Support for the elderly and for children is a key concern of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government. It will introduce favourable policies in support of childbirth, child-rearing, and education, while also safeguarding quality of life and medical support for the elderly.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, made the pledge on Wednesday (19 November) during a Legislative Assembly question-and-answer (Q&A) session on the 2026 Policy Address. The Government will earnestly implement various livelihood-related initiatives in order to respond effectively to residents' needs, added Mr Sam.
The Chief Executive noted that a declining birth rate is a global trend, and said that the Government will tackle this issue locally from three aspects: support for childbirth, for child-rearing, and for education. Such support includes: continuing the medically-assisted reproductive services subsidy scheme; creating a child-friendly environment; optimising childcare services; and improving the allocation of educational resources.
In addition to continuing the childcare subsidy scheme and birth allowance, the Government will expand the scope of free non-invasive fetal chromosome genetic testing to pregnant women of all ages, and establish a new mechanism for schoolchildren's health check-ups. Meanwhile, it is expected that about 150 childcare places for children under two years old will be added by 2026, and a community childcare support network will be developed to provide assistance to parents.
Mr Sam pointed out that declining birth rates are expected to continue to impact Macao's education system. The Government will employ short-, medium-, and long-term strategies, including specialised research, better resource allocation, support for adjustments within schools and within the teaching profession, and adjustment of class sizes. This is to promote the long-term balanced development of Macao's education.
Regarding the portion of the population that is elderly or experiencing significant ageing, Mr Sam stated that the Government is committed to improving the lives of the elderly by ensuring adequate support for their living conditions, healthcare, and wellbeing. The Government will continue building a comprehensive social security system covering the entire span of life. This includes: improving the home-based, community-based, and institutional elderly-care system; strengthening services for those elderly people living alone; assisting families with two elderly individuals; and optimising the regular adjustment mechanism for social security payments. A specialised health service system covering sickness prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care will also be developed. The Government aims to enhance the wellbeing of the elderly, and encourage their participation in society.
Mr Sam said the Government attaches great importance to policies addressing population ageing, and will actively promote the application of artificial intelligence technology in community-based care for the elderly in the next phase of the Ten-Year Action Plan for Elderly Services (2026-2035), together with related measures, to achieve ‘smart’ care for the elderly.
Responding to legislators’ questions about youth development work, Mr Sam emphasised the Government is actively creating better conditions for the nurturing and development of young people, employing a multi-pronged approach including job matching, entrepreneurship support, industry-education integration, and regional exchanges, in order to support young people fully. He noted that the Employment Promotion Coordination Working Group had successfully assisted over 4,000 young people in finding jobs. The Government has also launched a Hengqin-Macao recruitment zone and a career subsidy scheme for Macao’s young people seeking jobs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in order to encourage young people better to integrate into the country and the Greater Bay Area. A career development internship scheme will continue to provide young people with work experience, while the Young Entrepreneurs Aid Scheme will continue to support youth entrepreneurship.
Regarding urban planning and urban renewal, Mr Sam explained that the MSAR Urban Master Plan (2020-2040) proposes the concept of "one river, two banks", aiming to create in the Inner Harbour and Praia do Manduco localities a bay area providing convenient transportation, distinctive landscapes, and an economy based on agglomeration. The long-term vision includes establishing vibrant waterfront commercial streets and waterfront parks incorporating disaster prevention elements, to enhance the resilience of the Inner Harbour area. Furthermore, Macau Urban Renewal Ltd will be placed under the management of the Office of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works. Rents and accommodation-allocation methods for temporary housing – as part of urban renewal processes – are being analysed, as is the feasibility of extending the lifespan of existing temporary housing and replacement housing.
Mr Sam said that streamlining the Government's organisational structure is a key focus in relation to deepening public administration reform. The Government will review and optimise departmental structures in phases, in accordance with new legislation on the establishment and organisational structure of public departments and entities. Currently, the reorganisation of the Executive Council Secretariat, the merger of the Printing Bureau into the Legal Affairs Bureau, and a comprehensive review of the Municipal Affairs Bureau's functions have been completed. In 2026, the organisational regulations of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau will be revised, and a series of institutional mergers and functional adjustments will take place until 2029.
Mr Sam pointed out that adjusting the organisational structure is a challenging project that requires the support and understanding of society and the civil service. He said he hoped that civil servants would work together under the new structure to promote policy innovation and improvement in efficiency, continuing to uphold their aspiration of serving the public. He acknowledged the hard work of all civil servants, and noted that the MSAR Government attaches great importance to reasonable demands made by civil servants.
In addition, to implement further the principle of "patriots governing Macao", all current civil servants must take an oath to uphold the Basic Law of the MSAR and pledge allegiance to the MSAR, in accordance with the law. The Government will also continue to strengthen patriotic education for civil servants and enhance, through training, their understanding of national conditions and the rule of law.
At the Legislative Assembly’s Q&A session, Mr Sam answered questions from 32 lawmakers. Topics included: appropriate economic diversification; the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan; and the Third Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2026-2030). Other topics were: protection of local employment; labour rights; vocational training; economic revitalisation; and the quality improvement and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There were also questions on: the investment fund law; industrial funds; the "Macao + Hengqin" positioning; the construction of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin; the integration of sports, culture and tourism; improvement of judicial efficiency; the building of a higher-level platform for the country’s opening up to the outside world; and the principle of "patriots governing Macao".
