The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, visits the "Music on the TM River" exhibition hall at the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, today called for concerted steps to advance reforms, while also taking bold steps to innovate in terms of policies for the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin,
Mr Sam made the remarks in a meeting in Hengqin with the Cooperation Zone’s Administrative Committee and its Executive Committee, during his inspection tour to the Cooperation Zone.
In the morning, Mr Sam inspected the “Music on TM River” exhibition hall. Subsequently, he headed to the Macao New Neighbourhood project to see respectively: the 24-hour self-service centre for Macao government affairs; a showhome; a health station; and Hengqin School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School. This was in order to obtain detailed understanding of the living conditions and residential environment in the Macao New Neighbourhood, as well as the extension to Hengqin of Macao’s governmental services, community healthcare, and educational services.
While in Hengqin, Mr Sam also visited the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation between Guangdong and Macao. There, he went to the exhibition centre of the Chinese medicine science and creativity museum, met representatives of enterprises based at the park, and received a briefing about the park’s overall planning and operational development, as well about the situation of companies moving into the park.
After completing his site visits, Mr Sam held a meeting with members of the Cooperation Zone’s Executive Committee and leading officials of its subordinate departments, to understand the overall development in the three years since the establishment of the Cooperation Zone.
Speaking in the meeting, Mr Sam quoted President Xi Jinping’s important speech delivered at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland, and the inauguration ceremony of the sixth term Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government. President Xi’s speech had outlined “Four Expectations” regarding the new-term MSAR Government.
The first point laid out by President Xi was to endeavour to promote appropriate economic diversification, said Mr Sam. It included effort to: promote the high-level coordination and deep alignment of rules between the Cooperation Zone and Macao; ensure smooth cross-boundary flow of various elements; and to target key areas, promoting the development of distinctive industries at scale, and creating a series of landmark and impactful projects and programmes.
The Central Government’s decision to develop Hengqin was aimed at promoting appropriate economic diversification for Macao, and to facilitate matters regarding the livelihoods and employment of Macao residents. As such, Mr Sam asked that the Cooperation Zone team further expedite work for the construction of the Cooperation Zone, selecting key industries in the Cooperation Zone to set up pilot projects, on the basis of ensuring national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and in line with the fundamental and constitutional principles of the mainland.
The Chief Executive noted there were a number of differences in terms of institutions, laws, regulations, and preferential policies between the Cooperation Zone and Macao. There should be further effort to complement the two sides’ strengths under the framework of a “Mutual Discussion, Joint Construction, Joint Administration and Shared Benefits” principle.
In addition, Mr Sam stressed the need to strengthen the training of civil servants so that they had a deep understanding of the regulations of both sides. The MSAR Government would delegate a greater number of Macao civil servants to the Cooperation Zone, to participate in the relevant work of the Executive Committee, so as to strengthen integrated development between Macao and Hengqin.
Accompanying the Chief Executive on his visit were: the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Cheong Weng Chon; the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tai Kin Ip; and the Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Mr Cheong Chok Man.
