Prime Minister Li Keqiang said to Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng in Beijing on Thursday that the central government recognised Ho and his government’s work, underlining that “in 2022 he led the [Macao] government in a pragmatic manner, having firmly taken a series of measures to stabilise the economy, protect jobs and the population’s well-being hence safeguarding the stable development of Macao”.
Li pointed out that “the central government will insist on the full and unwavering pursuit of the principles of ‘One Country, Two Systems’; ‘Macao governed by its people with a high degree of autonomy’; improving the legal system and mechanisms of the Macao Special Administrative Region in relation to the Constitution and the Basic Law and supporting the chief executive and the Macao SAR government in the governance of Macao”.
The prime minister – who will retire in 2023 – also said he hopes the Macao government will be able to guide its citizens in their progress, so that they can overcome obstacles, better integrate into the larger national development environment, actively promote the construction of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, promote diversified and adequate development of the economy to achieve better results, improve people’s livelihood and maintain Macao’s long-term stability and prosperity.
In Ho’s report to the prime minister, he said that Macao has followed the Second Five-Year Plan and government action lines for 2022 which included “organising the prevention and fight against Covid-19 and economy recovery, the pragmatic promotion of the development of adequate economy diversification, the continued optimisation of actions in favour of the well-being of residents, the safeguarding of national security and the constant deepening of the public administration’s reform”.
He also said that Macao was severely affected by the pandemic, however, with the strong support of the central government, the local government was able to “unite all sectors to overcome various obstacles and achieve new progress in various activities and maintain stability and harmony in society”.
The chief executive told premier Li that Macao will implement the fundamental principle of “Macao governed by patriots” in 2023, in order to safeguard sovereignty, security and the interests of national development and will make the best use of the policies to support the nation.
“Macao will gather consensus to move forward steadily and with commitment to create a new chapter in the successful implementation of the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ with Macao’s own characteristics,” Ho said to Li.
