Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has congratulated Ho Iat Seng on his election as Macau’s next chief executive on Sunday, voicing expectations of strengthening ties between the nation’s two special administrative regions.
A statement by the Hong Kong government on Sunday quoted Lam as saying that Ho has been committed to serving Macau and making significant contributions.
“In addition to his active participation in areas of social services such as education and culture, he [Ho] has served in a number of important offices since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region, including the president of the fifth- and six-term of the Legislative Assembly,” Lam said.
“With Ho’s devotion to social services and wealth of experience in holding public office, he will certainly lead Macau to scale new heights,” Lam said.
According to the statement, Lam noted that both Hong Kong and Macau enjoy the advantages of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. The two cities have closes ties and have fostered deep bonds between their citizens, Lam said, adding that the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) last year has markedly shortened the distance between the two sides.
“Playing important roles in the country’s reform and opening-up, Hong Kong and Macau as core cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area development can complement each other, contributing to the Greater Bay Area and bringing about better life for the people in the two places,” Lam said, according to the Macau Post Daily.
According to the statement, Lam said that she looks forward to working closely with Ho to promote the development of the two cities. Ho was elected with 98 percent of the votes cast by the 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee on Sunday. He’s slated to take office on December 20.
