A Welcome Reunion

By+Wang+Hairong

Inside the Beijing Exhibition Center， visi- tors marvelled at an exhibition marking the 15th anniversary of Macaos return to China. Red carpet that had been rolled out in front of the main building brightened up the chilly late afternoon of December 20， 2014， adding a festive touch.

Inside the exhibition center， pictures and charts mounted on the walls yielded glimpses into some exciting historic moments since Macaos return to China on December 20， 1999， as well as its social and economic developments， daily life and landmark buildings.

A hallway was decorated to resemble a street in Macao， with road signs showing directions to places such as the Ruins of St. Pauls Cathedral. Imitation street lamps were set up， with pots of flowers dangling from them. An image of blue sky and flitting white clouds were projected onto a screen placed overhead. The floor was covered with wave-shaped grey and white tiles typical of Macaos streets.

The exhibition is one of a series of activities to mark the anniversary. The activities climaxed with President xi Jinpings visit to Macao during December 19-20 to attend celebrations and inaugurate the special administrative regions （SARs） fourth-term government under the leadership of Chief Executive Chui Sai On.

xi approved Chuis work in his first five-year term， and pledged the Central Governments continuous support for the SAR Government.

In his address at the anniversary ceremony， xi hailed the successful implementation in Macao of the principle of “one country， two systems.” He said that Macao enjoys orderly progress in democracy， fast economic growth， rising living standards， social harmony and stability， and it also has increasingly closer exchanges and cooperation with the mainland， sharing the opportunities and benefits brought by development of the motherland.

Chui vowed in his inaugural speech that he would fully and correctly implement the“one country， two systems” policy and spare no effort for an appropriate diversification of Macaos economy.

Economic boom

Macao， a city with an estimated population of more than half a million and an area around 31 square km， is one of the most affluent regions in the world.

World Bank data show that in 2013， the SARs per-capita GDP ranked second in Asia and the fourth in the world， trailing behind only Luxembourg， Norway and Qatar. From 1999 to 2013， the regions per-capita GDP grew from $13，908 to $91，376.

During the period， Macaos GDP grew at an average annual real rate of 16.2 percent， rendering it one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. Its fiscal revenue increased at an average annual rate of 18.2 percent. Its unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 percent before the return to the current 1.7 percent， according to xinhua News Agency.

In the four years preceding Macaos return to China， the local economy， hard hit by the Asian financial crisis， had gone through four straight years of negative growth， the unemployment rate had been high， and residents income had dropped， according to Macao Daily News， one of the most influential newspapers in the SAR.

The paper attributed its impressive growth to the SAR Governments policies， such as lifting the monopoly on gambling， and the Central Governments supportive policies to facilitate mainland residents travel to Macao， and the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement（CEPA） to boost development in the region.

Gambling has been Macaos dominant industry. Since 1962， the industry was operated under the then-government authorized monopoly held by Stanley Ho. The monopoly was put to an end in 2002. After that， large foreign casinos from Las vegas and Australia entered Macao. In 2007， Macaos gaming revenues eclipsed that of the Las vegas Strip.

From 1999 to 2013， the share of gaming revenues in the SARs total fiscal revenues rose from 28.3 percent to 76.4 percent， according to Macao Daily News.

In the meantime， the mainland has given strong support to Macao. During an interview with xinhua News Agency in early December， Chui said he appreciated the support from the Central Government and other provinces and autonomous regions.

In recent years， the SAR Government has made efforts to diversify its economy. In 2014， revenue from the gambling industry plummeted， making economic diversification even more pressing. Progress has been made. In 2013， revenue from such industries as retail， hotel， food and beverage， architecture and finance doubled from that in 2009， reported xinhua. Its meeting， incentive， convention and exhibition industry （MICE） is also growing vigorously.

Strong support

Macao is a stimulating and engaging place where one can find a unique mixture of tradition and modernity， as well as Oriental and Western cultures. In addition to casinos， tourists are attracted by magnificent buildings， fascinating shows such as the Parade through the Latin City and House of Dancing Water， as well as concerts and other forms of entertainment.

Before 2003， mainland residents could only travel to Macao in tour groups， to visit relatives or do business. Since 2003， more and more mainland cities allowed individual residents to travel freely to Macao. That policy change has fueled a tourism boom in Macao.

As of the end of September 2014， mainland tourists had made an accumulated total of more than 68.28 million visits to Macao， according to xinhua. In 2013 alone， Macao received more than 29.32 million in-bound tourists， more than 47 times the local population and more than double the number before 1999. In that year， more than 18 million mainland tourists visited Macao， accounting for 61 percent of the regions total in-bound tourists in that year.

In additionto liberalizing travel，the Central Government has alsosigned the CEPA agreement with the SAR Government in 2003， and 10 supplements to the agreement in succeeding years.

The CEPA aims to promote free and smooth trade flow between the mainland and Macao， abolish tariff and non-tariff measures on goods trade， open service industries including logistic， distribution， audio-visual products， tourism， telecommunications， banking and insurance， and broaden cooperation in other areas such as promotion of investment， custom clearance， electrical commerce， transparency of laws and regulations and industrial cooperation.

As Macaos neighbor， Guangdong Province has also actively promoted cooperation with the SAR. In March 2011， the two sides inked a Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Framework Agreement. The agreement set the principles and targets regarding a wide range of issues in economic， social， welfare and cultural fields.

The agreement set aside an area of 5 square km on Guangdongs Hengqin Island for the two sides to co-develop traditional Chinese medicine and cultural， creative and educational industries. So far， the SAR Government has recommended 33 projects for the industrial park on Hengqin Island， agreements on 16 projects have been signed， with a total investment of more than 53.9 billion yuan （$8.69 billion）， according to xinhua.

The Hengqin Campus of Macao University was opened in 2011. It can accommodate 10，000 students， and has state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities in technology and traditional Chinese medicine.

The industrial park on Hengqin Island helps Macao overcome land shortage and diversify its economy.

The agreement between Guangdong and Macao also stipulated the construction of railway and transportation services between Zhuhai and Macao and extending the opening hours of their border checkpoints.

From December 18， 2014， the Macao Cotai-Hengqin checkpoint， also known as Lotus Flower Bridge checkpoint， is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

A heart-warming place

As Macaos economy grows， the government shares the fruits of growth with local residents.

In 2008， the SAR Government launched a “double-layer” social security system， including old-age pension， disability benefits， health and unemployment insurance， as well as other financial and emergency assistance. Residents can enjoy 15 years of free education from kindergarten to high school graduation.

According to xinhua， during the past 15 years， old-age pension has been increased from 1，150 to 3，180 Macao pataca（$144-398） per month， and since this year， permanent residents older than 65 years can receive an annual stipend from the government. For the past seven years， the SAR Government has also periodically distributed cash to residents.

“Macao is a heartwarming place，” said Bi Zhijian， President of Macao Overseas Chinese youth Association. He said that there are more than 7，000 non-profit organizations in Macao， and the SAR Government has taken out some money from gambling revenues to set up various foundations to sponsor their activities.

“There are very few places in the world where the government sponsors the activities of associations funded by several or dozens of people every year，” he said.

Bi was born in Macao in 1971 and moved to Canada with his family later. In 1994， he returned to Macao. He recalled that before returning to China， Macao was not economically developed， and people did not have many work choices. violent crimes such as kidnapping， robbery and gang fighting disrupted social order and hindered tourism.

Now， there are good work opportunities， Bi said. He said that the SAR Governments policies to promote MICE and cultural industries have availed opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals. He himself started from real estate then entered advertising， garment production and now MICE industry.