said, “the media, especially of the main ones, should take advantage of this historic opportunity that marks the process the development [of the GBA], being broadcasters, participants and promoters of this initiative.”

Wong presented two ways for the media to embrace the initiative. The first, “[through] highlighting the elements of this era and promoting a good dissemination of the history of this bay.” Wong said this could be achieved using, “a number of news materials for the media, including the country’s innovative development models, ideas for modernizing governance, Greater Bay policies and measures, and important projects and their results.”
According to the official, the priority “should be the orientation and commitment of the media to the Greater Bay [project].”

As for the second way, Wong suggested that a good area of focus for the media should be examining the strengthening of cooperation in innovation and joint presentation of ideas, and the way in which this can be a lever for the development and construction of the GBA.

Concluding his speech, Wong reaffirmed that the “main media” in the three territories should be focused on boosting and promoting the construction of the GBA, bearing in mind the motto “unity is strength,” taking advantage of new ways to propagate the news, and to “promote the vitality and wonderful history of the bay, allowing the whole world to witness its development, listen to the voice of China and feel the Chinese vitality.”

In response to the apparent directive, José Carlos Matias, President of the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association, told Radio Macau it would be better for journalists to decide for themselves how best to cover the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Speakers at the inauguration ceremony of the conference, aside from Wong, included the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Li Xi, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, the directors of the Liaison Offices of both Hong Kong and Macau, and Head of Propaganda Department of the Central Committee, Huang Kunming.

The main theme of the inaugural summit was “First-class Bay, the responsibility of the media.”