Handover anniversary wish as Xi visits Macau

Rachel Ng

President Xi Jinping will start his three-day visit to Macau today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the enclave's handover.

Ahead of Xi's arrival, security in various locations in Macau was significantly strengthened yesterday, with some citizens hoping Xi will visit different places to learn about the city's progress.

China's flags and Macau's regional flags were displayed along Avenida da Praia Grande near Macau government headquarters.

The Lotus Square remained open to tourists yesterday, where the guard of honor was seen performing flag-raising ceremony drills.

Some citizens said they were looking forward to Xi's first visit to the SAR in five years and hope he will pay more attention to people's livelihood.

"I hope he will take a look at Areia Preta, where new immigrants live, to understand their lives and improve the environment," said a citizen surnamed Leong.

"I hope President Xi will take note of the changes among young people in Macau and assign more important objectives to the region to contribute to national development, thereby enhancing the self-worth of Macau's youth," said another citizen surnamed Fu.

According to state media Xinhua, Xi will attend the 25th anniversary of Macau's handover to Beijing, as well as the inauguration ceremony of its sixth government on Friday, and visit the local community.

Macau authorities will also host a series of celebratory activities.

Speaking to reporters before the weekly Executive Council meeting yesterday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu congratulated Sam Hou-fai on being elected as the new Chief Executive of Macau, saying the two SARs are "as close as hands and feet."

Lee confirmed he will "definitely" attend the inauguration ceremony for his incoming counterpart while exploring cooperation between the two SARs in various aspects.

"We have achieved consensus on that there should be a high degree of integration among Greater Bay Area cities and joint efforts should be made to promote [the area's] development," he said.

"Hong Kong and Macau should seize opportunities to make progress together so that there is unlimited development for both with complementary advantages."

Lee will lead a government delegation to Macau tomorrow and return to Hong Kong on Friday.

The delegation includes Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai and director of the Chief Executive's Office Carol Yip Man-kuen.

rachel.ng@singtaonewscorp.com