Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Macau to showcase casino hub as showcase of One Country, Two Systems · Global Voices

Screenshot of video “WATCH LIVE: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Macau” on South China Morning Post YouTube channel. Fair use.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Macau on December 18, 2024 for a three-day visit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the former Portuguese colony's reunification with China.

Xi will also inaugurate the city's new chief executive, Sam Hou Fai, a former high-ranking judge born and educated in mainland China, who will diversify the casino city's economy in the coming years.

Macau, a southern Chinese city with a population of around 700,000, was ceded to China by Portugal on December 20, 1999, under Chinese auspices. One country, two systems framework that guarantees the capitalist way of life and a high degree of administrative autonomy for at least 50 years. The same political system was applied to Hong Kong when the former British colonial city was returned to China on July 1, 1997.

Macau has become the world's leading gaming hub over the past two decades, surpassing Las Vegasas Beijing green-lighted the city's casino economy by allowing millions of visitors from mainland China to travel to the city each year to gamble and consume luxury. Currently, the city is classified the second richestjurisdiction in terms of GDP per capita in the world, after Luxembourg.

While landing in a special plane in Macau, Chinese leader Xi Jinping described the city as a pearl on the palm of the motherland and a successful showcase of the One Country, Two Systems principle.

President Xi Jinping urged the Macao Special Administrative Region to make full use of the institutional advantages of “one country, two systems”, work hard and be bold in innovating to create a better future for the country. cherished pearl of the homeland. pic.twitter.com/e59qpnkiBL

China Daily (@ChinaDaily) December 19, 2024

On December 20, Xi will appoint Sam Hou Fai as Macau's fourth chief executive since the city's handover to China. Sam was the only candidate blessed by Beijing in the city's leadership race in 2024. Unlike his predecessors, he was born in mainland China and established his career in the legal field with few local business connections.

Shortly after Sam announced his candidacy, he criticized the gaming industry for growing out of control. He pledged to implement the central government's proposal that Macau diversify its economy by favoring non-gaming industries, strengthening Macau's role as a bridge between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and further integrating into the Greater Bay Area.

To ensure that the Chinese president's inspection tour of the casino center takes place safely, Macau authorities have strengthened security measures: security controls have been put in place at major ports of entry, and heavy vehicles have been banned from entering the city since December 16.

In addition to barring politically sensitive people from traveling to the city, diplomats have also been temporarily affected, according to a notice issued by the US Consulate in Hong Kong and Macau:

This incident comes before Xi Jinping's visit to #Macau . Although Hong Kong activists are familiar with the practice of strict restrictions on entry into the city during “sensitive periods”, imposing this policy on foreign diplomats is apparently the first time. https://t.co/VxeVkdQVQY

Michael Mo (@michaelmohk) December 18, 2024

Transportation services, including light rail and ferries, have also been temporarily suspended. X (formerly Twitter) user @FY4Chan mocked the measures:

It’s probably because of Xi Jinping’s trip to Macau… and a paranoid fear that someone will travel by ferry from Hong Kong to try to assassinate – or simply protest in front of – him?! https://t.co/jkP6b7s5NU

YTSL (@FY4Chan) December 18, 2024

Additionally, political activists, including those residing outside Macau, have been asked not to comment on Xi's visit on social media.For example, Jason Chao, an activist who emigrated to the United Kingdom,received text messagesfrom a mainland Chinese security officer days before the 25th anniversary, urging him not to make noises that could disrupt the harmonious atmosphere during the important occasion.

As Xi Jinping arrives in Macau for the 25th anniversary of the handover, Macau activist Jason Chao, now exiled in the United Kingdom and a British citizen, has been warned against making “inharmonious” statements on social media or in posts. media. #TransnationalRepressionhttps://t.co/LpN2uI8Mqe

Hong Kong Democracy Council (@hkdc_us) December 18, 2024

Negative reports were forcibly suppressed. Independent online news siteAll About Macauinformed its readers on Facebook that they were forced to unpublish a report on security measures in Macau.The title of the report read: Xi Jinping is expected to visit Macau tomorrow, security measures have been strengthened in several places, rendering machines and motorcycle parking records have been sealed. Internet users made fun: the grasses and trees were treated like an army ( ).