More than 80 percent of the approximately 10,800 opinions the Government had received from the public on the proposal for Macao’s first Five-Year Development Plan showed support for the programme, the Policy Research Office said.

The Government received a total of 4,268 submissions – featuring 10,802 opinions – during the two-month long consultation period on the proposal for the Five-Year Development Plan. The consultation period ended on 30 June.

The Policy Research Office said more than 5,700 opinions – or 53 percent of the total – were focused on livelihood issues.

A total of 2,189 comments – accounting for 20.3 percent of the 10,802 opinions expressed – related to the future development of Macao. A total of 1,020 comments – or 9.4 percent of the opinions given – were on governance issues. A total of 982 opinions – or 9.1 percent of opinions given – related to strategic development. A further 859 opinions – or 8.0 percent – were deemed “uncategorised”.

During the two-month consultation period, the Government held a total of 41 sessions – attended by more than 3,800 representatives from different sectors – in order to enable people to give their comments regarding the proposal. Those consulted included: Macao’s delegates to the 12th National People’s Congress and to the 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; members of the Chief Executive Election Committee; members of the Government’s consultative bodies; and representatives of 122 associations and other bodies.

The Five-Year Development Plan outlines proposals for the city’s social and economic development for the period 2016 to 2020.