The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said a visit to Jiangsu Province by a group of young Macao people would help them to understand better their roles and responsibilities in contributing to the nation’s development.
Secretary Leong led a delegation of approximately 100 young people to Jiangsu from 14 to 17 July. The delegation returned to Macao on Wednesday (17 July) evening, after visiting cities including Nanjing, Yizheng, Yangzhou and Changzhou.
The four-day visit presented the young people with fresh insights about the path of the country’s development over the years, and what roles the country would play in the future of global development, said Mr Leong on Wednesday in remarks to reporters.
Through historical information and stories presented during visits to various attractions, young people would have gained insight into how their personal development was aligned with the country’s development, and with a common future, stated Mr Leong.
Mr Leong told reporters that he was inspired by Jiangsu’s effort in strengthening social development, saying Macao should use Jiangsu’s experience as a reference point.
He went on to say that vocational training offered by a Changzhou science education park was highly practical in terms of fulfilling local development needs. He also mentioned Qingguo Lane cultural area in Changzhou. After redevelopment, the area had become a hub for facilities serving a variety of businesses, patriotic education services, and the production of promotional materials on local history.
Regarding bilateral ties between Jiangsu and Macao, the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government had been advancing work relating to the overall planning of the proposed Jiangsu-Macao Cooperation Park. The Macao SAR Government would pay close attention to opinion from local communities, in order to understand their expectations from the project, Mr Leong added.
The Jiangsu visit was part of a programme of five tours to mainland provinces that are jointly organised by: the Macao SAR Government; the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; and a body formed by Macao youth associations.
The whole programme involves a total of 500 young people. They are accompanied on their respective trips by senior officials of the Macao SAR Government, and officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR. Each delegation is visiting a single province on the mainland, namely either Hebei, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Guangdong or Hunan, on various dates between 14 and 25 July.
The visits are part of the celebrations for this year’s ‘two anniversaries’ and are designed to assist Macao’s young people to grasp – in a comprehensive and intensive way – the latest aspects of national development.
The two anniversaries are the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR.
