Major livelihood projects in Macao have been completed one after another, and cultural and sports facilities have been continuously improved——
Improve people's livelihood and well-being and increase happiness index (Haojiang Online)
On the night of March 12, the much-anticipated fourth cross-sea bridge "Macau Bridge" from the Macau Peninsula to Taipa was successfully closed. Residents and tourists will have more choices for traveling between the Macau Peninsula and Taipa. This is Macau’s first two-way eight-lane cross-sea bridge. It connects Macau’s three important sea, land and air ports and is a key node in building Macau’s urban transportation system.
In recent years, Macao has continued to protect and improve people's livelihood. The Macao SAR government takes employment, medical care, housing, etc. as important focus and fully promotes various tasks to optimize social and people's livelihood. In 2023, the outlying island medical complex Peking Union Medical College Hospital Macau Medical Center will be put into trial operation (hereinafter referred to as "Macau Union Medical College Hospital"), the pilot apartment plan for the elderly will continue to be optimized, the Hengqin "Macau New Neighborhood" project will be completed, and the A-Ma light rail station will be opened for operation , the scale of "Macau Cars Going North" continues to expand... Macao society and people's livelihood continue to improve, and residents' sense of gain, happiness, and security continue to increase. "Based on this, Macao's social development is increasingly confident, the SAR's various undertakings are steadily advancing, and the overall social situation is stable and peaceful." said Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao SAR.
Major projects have been completed one after another, and infrastructure continues to be improved.
"I am optimistic about the future of Hengqin and I will buy a property in Hengqin as soon as the market opens." Xiao Wu, a young man from Macau, told reporters that he bought a two-bedroom apartment with an area of 88 square meters in Hengqin's "Macau New Neighborhood" project with a loan. Last year, the "Macau New Neighborhood" project was completed, providing approximately 4,000 housing units and related supporting facilities. Since its launch on November 28, 2023, “Macau New Neighborhood” has attracted the attention of many Macau residents.
The reporter saw at the "Macau New Neighborhood" project site that more than 20 buildings are lined up in rows, connected by rain shelters, with beautiful courtyards and complete living facilities. Walking into the finely decorated model room, you will see smart electronic door locks, video intercoms, heating and cooling air conditioners, bathroom equipment, cabinets, disinfection cupboards, gas stoves, range hoods, etc.
“Houses are of high quality, and services must also be of a high level.” Huang Yujie, director of the People’s Livelihood Affairs Bureau of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, said that the “Macao New Neighborhood” project is built in accordance with Macao standards, including community service centers, health stations, kindergartens, primary schools, and senior citizens. It also includes a customer service center and commercial, recreational and other supporting facilities. At the "Macao New Neighborhood" health station, Macao medical staff are allowed to practice, and some drugs already on the market in Macao can be used in the health station. Macao residents living in Hengqin enjoy the same basic medical care and other services as those in Macao.
On December 20, 2023, Macau Union Medical College Hospital was put into trial operation. Macau Union Medical College Hospital is the first large-scale public general hospital built by the Macau SAR government after the return of Macau. It has more than 1,000 planned hospital beds, which will help make up for the shortcomings of Macau's medical and health system. "The hospital is spacious and bright, with clear divisions between the treatment area and the waiting area, and the signs are clear at a glance, so even the elderly can handle it with ease." Ms. Huang, who accompanied her family to the hospital, told reporters.
"The Macau Union Medical College Hospital shoulders multiple tasks." Ho Iat Seng said that it gives priority to providing Macau residents with high-quality medical services and more medical treatment options, and effectively improves the health and well-being of Macau residents; it is committed to developing into a first-class hospital with international influence based on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Medical center; provides high-level, diversified training and a broader development platform for Macao medical personnel, and jointly promotes the high-quality development of Macao’s medical industry.
The construction of major livelihood projects in Macao cannot be achieved without the strong support of the central government and the mainland of the motherland. "As one of the key gift projects to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Macau's return to the motherland, the design and construction of the fourth cross-sea bridge from the Macau Peninsula to Taipa has attracted much attention. It is our duty to ensure that it is completed and opened to traffic on schedule with high quality." China Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd. General Manager Chen Sichang said.
Increase financial investment and continuously improve people’s livelihood
Ms. Pu, who is engaged in property management in a building on the Macau Peninsula, always has a smile on her face and greets people entering and leaving the building from time to time. "Last year, I found this job at a job matching meeting organized by the Macau SAR government, and the salary was increased at the beginning of this year!" Ms. Pu said happily. At the beginning of this year, the Macau SAR government raised the minimum wage standard, and the wages of various positions were adjusted accordingly. .
