It is crucial for Macao to “cherish the current favourable development paradigm,” sustain economic recovery, and promote economic diversification, the SAR’s Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said in a speech on Macao SAR Establishment Day.
Speaking on Wednesday at a ceremony to mark the Macao Special Administrative Region’s 24th anniversary, Ho Iat Seng said that since Macao’s handover from Portugal to China it had been “working hand in hand” with the central government to pursue shared development and prosperity.
He hailed the past 24 years as a “remarkable chapter” in the implementation of the political principle of “one country, two systems” with “Macao characteristics,” according to an official statement.
The country’s support, he said, “provided the solid foundation from which Macao could overcome challenges and maintain long-term stability and security.”
[See more: Macao’s governance gets a tick of approval from President Xi Jinping]
Ho highlighted his government’s legislative reforms, designed to better safeguard national security, and closer management of Macao’s gaming industry, as well as the ways in which the administration was implementing the city’s first economic diversification plan.
He also spoke of plans to revitalise six historic and cultural areas in the city, in schemes backed by Macao’s gaming operators.
Around 1,000 guests – including several high-profile members of the national government – attended Macao’s 24th anniversary reception, which took place at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex.
More than 500 people attended the earlier flag-raising ceremony at Golden Lotus Square.
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