Mainland China’s leading official on Macao affairs, Xia Baolong, met with the chief executive (CE) of Macao, Sam Hou Fai, yesterday afternoon, telling the Macao leader that the central government approved of “the good start” that Sam’s administration had made since it assumed office on last December.
According to a government statement, the director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was received by Sam at the Macao Government Headquarters on the first day of his six-day inspection tour, which will conclude on 13 May.
Aside from the mainland government’s praise, Xia also relayed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s greetings and “sincere interest in the well-being of the people of Macao.”
He also engaged in discussions with the CE to further boost his understanding on the latest developments and plans in Macao and the work that the SAR government is currently engaged in.
Macao’s leader meanwhile stressed that his administration would “actively” put into practice Xi’s aspirations for Macao and looked forward to receiving “strong support” from the central government.
[See more: Xia Balong starts a six-day inspection tour of Macao today]
Other senior officials who attended the meeting yesterday included the director of the Macau Liaison Office, Zheng Xincong; the president of the Legislative Assembly, Kou Hoi In; the president of the Court of Final Appeal, Song Man Lei, and the nine key members of Sam’s cabinet.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Lau Siu-Kai, a member of the state-affiliated Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said that Xia’s current trip is mainly intended to see if the current SAR government is fulfilling the “four expectations” that were mentioned during Xi’s visit to Macao last December. These include economic diversification, government reform, strengthening international ties and securing social cohesion.
The current visit marks the third consecutive time that Xia has visited Macao for a fact-finding tour in May. The previous visit took place over the course of a week from 13 to 19 May, while the 2023 visit lasted for four days between 23 and 26 May.
According to TDM, Xia held a meeting this morning with Macao’s three former CEs – Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Fernando Chui Sai On and Ho Iat Seng – at the San Chok Un Guesthouse, where he is staying.
Xia recently made global headlines when he called US nationals “peasants” who should be allowed to “wail before the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization” in what appeared to be a rebuke to an earlier interview in which the US vice president, JD Vance, described Chinese citizens as “peasants.”
