Over 400 laws passed to safeguard national interests, promote Macao's development: legislative assembly president

The Legislative Assembly of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has enacted or amended over 400 laws since Macao's return to the motherland in 1999 in implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, safeguarding national sovereignty and security while driving the region's remarkable progress across political, economic, social and livelihood sectors, according to Assembly President Kou Hoi-in.

Kou, who served as a Legislative Assembly member for three terms during the Portuguese rule, transitioned to the SAR's Legislative Assembly after Macao's return to China on December 20, 1999, witnessing the dynamic evolution of Macao's legislature since the return.

"Immediately following the handover ceremony in the early hours of the day of the return, we returned to the Legislative Assembly building to convene the first plenary session of the first SAR Legislative Assembly. This is what we often refer to as the 'midnight legislation.' During this session, we passed 11 essential laws indispensable for the return, establishing the legal foundation for the SAR government, legislature, and judiciary to commence operations. This also laid the legal groundwork for the comprehensive implementation of the 'one Country, two systems' principle and the various systems enshrined in the Macao Basic Law," Kou said at a press conference in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of Macao' return to China.

In 2009, the SAR passed the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Macao SAR, and last year, it adopted a bill defining national secrets in the region and regulating their protection, both aimed at safeguarding national interests, said Kou, emphasizing a shared understanding that Macao's well-being is intrinsically linked to national security and prosperity.

"We share a common understanding: when national security is ensured and the country thrives, Macao thrives. To safeguard national security, we enacted the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Macao SAR in 2009, in implementation of Article 23 of the Basic Law. Following this, to continue to follow the requirements of a holistic approach to national security, we improved and amended the relevant legislations, including enacting the Law on Guarding State Secrets in the Macao SAR as supplementary legislation to the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Macao SAR, to practically protect national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Furthermore, to ensure 'patriots administering Macao,' we've also amended laws such as the Chief Executive Election Law, the Legislative Assembly Election Law, and the Oath of Office Law. These amendments guarantee that the SAR's governance and administrative power remain firmly in the hands of patriots," Kou said.

Economically, the central government has positioned Macao as "One Center, One Platform, and One Base," paving the way for the region's moderate economic diversification. The Legislative Assembly has introduced laws promoting sectors such as healthcare, modern finance, and high-tech industries in recent years, according to Kou.

In terms of social welfare, the assembly has focused on education, employment, social security and housing, in implementation of the necessary legislative measures intended to enhance the well-being of Macao's residents, according to Kou.

Looking ahead, Kou said that the Legislative Assembly aims to facilitate Macao's better integration into China's overall development.

"The Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin has provided Macao with substantial development room, with many aspects highly innovative. The Legislative Assembly has been working closely with the SAR government to advance relevant initiatives. We are confident that through ongoing exploration, we can further accelerate and enhance these efforts, enabling Macao to integrate more effectively into the overall national development," Kou said.

Looking back at the Legislative Assembly's 25-year journey, Kou emphasized the effective collaboration and positive interactions between the Assembly and the SAR Government, ensuring continuous enhancement of Macao's well-being and the residents' sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security.

Over 400 laws passed to safeguard national interests, promote Macao's development: legislative assembly president

The upcoming trip of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to China for talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is being viewed positively by the South American nation's business community.

At the invitation of the Chinese president, Noboa will pay a state visit to China from August 16 to 23, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday. The Ecuadorian leader will be accompanied by government officials and business representatives from various industries.

Bilateral trade between Ecuador and China has surpassed 11 billion U.S. dollars. Several Ecuadorian products could see their phytosanitary protocols approved, including blueberries, avocados, milk, and proteins such as pork and chicken.

Rodrigo Gomez de la Torre, president of the Ecuadorian Business Committee, said the potential opening of new phytosanitary protocols is among the key expectations for the visit.

"We have a market of 1.4 billion people. We can increase dragon fruit exports, we could enter with broccoli, with canned goods, with heart of palm, with more cocoa and differentiated cocoa products. The question here is what opportunities we want to pursue in the Chinese market, obviously understanding the scale of that market," Gomez said.

Shrimp accounts for 75 percent of Ecuador's exports to China, making it critical to the economy as the sector generates more than 8 billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange.

Ecuador's shrimp industry is seeking the lifting of restrictions on 14 exporting companies over sodium metabisulfite levels, hoping to establish a technical working group between Chinese customs and Ecuadorian health authorities to resolve the issue.

"I believe the technical working groups will be the outcome of the highest-level meetings, President Noboa's visit, because as a chamber we have relayed this to both the Ministry of Production and Foreign Affairs, given that the trade relationship between Ecuador and China is important for our country," said Jose Antonio Camposano, president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture.

The president of the Ecuador-Shanghai China Chamber of Commerce, Dario Regalado, underscored the importance of the visit for securing financing on favorable terms and promoting new investments in sectors such as mining.

"The results of the free trade agreement are already visible, and many of these exports are tied to direct or indirect investment by Chinese companies. There are two newly confirmed mining projects assigned to Chinese firms that are looking to develop their own power generation. There are opportunities to secure credit through the Bank of China and Eximbank, which is important on favorable terms, long-term, and not linked to oil. I think it is timely to maintain the relationship with China, to keep trade open. Maintaining a healthy relationship with China is also very relevant, because that opens up opportunities for other products in our trade balance to reach China," he said.

Ecuador's banana export sector views the presidential visit to China as a positive step toward strengthening trade relations, framed within the friendship between the two peoples. In the case of bananas, exports to the Asian country began under the Free Trade Agreement with a 10 percent tariff.

"Today it stands at 7 percent, and we hope that once we reach zero, we can double our position in China. Right now it represents 4 percent of what we are exporting. And with the boost from this presidential visit, we hope to position ourselves better each year. Obviously, we aspire to grow as much as we want to grow once we reach zero under that negotiation," said Jose Antonio Hidalgo, executive president of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador.

Ecuadorian business community anticipates President Noboa's visit to China