The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, and guests officiate at the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Exhibition 2022.
The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, today said the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government would spare no effort in adhering to the holistic view of national security; and safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests, with a view to continuing the successful implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle with Macao characteristics.
Mr Ho delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Exhibition, which is being jointly hosted by the MSAR Government and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR. The opening ceremony is at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex.
The Chief Executive, who is also the Chairman of the MSAR’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security, added that the MSAR Government would continue its effort regarding: ensuring unity in the community; enhancing the city’s capacity and mechanisms for safeguarding national security; consolidating the Central Government’s overall jurisdiction over Macao; and regarding maintenance of constitutional order as laid out by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law of the MSAR.
In his speech, Mr Ho gave a review of the achievements over the past year in relation to safeguarding national security. With the strong support of the Central Government, Macao had been able to attain progress in safeguarding national security, while keeping in place regular epidemic prevention and control measures. Such progress included ensuring the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Macao”; strengthening the basis in society and political system for the “One country, two systems” principle; optimising the work-, legal-, and implementation-related systems for safeguarding national security; and stepping up promotion and education effort.
Mr Ho particularly mentioned the appointment of, and assumption of duties by, respectively, the National Security Affairs Adviser and the National Security Technical Advisers on the MSAR’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security. The steps illustrated Macao was fulfilling its constitutional responsibility, while offering a stronger basis for the long-term, and stable, implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle in Macao, added Mr Ho.
The Chief Executive said the world was undergoing profound and complex changes. Thus, safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests remained a heavy responsibility. He said the MSAR Government would continue to adhere to the strategy of “preventing the coronavirus from re-entering the city to cause an outbreak”, in order to ensure the health and safety of the Macao public, while taking firm steps against “anti-China and destabilising Macao” efforts, so as to prevent and curb any attempt to endanger national security, said Mr Ho.
In his remarks, Mr Ho stressed the importance of stepping up promotion effort within the community – especially among the younger generations – regarding awareness of safeguarding national security. This was to ensure consistency of implementation regarding the “One country, two systems” principle in Macao.
Also delivering a speech at the opening ceremony was the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR, Mr Fu Ziying, who is the National Security Affairs Adviser of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security.
Mr Fu said approaches outlined in the holistic view of national security had led the country to enhance its national security mechanisms and capacity, as well as to overcome a series of challenges in relation to the political system, the economy, ideological matters, and the natural environment. The Central Government had taken a number of targeted initiatives to turn Hong Kong from chaos to stability, and to ensure long-lasting stability in Macao.
In his speech, Mr Fu said Macao had seen progress and effective measures put in place to ensure its part in safeguarding national security. He called on the Macao public to adhere to bottom-line thinking, fully implement the holistic view of national security, consistently carry out national security education, and diligently fulfil its constitutional responsibility in relation to safeguarding national security.
Mr Fu said the Macao public should fully understand the significance of safeguarding national security; strengthen the city’s legal and implementation mechanisms for safeguarding national security; and pass on the core value of loyalty to the country and to Macao. The Liaison Office would spare no effort in supporting the MSAR’s work in safeguarding national security and in promotion of national security.
Also taking part in the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Exhibition were: the Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr Ho Hau Wah; the Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the MSAR, Mr Liu Xianfa; and Deputy Commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Macao Garrison, Mr Dai Jinsong. The event was attended by approximately 420 guests.
After the opening ceremony, there was a ceremony to present awards for a writing competition under the theme "My understanding of the holistic view of national security". Ceremony guests presented awards to winning entrants. The entrants were students drawn from the tertiary education, senior high school and junior high school sectors.
This year’s National Security Education Exhibition features more than 420 images and a number of videos. It has six sections, each with its own theme. They include: great achievements in the country’s development; adherence to the holistic view of national security and continuous optimisation of the national security system; and remarkable achievements of national security in the new era, with a focus on preventing and solving major risks.
Other themes include: promotion of steady progress in the implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle with a spirit of strengthening the foundation for consolidation of it, and of tackling challenges head on; the work of forging ahead diligently for further contribution to overall national development; and the work of passing on to new generations the torch of patriotism for the country and for Macao, and the advancement of a unified effort to safeguard national security.
The exhibition at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex is open from 10am to 8pm daily, until 15 May. Members of the public can learn more about the exhibition from its dedicated website https://eesn.gov.mo.
