Chief Executive, Edmund Ho Hau Wah said that he had reported to the leaders of the Central Government on the work of the MSAR Government over the past year and the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems".
Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah met the press today December 18 after having meetings with President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice Premier Qian Qichen.
Quoting President Jiang Zemin, the Chief Executive told reporters that the President esteemed highly Macau People's determination on being masters of their own affairs, their adherence to the tradition of dedicating themselves to China and to Macau, as well as their constant support to the Government's work over the past year.
Referring to the question of putting the monopoly on casinos to an end, the Chief Executive said that he had talked the economic issues of Macau over with President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice-Premier Qian Qichen.
He added the leaders of the Central Government had expressed deep concern towards the economic development of Macau, assuring that the Central Government would give full support to Macau in all possible ways. Since liberalization of the gaming industry was the MSAR's own business, the Central Government was not going to interfere, but would support all steps the MSAR Government would take concerning this issue.
He reaffirmed that the Central Government would adhere to the policy of barring mainland companies from joining Macau's gaming industry.
The Chief Executive also said that the leaders of the Central Government were being over-complimentary towards the performance of the MSAR Government. He pointed out that the MSAR Government should always try to do its best and there was still plenty of room for improvement.
Speaking of Hong Kong's amending regulations related to gambling and its possible impact on Macau's gaming industry, Mr. Ho expressed concern towards the issue but he believed that the steps the Hong Kong Government taking were not targeted at the Macau Jockey Club. He emphasized that the question would not affect the excellent relations between Hong Kong and Macau. He hoped on the condition of not affecting the Hong Kong Jockey Club the jockey clubs of Hong Kong and Macau would develop mutually beneficial cooperation.
