MACAO — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday began a three-day visit to Macao to mark the 25th anniversary of the casino city’s return to Chinese rule.
Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were welcomed at the airport in a lavish ceremony with lion and dragon dances. Xi told reporters that Macao, a former Portuguese colony of 687,000 people, is “the pearl in the motherland’s palm.”
“I believe that as long as we fully leverage the institutional advantages of ‘one country, two systems,’ dare to strive hard, and have the courage to innovate, Macao will certainly create an even better tomorrow,” he said.
Like neighboring financial hub Hong Kong, Beijing has ruled Macao under the “one country, two systems” principle that allows the cities to retain their own Western-style legal and economic systems. Macao is the only city in China where casino gambling is legal.
Since the 1999 handover from Portugal to China, Macao has transformed from a monopoly-driven casino hub into the world’s biggest gambling center, flooded with tourists coming mostly from mainland China.
Over the years, violence linked to organized crime has been brought to heel. Older residents generally believe their fortunes have improved under Chinese rule, pointing to better welfare and annual cash handouts backed by huge gaming tax reserves.
Following huge antigovernment protests in 2019 in nearby Hong Kong, authorities have further tightened control in the city, where political activism already did not pose the same threat to Beijing.
A vigil commemorating China’s bloody 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests was banned. Pro-democracy figures were barred from joining the legislative election in 2021. Last year, the city toughened its national security law, and vocal political dissent has largely been silenced.
China’s leadership is more concerned about diversifying Macao’s economy, which has been heavily reliant on the gaming and tourism sectors.
Its incoming leader Sam Hou Fai, who was elected by about 400 Beijing loyalists on Macao’s Election Committee in October, said economic diversification is a key issue. The former top judge promised to accelerate plans to boost tourism and other sectors such as traditional medicines, finance, technology, exhibitions and commerce.
However, the city remains reliant on the gambling industry for revenues to support welfare programs and other goals laid out by Beijing, analysts say.
Xi will attend the inauguration ceremony of the new government on Friday and is expected to lay out his expectations for the city.
China has helped promote Macao’s development by designating a special zone on neighboring Hengqin island in Zhuhai city that Macao and mainland Chinese authorities will jointly run.
Security has tightened during Xi’s visit, including a ban on flying drones between Dec.14 and 22.
Tam and Leung write for the Associated Press. Leung reported from Hong Kong.
0
20
20
