Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, speaks to reporters.
The Government would – as scheduled – launch before the end of this month a public consultation on planned revisions to the Legislative Assembly Election Law, said the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan. The Government would organise public consultation sessions to hear public opinion regarding the proposed revisions, in an effort further to optimise the process for Legislative Assembly elections, she told reporters on Sunday (10 April). The revisions as proposed so far had already taken account of public opinion. The proposed revisions were drafted following an official report published last December, concerning the fifth Legislative Assembly Election. Ms Chan said the Government needed to deal with the revision process carefully as the election mechanism was pivotal to Macao’s political development. She noted an election for the Legislative Assembly would be held next year. The Government would press ahead with optimisation of a coordinated legislative mechanism, she added. Commenting on other issues covered by her portfolio, the Secretary mentioned the Government would submit to the Assembly this year proposals relating to eight statutes. She said this was in line with the Government’s legislative plan for the current year. The Government would continue enhancing the quality of its legislation by hiring greater numbers of bilingual legal professionals and by providing further training to Chinese-Portuguese translators. In addition, Ms Chan stated that the revision of regulations relating to passenger services operated by designated light vehicles or taxis was likely to be completed this year. Noting that there was opposition from some quarters regarding some of the proposed changes to the regulations, Ms Chan said the Government had to balance residents’ views with those of the sector, given that taxis were a form of public transportation. Regarding a suggestion that meetings of Government consultative bodies should be opened to the public, the Secretary said such bodies had discretionary powers to do so, subject to consultation with the members of those bodies.