(Macao – 16 May 2024) The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms Ao Ieong U, said the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Mr Xia Baolong, fully acknowledged Macao's traditionalist patriotic sentiments, as well as its unique blend of Chinese and Western cultural characteristics.

Director Xia urged all sectors across Macao to work together to enhance Macao's “golden business card” as an international metropolitan city, said Ms Ao Ieong on Wednesday (15 May), after accompanying Director Xia on his community inspection that day.

Director Xia went to four local associations and a school on Wednesday, the third day of his seven-day visit to Macao.

Secretary Ao Ieong told reporters after accompanying Mr Xia on his Wednesday inspections, that the day’s itinerary fully reflected Macao’s traditionalist patriotic sentiments, one of the six strengths of Macao that had been highlighted by Director Xia on Tuesday (14 May). The four Macao associations Mr Xia visited on Wednesday were all traditionalist and patriotic. They had been actively serving the Macao public, making contributions to the development of the community, supporting the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government’s law-based governance, participating in governmental initiatives, and making substantial efforts to consolidate the social foundation of the sentiments of patriotism and love for Macao.

As Director Xia mentioned, Macao’s policies and benefits such as free education, free healthcare, and a dual-tier social security system, rely on the support from, and timely feedback of, various sectors that demonstrate patriotism and love for Macao, said Ms Ao Ieong. This ensured that policy implementation was responsive to the needs of society. Mr Xia fully acknowledged these associations’ assistance in governmental effort, as well as the contributions of the Association of Returned Overseas Chinese Macau to the MSAR and to the motherland.

Secretary Ao Ieong went on to say that Macao possessed the unique advantage of being a cultural melting pot of Chinese and Western influences. Its cultural diversity, religious diversity, linguistic diversity, and more, all embody the characteristics and unique value of Macao's Chinese and Western cultural exchange. These elements were closely-related to the work being done in the realm of social and cultural matters.

The MSAR Government would not only make use of these precious cultural advantages to create a distinctive identity, but also utilise them to promote the development of cultural and sports industries, thereby facilitating Macao’s appropriate economic diversification, said Ms Ao Ieong.

The MSAR Government is confident of transforming Macao into a "city of performing arts" and a “city of sports", added Ms Ao Ieong. It was believed that relevant efforts would continue to be improved, and would flourish.

During a discussion session, the Secretary reported to Director Xia the MSAR’s effort in the final selection process, staged via Beijing, regarding Macao’s nomination for the title of 2025 Cultural City of East Asia. It was hoped that there would be good news soon regarding that. Director Xia fully acknowledged the significance of any such achievement, and believed that it would become one of Macao's “golden business cards”, added Ms Ao Ieong.