Macao celebrated the seventh anniversary of its return to China
Wednesday with fireworks brightening up the deep blue evening
sky.
The 15-minute huge fireworks display was launched at the Macao
Tower, the highest building in the city, by the Macao Government
Tourist Office, which was presented with synchronized music.
Thousands of people gathered at the Tower and the neighboring
areas to watch the display while enjoying the traditional Chinese
music.
Early in the morning, a flag-raising ceremony was held to mark
the anniversary.
Red five-star Chinese national flag and emerald green
lotus-featured Macao regional flag were hoisted in the music of the
Chinese national anthem at the Golden Lotus Square downtown
Macao.
Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of Macao Special
Administrative Region (MSAR), led the ceremony.
Those witnessed the flag-hoist included officials from the
central government's liaison office and foreign affairs commission
in Macao as well as the MSAR government and hundreds of local
residents.
The chief executive afterwards attended a blessing ceremony,
organized by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Buddhist
Association of Macao and other groups, to pray for the well-being
of the MSAR.
A cocktail reception marking the seventh anniversary of the
establishment of the MSAR was hosted by the MSAR government in the
afternoon, drawing hundreds of celebrities and people from all
walks of social life.
The chief executive told the gathering that his government
pledges to build a more harmonious society with "solid belief and
practical attitude."
He noted that the region has been in a period of progress since
it returned to the motherland in 1999 and has witnessed its gradual
integration into the regional and international communities.
The MSAR owes much of its success to the capability to maintain
harmony amid the rapid social changes, with the full support of the
central government, he stressed.
"In a harmonious environment, we should mitigate conflicts to
promote the self-improvement," he said.
Ho also vowed to improve public services to meet society's needs
in the coming years.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)
