The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Wong Sio Chak, meets with representatives of the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance, to garner their opinions and suggestions regarding the 2027 Policy Address in respect of the public administration and justice affairs portfolio.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Wong Sio Chak, recently led senior officials from several departments under his policy portfolio on a series of visits to local associations. The visits were aimed at gathering opinions and suggestions regarding public administration- and justice-related matters for the formulation of the 2027 Policy Address.
The associations visited by Mr Wong included: the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance; the Macao Institution of People’s Alliance; the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau; the Macao Chamber of Commerce; the Association of Returned Overseas Chinese Macau; the Macau Federation of Trade Unions; and the Women's General Association of Macau.
During the meetings, representatives from the organisations spoke enthusiastically, putting forward numerous suggestions on policy directions concerning public administration and justice matters. These included: continuing to deepen public administration reform; managing civil service staffing; improving the public-sector recruitment system; and legislative planning and legal system development.
Other topics covered: judicial cooperation between Macao and the Chinese mainland; registration and management of associations; and arbitration and mediation systems. Also discussed were: aligning regulations between Macao and Hengqin; deepening the reforms regarding “combining delegation of powers with streamlined administration and optimisation of services”; optimising the Macao One Account and the Business & Associations Platform; and the cross-boundary development of e-government. Other suggestions concerned: improving municipal management and services; strengthening community governance; expanding recreational facilities; and ensuring food safety.
Secretary Wong thanked the associations for their continued interest in, and support for, policy initiatives regarding public administration and justice matters. He noted the associations have long been deeply involved in community affairs, and their suggestions reflected the realities of social development and the needs of the public. The suggestions would therefore serve as an important reference for the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government in formulating policies.
The public administration and justice affairs team will conduct an in-depth study and systematic review of the suggestions and recommendations received, taking them into account when preparing next year’s policy guidelines. Mr Wong expressed the hope that all community organisations would, as always, lend their strong support to the public administration and justice affairs team, as it works to improve policy implementation.
Secretary Wong stated that, in the area of public administration, efforts would continue to focus on the reform agenda of “combining delegation of powers with streamlined administration and optimisation of services”; reorganising the functional structure of departments; enhancing the efficiency of cross-departmental collaboration; deepening the development of e-government; building a team of civil servants that is efficient, proactive and dedicated to serving the public; and improving the effectiveness of public governance.
On justice-related matters, he said the Government would resolutely uphold the constitutional order of the MSAR as established by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the MSAR Basic Law; accelerate the improvement of a legal system that is compatible with the “One country, two systems” principle; meet the needs of economic and social development; strengthen public awareness of the law; and promote the spirit of the rule of law.
In the area of municipal services, the Government will continue to advance efforts to improve the city’s appearance and environment; optimise the development of public leisure spaces; carry out the redevelopment of wet markets; upgrade municipal facilities; and enhance the quality of services in areas such as environmental hygiene, food safety, and cultural and recreational activities.
Mr Wong also stated that the public administration and justice affairs team would redouble its efforts to ensure the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin; promote closer alignment of policies and regulations between Macao and Hengqin; foster in the Cooperation Zone a high-quality rule-of-law environment aligned with that of Macao; and provide solid support for promoting “hard connectivity” of infrastructure, “soft connectivity” of rules and “people-to-people connectivity” between Macao and Hengqin.
Also present during the visits to the associations were: the Chief-of-Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Chang Cheong; and senior officials from, respectively, the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau; the Identification Services Bureau; the Municipal Affairs Bureau; and the Legal Affairs Bureau. Additionally present were advisers to the Secretary’s Office.