Employment is the foundation of people's livelihood. In 2023, the Labor Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government held a total of 152 industry-specific matching meetings, 48 comprehensive tourism and leisure enterprise matching meetings, 3 large-scale recruitment expos, and launched 9 special employment plans for comprehensive tourism and leisure enterprises, plus various other The employment matching measure has successfully matched approximately 13,800 jobs. With the continued promotion of relevant policies, Macao's overall unemployment rate will drop to 2.7% in 2023.
When I met Ms. Qian, she was gathering with friends in a coffee shop. "I returned to Macau after graduating from Shanghai University and joined a comprehensive tourism and leisure company. I have received two promotions and salary increases. This time at the beginning of this year was the happiest!" Ms. Qian said optimistically that Macau's economic recovery has good momentum and there will be more opportunities in the future. .
The reporter learned that the Macau SAR government continues to promote six integrated tourism and leisure enterprises to provide training and create promotion opportunities for local employees. Currently, relevant companies are actively developing more projects with non-gaming elements to provide jobs for more local job seekers.
"This year marks the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. Over the past 25 years, the SAR government has always regarded improving people's livelihood and caring for the disadvantaged groups as its policy priorities, and has continued to implement a number of measures, and social services have made considerable progress." Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government For example, Mayor Ouyang Yu said that the SAR government's funding for social service organizations has increased from more than 100 million patacas in the early days of the handover to more than 1.6 billion patacas in 2023; the number of beneficiaries of various social services has increased from more than 80,000 per year in the early days of the handover. , increasing to more than 5.2 million passengers in 2023.
"In recent years, it has been obvious that the level of government services of the SAR government has continued to improve. The content of the 'One Household Pass' mobile application has become more and more abundant, and the services have become more and more efficient." Mr. Lin told reporters with satisfaction that ID card renewal, vehicle use License tax payment and other matters can be handled on your mobile phone, and many other matters can be completed at the self-service machine at the 24-hour self-service center of the SAR government, which is very convenient.
Exciting activities, suitable for living, working and traveling
In the past March, various activities in Macau were exciting: the eight-day first Macau International Comedy Festival has just concluded, the Macau International Short Film Festival has continued, and the "2024 Macau International Parade" will also be held at the end of the month. "Dramas, concerts, classical concerts, painting exhibitions, calligraphy exhibitions, cultural forums, etc. are all over the city." said Ms. Xu, who works at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government.
"Macao is a culturally rich place that is suitable for living, working and traveling." said Ng Chi-liang, President of the Macao Federation of Cultural Circles. "The profound cultural heritage has nourished generations of Macao people. We should be more creative and further develop Macao culture and art." cause."
The tertiary industry in Macao accounts for more than 90%, and the rapid development of the service industry has provided increasingly broad development space for the cultural industry. Especially since its return to the motherland, Macao's economy and society have developed rapidly, greatly improving public service facilities and laying a solid foundation for the development of the cultural and sports industries. In the policy report of the Macau SAR government for the 2024 fiscal year, it was clearly stated that it is committed to building a "city of performing arts" and "a city of sports".
Ms. Gao, who loves sports, takes the bus from the Macau Peninsula to the Olympic Swimming Pool in Taipa at around 6:30 every morning. “Taking a bus only costs 3 patacas, and swimming for people over 60 years old only costs 10 patacas. These are good conditions provided by the government,” said Ms. Gao.
On March 17, Ms. Gao participated in the Macau International 10-kilometer long-distance race. "There are many events in Macao and the organization has done a good job. I look forward to taking advantage of the opportunity of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to jointly host the 15th National Games, and Macao can further improve its sports facilities." Ms. Gao said.
The reporter learned from the Sports Bureau of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau SAR Government that Macau holds high-level large-scale sports events covering almost the entire year, including the Macau International Dragon Boat Race, WTT Macau Championship, Greater Bay Area 3×3 Basketball Tournament, and Macau Golf Open. , Macau Grand Prix and Macau International Marathon, etc., attracting many sports enthusiasts to Macau to compete.
"More and more Macao residents are falling in love with sports and are active and optimistic. This is the core of the 'Sports City'." Ouyang Yu said that Macao is giving full play to its own advantages and actively building a "Chinese culture as the mainstream, diversified "Exchange and cooperation base for cultural coexistence", and strive to promote the construction of "Performing City" and "Sports City". (People's Daily reporter Fu Zimei)