Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng delivers a speech at a reception marking the 21st anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, in Macao SAR, south China, Dec 20, 2020. (CHEONG KAM KA / XINHUA)
MACAO – China's Macao Special Administrative Region will earnestly safeguard national security and further improve the legal and institutional guarantee for the principle of "patriots administering Macao," Chief Executive of Macao SAR Ho Iat Seng said Tuesday.
The Macao SAR will improve the supporting legislation on safeguarding national security, step up law enforcement in this regard, enhance liaison and cooperation with cities in the mainland, particularly those in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to prevent and deter acts endangering national security, and guard against interference or penetration of external forces, Ho said while delivering the policy address for the fiscal year 2022.
He also stressed enhancing and expanding publicity and education on national security.
Macao will also advance its cooperation with the mainland in various sectors while focusing on building the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin in the neighboring mainland city of Zhuhai, so as to be better integrated into the country's overall development, Ho noted.
Macao Special Administrative Region will advance the construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin in a pragmatic manner.
Ho Iat Seng, Chief Executive,Macao SAR
The SAR will implement financial policies of the Greater Bay Area, improve policies that facilitate Macao residents to work and live in the mainland, attract more science and technology enterprises to operate in Macao and improve the SAR's capabilities of scientific research, he said.
Macao will also step up cooperation and exchange with the countries and regions along the Belt and Road in education, tourism, medical treatment, sports and culture and fully play its role of a platform linking China and Portuguese-speaking countries, Ho added.
HENGQIN CO-OP ZONE
Macao Special Administrative Region will advance the construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin in a pragmatic manner to gradually implement reform and opening-up measures, said the CE.
In September, the central authorities issued a general plan for building the cooperation zone in Hengqin, which is located in Zhuhai city, Guangdong Province, just adjacent to Macao, as a major arrangement to enrich the practice of "one country, two systems" in Macao and boost the SAR's appropriate economic diversification.
READ MORE: Macao CE vows to work with Guangdong to develop Hengqin
The Macao SAR government will speed up the drafting of major supporting policies, including special measures to relax market access in the cooperation zone, as well as a list of the first batch of authorized items and encouraged industries, Ho said in the policy address for the fiscal year 2022.
Tremendous efforts should be made to diversify the Macao economy by developing new industries, Ho said, stressing that the SAR government will work to promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine, modern financing, and tourism and related industries in the cooperation zone.
The SAR government will also actively participate in the building of legal system in the area, deepening exchanges and cooperation in law and justice with neighboring Guangdong Province, and improving the dispute settlement mechanism, Ho added.
EPIDEMIC CONTROL, ECONOMIC RECOVERY
The Macao leader said the SAR will further strengthen the epidemic prevention system and promote the stable recovery of its economy in the coming year.
The Macao SAR government will strive to raise the vaccination rate of COVID-19 among residents in order to build up herd immunity and take multiple measures to promote economic recovery and guarantee employment, said Ho.
Efforts will be made to improve plans for targeted epidemic control and massive nucleic acid testing, build large-scale medical facilities for quarantine, and shore up abilities for health quarantine at border checkpoints and epidemiological investigations at communities, he said.
The government will adopt a proactive fiscal policy and expand public investment, promote the recovery of tourism and external demands, and facilitate the steady development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, Ho added.
ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION
Macao will strive to nurture and develop industries to speed up appropriate economic diversification in 2022 in light of the heavy blows dealt by COVID-19 on the SAR's economy, said Ho.
The SAR government will actively nurture and develop industries suitable for Macao while consolidating and improving traditional advantageous industries so as to build an industrial structure that is appropriately diversified and sustainable, Ho said when delivering the policy address for the fiscal year 2022.
Efforts will be made to develop a comprehensive tourism and leisure industry combining the elements of food, sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, medical treatment and sports, nurture and develop the health industry starting with the research and manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine, Ho said.
The government will also advance the development of modern finance, science and technologies, conventions and exhibitions, and culture and sports, while assisting with the transformation and upgrading of small- and medium-sized enterprises, he said.