Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Director Zheng Xiaosong said in his New Year address his office believed that the local government will “organically” combine the upholding of the central government’s “overall jurisdiction” over the city with the safeguarding of a high degree of autonomy of Macau.
Zheng, the central government’s highest-ranking official posted to Macau, also said in the message his office believed that the local government will administer the city based on President Xi Jinping’s guidelines, fully and accurately implement the “one country, two systems” principle, as well as carry out its work in strict accordance with the nation’s Constitution and the Macau Basic Law.
According to The Macau Post Daily, Zheng, who has headed the office since last September, urged Macau to grasp the opportunities created by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), nurture new economic growth points, develop emerging high-end industries, and promote the city’s economic diversification.
Zheng also urged Macau’s civil society to continue to promote the city’s long tradition of loving the country and Macau, favouring harmonious relationships with other people, as well as being proactive while adopting a pragmatic approach towards dealing with problems.
Zheng urged the local government to enhance Macau people’s sense of belonging to the country and their patriotism.
Zheng also said it was “unforgettable” that the local government organised disaster relief work in collaboration with the various segments of Macau’s civil society after Macau was battered by lethal Super Typhoon Hato last year – the strongest storm in the city on record (since 1953), particularly the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Macau Garrison’s participation in the relief work in the special administrative region for the first time, enabling local people to feel the care and support from the central government and the motherland as well as to feel the “institutional strengths” enabled by the “one country, two systems” principle.
