The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, delivers a speech at a lunch reception for representatives of local news organisations reporting respectively in Portuguese and English.
The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, today called on local news organisations reporting respectively in Portuguese and English, to continue making use of their advantages, in order to play a more active role in communications between foreign-language speakers in Macao and the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government.
Advantages enjoyed by local Portuguese- and English-language media included their outlets based in Macao’s multilingual and multicultural environment, and the opportunity available to their staff to have personal experience and insight into Chinese culture. Such staff also had the opportunity to understand the interconnecting roles their outlets had in the development of Macao’s platform role between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and Macao’s role in the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Their efforts were crucial to enhancing understanding about Macao and China across the world, said Mr Ho during a lunch reception hosted for the local Portuguese- and English-language media.
The advantages held by these news organisations were gradually becoming more evident. Many Macao people overseas, and foreigners who were friends of Macao, regularly received information about the city, and learned about the development of China, through the news platforms of the Portuguese- and English-language media, added Mr Ho.
The Chief Executive extended special thanks to the local Portuguese-language and English-language media for their contributions to conveying the MSAR Government's pandemic-prevention and -control information in a timely manner, reflecting the aspirations of, and demand for, Macao’s Portuguese-speaking and English-speaking inhabitants. As a result, the MSAR Government was able to get a better grasp of the needs and expectations of various parts of the population, and groups within the community.
To ensure news organisations could better perform their duties and fulfil their responsibilities, the MSAR Government would, said Mr Ho, continue observing the Basic Law of Macao and relevant laws and regulations, enhance its communication and interaction with the media, actively facilitate media interviews and reporting; and support the continued development of the media industry.
Mr Ho also talked about a visit in 2021 to the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin by a delegation of journalists representing many Portuguese-language and English-language media outlets in Macao. Through interviews and site visits, they gained a good understanding of the development of the Cooperation Zone. In particular, the Portuguese- and English-language media successfully enhanced – via various forms of reporting – their target audiences’ understanding of the policies and work of the Cooperation Zone, thus encouraging community participation in various Cooperation Zone construction projects.
During 2022, the MSAR Government would continue implementing the general principles of the administration. In accordance with Macao’s 2nd Five-Year Development Plan, the MSAR Government would implement all local livelihood projects in an orderly manner. It would also continue to work to realise Macao’s strategic position as a world centre of tourism and leisure, and as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries; and as a multiple-culture exchange and cooperation base with an emphasis on Chinese culture (collectively known as the centre, platform and base policies), said Mr Ho
The MSAR Government would step up its effort towards assisting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the “Belt and Road” initiative. In addition the MSAR Government would pragmatically facilitate the construction of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. These were all key objectives of Macao, in order better to integrate the city into overall national development, added Mr Ho.
