Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, meets the press.
Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, re-iterated that the retrenchment measures would not affect public expenditure on infrastructure, betterment of livelihood and social welfare. Mr Chui told reporters this today before he left for Beijing with a 100-member delegation to attend official events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of victory of the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and world anti-Fascist war. He said the measures, for all government departments and autonomous bodies, aimed to lower internal spending, and assured the Government was financially stable, adding there were lots of development opportunities, such as non-gaming features and regional co-operation. He also disclosed there would be a string of measures to strengthen tourism promotion and to create more opportunities for the development of small-and medium-sized enterprises and for employment of the people. Macao as a world destination of tourism, the Government will actively diverse the source of tourists, as currently visitors mainly come from the mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said Mr Chui. When asked about the Wealth Partaking Scheme for next year, Mr Chui responded that it would depend on the financial surplus, at the moment he could not make any commitment. He said he understood the fruit-sharing scheme was popular and he personally hoped there would be adequate surplus to continue the Scheme next year, but the Government had to follow the Basic Law in keeping expenditure within the limit of revenue. For salary adjustment of civil servants, Mr Chui said there were a number of factors to consider, such as the purchasing power of the workers, inflation, financial condition, overall economic environment and adjustment rate in the private sector, the Government is now waiting for such report from the consultative council for pay offer of civil servants. In addition, Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, also said today that all departments under her supervision would follow the measure of cutting unnecessary spending, when she met the press after the inauguration ceremony of Director of the Public Administration and Civic Service Bureau. Speaking to the press on 1 September, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, assured stricter financial measures would not affect the spending on social welfare, especially health service, social security, education and cultural affairs. He said the Government would consider increasing resources input for healthcare, education and cultural affairs.