Twenty years of people-oriented progress

The fact that the Macao Special Administrative Region has successfully implemented and constantly enriched the practice of "one country, two systems" speaks louder than anything about its achievements over the past 20 years since its return to the motherland on Dec 20, 1999.

First, Macao enjoys political stability. Since its return to the motherland, Macao has smoothly carried out five chief executive elections and six Legislative Council elections. Based on the actual conditions of Macao, the SAR government has properly pushed forward the city's political development under the guidance of the national legislature.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, released the Guidance on Article 7 of Appendix I and Article 3 of Appendix II of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR on Dec 31, 2011, and on Feb 29, 2012, issued the Decision on the Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council in 2013 and the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive in 2014, according to which, the methods for the election of the chief executive and the Legislative Council were amended: The fifth election of the Legislative Council added two seats to the directly elected seats and two seats to the indirectly elected seats. In the 2014 election of the fourth chief executive, the Election Committee was expanded from the original 300 members to 400 members.

The SAR government has always treated safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development as its top priority. In 2009, Macao endorsed the Law of National Security as part of its legislative efforts to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law. And in 2018, the National Security Committee of Macao was established, chaired by the chief executive. After the Guidance on Article 104 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR was issued by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in November 2016, Macao took the initiative to add "prevention of separatism" to the amendment of the Electoral Law of the Legislative Council. In the same year, "promoting Macao's sustained prosperity and stability under the condition of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests" was upheld as the overarching principle for development of Macao's first Five-year Plan (2016-20).

Second, Macao's economy has been growing exponentially, partly benefiting from the opening of franchises in the gambling industry in 2002, and partly from the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the SAR government and the central government in 2003.

Under the "one country, two systems" policy, the central government has been taking new initiatives and exploring new pathways including proposing "integrating Macao into the grand picture of national development" in the report of the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress and the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

As a result, Macao Hengqin Port has been innovatively experimenting with new forms of visa services that are highly cooperative and efficient. Restrictions on real estate purchase in the Chinese mainland has been lifted for residents of Macao, who are also eligible for Chinese mainland social insurance. Moreover, the launch of a stock exchange in Macao is in the works. As such, the plan for the development of the Greater Bay Area will further build on the SAR's development achievements.

These include an eightfold increase in its GDP from 1999 to 2018, from 51.9 billion Macanese pataca ($6.4 billion) to 444.7 billion pataca, and a surge in its per capita GDP from 120,000 pataca in 1999 to 670,000 pataca in 2018, ranking among the highest in the world.

Macao also has a high rate of employment and residents enjoy good incomes. The city's unemployment rate dropped as low as 1.8 percent in 2018 from 4.8 percent in 1999. While the median monthly income of residents increased to 16,000 pataca in 2018, 2.27 times the median in 1999 which was 4,980 pataca.

Third, the Macao SAR government has improved people's sense of well-being. A robust social security system has been established. And the government has stepped up its efforts to increase the public housing supply, and improve education and healthcare services. Now, the World Health Organization has acknowledged that the primary healthcare system of Macao is a model that others can learn from. The average life expectancy of Macao is as high as 83.7 years, ranking the highest in the world.

Last but not least, Macao has been trying to expand its international engagement in a bid to enhance its international image over the past 20 years.

Over the past 20 years, Macao has gained greater international recognition. The historical buildings on the Macao Peninsula have been collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. In 2007, the Secretariat of the Typhoon Committee of the United Nations and World Meteorological Organization settled in Macao, the first inter-governmental organization to do so. Macao has also sponsored and hosted several regional and specialized international conferences and events with support from the Central Government, such as Ministerial Roundtables of the World Tourism Organization, the Eighth APEC Tourism Ministers' Meeting, and the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries. By June 2019, 142 countries or regions had agreed to grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival treatment for Macao SAR passport holders. In the future, Macao will seek to build its image as a global center of tourism, a platform for economic and trade cooperation, and a hub for cultural exchanges.

Now the new Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and his team need to address the old thorny issues such as the need to further diversify the economy and the new ones such as the bidding for the casinos licenses soon to expire. To address these issues, the new SAR government must be visionary.

The author is associate research fellow with Institute of Hong Kong and Macao Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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