Lawmakers on Thursday passed the government bill declaring September 3 this year as a mandatory holiday to celebrate the nation’s anti-fascist victory over Japan.
Lawmakers unanimously passed the bill in an urgent procedure without legislators’ usual committee-level discussion as is customary for government-drafted bills.
Government representatives including Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan attended Thursday’s meeting in the legislature’s hemicycle to introduce the bill.
Chan said that the State Council in Beijing had already declared September 3 a national holiday in the mainland to celebrate the nation’s World War II victory thus the local government had come up with the bill to declare the day a mandatory holiday here as well. Hong Kong has done the same.
She also said the bill had the full backing of all the representatives of the city’s labour and business sectors on the government-appointed Standing Council on Social Concerted Action.
The council is an advisory body to the chief executive on the formulation of labour policies.
A mandatory holiday means that all those who have to work on that day have the right to be paid triple their normal salary.
Chan also said after the bill was approved by the legislature the government would formally declare it a public holiday in Macau.
A total of 28 lawmakers cast their votes and all supported the bill. There are 33 lawmakers in the legislature.
September 3 this year marks the 70th anniversary of China’s victory. In the mainland, the day is officially known as “the 70th Anniversary of the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese War and the World Anti-Fascist War Victory Commemoration Day.”
September 3 is informally known as V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day.
Japan formally signed the Instrument of Surrender on board the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. In China, the Victory over Japan Day was marked with a 3-day holiday, which began on September 3, 1945. (macaunews/macaupost)
