The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said the Government will strongly encourage Macao residents to embrace self-enhancement and will support them to learn and read more. Mr Chui said this as he delivered a speech at a reception at the Macau Tower to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Macao SAR. 'Over the past year, with the full support of the central government, the bulwark of the Basic Law and the efforts of the whole Macao community, the great principle of "One country, two systems" continues to be realised and to develop progressively,' he said. 'We promote scientific governance, build a sunshine government, step up efforts to improve people's livelihoods, promote adequate diversification of the economy, position Macao to support the national 12th Five-year Plan, intensify regional interaction and cooperation, and enhance the quality of culture and people. 'Macao's economy is maintaining steady growth, with strong fiscal reserves and a high employment rate. Education and healthcare development is improving, and society is generally stable and harmonious,' he said. 'Economic development and the improvement of people's livelihoods are still the most important tasks for the Government in the coming year,' he said. 'We will work closely with every sector of society to develop Macao into a world tourism and leisure centre and bolster its capability as the commerce and trade service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries so as to promote adequate economic diversification. 'In addition to fostering new engines of growth within Macao, we will further grasp the opportunities from the 12th Five-Year Plan to strengthen the close cooperation with mainland governments, especially that of Guangdong province. In this direction, we can continuously raise the level of our regional collaboration and maximise the output of our cooperation. 'We will actively develop Macao's limited scale to create new opportunities for the expansion and restructuring of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and provide increased employment options for the younger generation. The Government signed the Eighth Supplementary Protocol to the Mainland and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (8th Supplementary Protocol to CEPA) a week ago. 'In the year ahead, we will gain more support to promote the development of Macao's service industry. At present, through arrangements including the Macau Investment and Development Company Limited and the Assessment Committee for the Macao Projects for Hengqin Development, we encourage Macao enterprises and residents to participate in the Hengqin and Nansha development projects to further both self-development and the development of the whole city. '"Putting people first" is our constant policy-making principle as well as the starting point for the further enhancement of our governance. For these reasons, we prioritise policies that promote the continuous improvement of people's livelihoods and assure the community of a reasonable share of the fruits of economic development. 'Even though inflation in the mainland has slowed lately, the lives of Macao people are still affected by local inflation from the combined effect of multiple factors. The Government will continue to closely track the changing price levels of consumer goods and services, while we expand import channels of food products to Macao and actively implement every possible relief policy. If inflation keeps rising, the Government will roll out new relief measures in a timely manner. 'We are fully committed to completing the construction of 19,000 public housing units. In addition, we will continue to assist our residents to resolve housing problems, improve the traffic system and promote environmental protection. We are increasing aid and support to the elderly and disadvantaged groups, including the long-term social security system and the retirement protection framework. 'Alongside improving public services, we see various social organisations and different sectors of the community warmly caring for the needy. "Caring for One Another," "Respect for the Elderly" and "Helping People in Need" are not only the great traditions of Macao people but also the driving force of Macao's healthy development,' he said. 'As Macao maintains strong progress, the Government, society and citizens face the challenge of self-improvement to raise competitiveness. So, the Government will strengthen the training of civil servants and allocate more resources to education－raising teaching standards by perfecting teacher training programmes, continuing the provision of education subsidies, improving study allowances for tertiary students, and expediting the introduction of education legislation and formulation of educational reforms to enhance conditions for our citizens, especially the younger generation. 'To strengthen our all-round competence, we will increase our investment in culture and human development. Continuing a fine Chinese tradition, we strongly encourage Macao residents to embrace self-enhancement and will support them to learn and read more. We are dedicated to the accumulation of abundance and cultural wealth for the well-being of Macao society,' he said. He thanked the Central Government and all its representative offices in Macao for their comprehensive support for Macao, and expressed gratutide to all Macao residents and the dutiful civil servants for their efforts to build this city. Guests attending the reception included the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr Ho Hau Wah, the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Bai Zhijian, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in Macao SAR, Mr Hu Zhengyue the Commander of the Macao Garrison of the People's Liberation Army, Senior Colonel Zhu Qingsheng, the President of Legislative Assembly, Mr Lau Cheok Va, and the President of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Sam Hou Fai. In the morning, more than 300 guests attended the flag raising ceremony at Golden Lotus Square.
