The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, hosts a gathering with members of the eighth Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, today urged all members of the Legislative Assembly to enhance further the legislature’s roles in political leadership, legislative oversight, and in serving as a crucial bridge to the public.
Mr Sam held a gathering in the evening with the newly sworn-in President and all members of the eighth Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
In his address, the Chief Executive stressed that the MSAR Government attaches great importance to strengthening its communication and coordination with the Legislative Assembly, consolidating the constitutional order and the executive-led system, while enhancing MSAR's governance capabilities and efficiency.
Mr Sam described this evening’s gathering as an opportunity jointly to plan new collaborations and developments between the MSAR Government and the Legislative Assembly in the new era. On behalf of the MSAR Government, he extended warm congratulations to its newly-elected President, Mr Cheong Weng Chon, and its Vice President, Mr Ho Ion Sang, as well as those either re-elected or newly elected to the Legislative Assembly.
The eighth Legislative Assembly Election and transition process marked the first implementation of the “patriots governing Macao” principle through law-based and administrative mechanisms, following last year’s revision of the Legislative Assembly Election Law. It was also a major political event for the current-term MSAR Government since it entered office. The election had been completed in accordance with legal, fair, just, open and clean procedures. It was a political milestone demonstrating high-quality democracy under the "One country, two systems" principle, and holding profound significance for Macao's future development.
Mr Sam observed that the new-term Legislative Assembly combined long-serving members with vast experience, and energetic new faces, reflecting broader representation and comprehensive qualifications.
To adapt to the development needs and respond to changing circumstances, the appointment – through constitutional arrangements – of seven members in the new-term Legislative Assembly, represented a significant reform implemented in order better to leverage the executive-led system's advantages, and to deepen constructive interactions between executive, legislative and judicial branches. Such changes have gained widespread recognition within society.
President Xi Jinping has remarked that implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle has entered a new phase. Mr Sam stated that the Central Government and Macao residents have high expectations of the new-term Legislative Assembly. The MSAR Government and Legislative Assembly will jointly focus on economic development, improvement of livelihoods, and social harmony, working together to provide stronger legal safeguards and development conditions for Macao's high-quality growth and for accelerated Macao-Hengqin integration, he added.
The Chief Executive put forward three aspirations for the new-term Legislative Assembly.
First, is the strengthening of the Legislative Assembly’s role in political leadership. It should comprehensively and steadfastly implement the “One country, two systems” principle, “Macao people governing Macao”, and a high degree of autonomy, resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests. It should uphold broad interests, fulfil duties with dedication, and demonstrate proactive leadership. It should also promote the spirit of patriotism and love for Macao, uphold the tradition of inclusiveness and harmony, and jointly maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Macao.
Second, the Legislative Assembly should enhance its role in legislative and oversight functions. It should exercise proactively such functions, as enshrined in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Macao Basic Law. It should leverage the professionalism of the legislature, in order to collaborate with the executive branch in advancing legal reforms aligned with Macao’s critical development goals, including economic diversification and public administration reform. It should accelerate either the enactment, amendment, or repeal of laws in key areas, to provide robust legal safeguards for the MSAR’s development.
Third, the Legislative Assembly should strengthen its role as a vital bridge. It should utilise its broad representativeness, in order better to gather, consolidate, and articulate public opinion. It should foster rational, objective, and constructive social sentiment. It should propose sound policies and effective measures to improve social welfare, grounded in the long-term sustainable development of Macao, and it should also build the broadest societal consensus to support the MSAR Government in implementing major initiatives, thereby laying a solid foundation for the MSAR’s social, economic, and livelihoods-related development.
The Chief Executive expressed confidence that the eighth Legislative Assembly will collaborate closely with the MSAR Government and all sectors of society, to implement the guiding principles of President Xi’s important speeches during his inspection of Macao last year. Together, the MSAR Government and Legislative Assembly will strive to realise the vision of “Law-based Macao”, “Vibrant Macao”, “Cultural Macao”, and “Blissful Macao”, thus making greater contribution to the building of China as a great country, and to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
