Xi's visits demonstrate his care and concern for the Macao SAR

Recalling President Xi Jinping's visit to the Premier School affiliated with Hou Kong Middle School in Macao, Chao Lin-chai said she did not realize that it had already been five years.

Chao was giving an open history lesson to first-year students at the school auditorium, ahead of the 20th anniversary of Macau's return to the motherland.

The topic was to explore the reasons for the strong vitality of the principle of “one country, two systems”, an institutional arrangement aimed at ensuring lasting prosperity and stability in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions after their return to the motherland.

“I remember President Xi approached the students and told them that history was the best subject, because by knowing our history we can understand where we started from, what path we took, where where we are now, where we are going and what the future holds,” Chao said.

Xi also praised the students for their alertness and expressed confidence that Macau's youth will become “a competent generation that we are proud of” and serve as the backbone of both Macau and the country, said Chao.

Starting Wednesday, Xi will be in Macau again to attend a rally marking the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. He will also carry out an inspection tour during his three-day stay.

“We are all very happy with President Xi's visit, which reflects his attention and support to Macau. We also look forward to the new opportunities for cooperation with the mainland that this trip may bring,” Chao said, adding that Local residents believe that Macau will continue to develop and their quality of life will continue to improve.

This is the seventh time in 25 years that Xi has set foot in Macau, which covers a total area of ​​33.3 square kilometers.

On June 10, 2000, less than six months after the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region, Xi, then governor of east China's Fujian Province, visited Macau to discuss strengthening the economic and commercial cooperation between the province and the SAR. .

A year later, on October 23, Xi led a visiting delegation to Macao and reached broad consensus with Ho Hau-wah, then director-general of the SAR, on in-depth cooperation between Fujian and Macao.

On January 19, 2005, Xi, then secretary of the Zhejiang provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, led a delegation to visit Macau for an event on economic and trade cooperation.

In the midst of the global financial crisis in 2009, Xi, then Chinese vice president, visited Macau in an effort to inspire local people and help them overcome the situation. During this trip, he announced that the central government had decided to begin formal development of Hengqin Island, Guangdong Province, located less than 200 meters from Macau at its closest point.

In 2014 and 2019, Xi attended rallies marking the anniversaries of Macau's return to the motherland as Chinese president.

Five years ago, in his speech marking the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland and the inauguration of the fifth term of the Macao SAR government, Xi said that over the past two decades, the Macao government the SAR and the people of the region had worked closely together to usher in the best period of development in Macao's history.

Noting that the world is undergoing unprecedented changes in a century and Macao is facing new internal and external dynamics, Xi urged the SAR government and all sectors of society to “build on what Macau has accomplished and taken all SAR businesses to the next level.” “.

New achievement

Over the past five years, the SAR government has received strong support from the central government to overcome challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, and launched a series of innovative measures to promote economic development, social stability and cultural heritage, achieving remarkable results.

Last year, as a strong recovery in tourism propelled Macau's economy to 80.5% year-on-year growth, the SAR ranked as the fifth richest region in the world, according to a report published in May by Global Finance magazine.

In the first three quarters of this year, Macau's GDP grew 11.5 percent year-on-year to 301 billion patacas ($38 billion), according to data from the Statistics and Census Department.

Macau relied primarily on its casino industry to drive its economic growth. However, the SAR government is now making dedicated and determined efforts to diversify Macau's industrial structure to reduce its reliance on the gambling sector.

Xu Chang, a professor at the “One Country, Two Systems” Research Center at Macau Polytechnic University, said Macao has revised its gambling law and regulations to strengthen supervision of casino operations and combat crimes related to gambling in recent years.

“Such efforts are of great importance in guiding this vital traditional industry towards legal, orderly and healthy development,” he said.

Last year, the SAR government released a development plan for Macau's economic diversification from 2024 to 2028. This is the first such plan developed for Macau.

The document outlines the “1+4” appropriate diversification development strategy which aims to strengthen Macau's function as a “One Center” for integrated tourism and leisure, while facilitating the development of “four emerging industries”, namely traditional Chinese medicine and the health sector. , modern financial services, high-tech industries and cultural, sports and convention services.

According to Xu, a series of public service facilities aimed at improving people's well-being, such as government housing for the elderly and low-income residents, in addition to convenient travel options between Macau and Zhuhai , Guangdong, through new ports and a light rail connection, have significantly improved the quality of life of Macau residents.

“All this will contribute to continuing the beautiful tradition of loving the motherland and loving Macao, and accelerating the integration of the SAR into the modernization process of the motherland, thus ensuring the constant implementation of the principle of “one country , two systems,'” Xu said. said.

During his meeting with Sam Hou-fai, Macau's new chief executive, in Beijing last month, President Xi said the central authorities would remain committed to fully and faithfully implementing the “one country, two systems” principle. and to ensure that there is no deviation or distortion in the system. its implementation.

This principle has proven to be the best answer to the Macao question left by history and the best institutional guarantee for Macao's long-term prosperity and stability after returning to the motherland.

Wang Yu, a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau, said it is necessary to have a clear understanding of this principle as an unprecedented pioneering cause.

“Therefore, President Xi once again emphasized that it must be implemented without deviation and distortion to ensure Macao's steady and long-term progress,” Wang said.

Xu, from Macau Polytechnic University, said that whether his compatriots in Macao can truly feel the care and concern of the motherland is the fundamental foundation for implementing the principle of “one country, two systems.” , without deviation or distortion.

Guarantee of progress

In recent years, the central government has launched a series of policies and measures that benefit Macao and its people, continually injecting new impetus into the long-term prosperity and stability of the SAR and fully demonstrating the attention and the central government's love for Macau.

In 2021, the central authorities decided to build the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, making the island an important new growth pole for Macao's economy.

As the nation strives to advance Chinese modernization, it was emphasized in the resolution adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in July that efforts should be made to improve relevant mechanisms so that Hong Kong and Macau play a more important role in China's modernization. opening to the outside world.

During their meeting in Beijing, Xi told Sam that this expression shows the direction for Macao to integrate into China's modernization and achieve better development, creating a new historic opportunity for the development of the SAR.

Xu, from the Polytechnic University, said Macau should take advantage of its geographical location advantages to advance China's reform and opening-up.

The region should also use its traditional relations with Portuguese-speaking countries, the ease of customs clearance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the unique policy advantages of “one country, two systems” to make pioneering contributions to exploring the path to success. towards Chinese modernization, he added.