Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said on Sunday he found it particularly encouraging that Macau has become a “shining example” of the successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
Ho made the remarks in his speech at a reception hosted by the local government at Macau Tower to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The reception, which was attended by hundreds of guests, took place two days before tomorrow’s National Day celebrations in Beijing, which Chui will attend.
In his speech, Chui noted that with the full support of the central government, the local government and civil society have “fully and correctly” upheld the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, as well as the related principles of “Macau people governing Macau” and “Macau’s high degree of autonomy.”
Chui also underlined his government’s efforts to strengthen patriotic education among young people.
Pointing out that Macau is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland this year, Chui said that during the past two decades Macau had been able to achieve rapid development by getting on the “high-speed train” of national development.
Chui, who has been Macau’s head of government since 2009, also said Macau had enjoyed “great progress” over the past 10 years. He underlined that local people’s median monthly income has reached 20,000 patacas, according to official statistics.
However, Chui acknowledged that it wasn’t always plain sailing over the past two decades when Macau was hit by the SARS outbreak and the international financial crisis as well as two super typhoons. The chief executive, whose term will end at midnight on December 19, also said “at this crucial moment of history” he was convinced that Macau’s successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle was based on the fact that it always insisted on defending ‘One Country’ while taking advantage of “Two Systems”.
According to the Macau Post Daily, Chui also said that Macau’s progress would have been impossible without the central government’s strong support.
