MACAO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Ho Iat Seng was sworn in Friday as the fifth-term chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).
Ho said in his inaugural address that adopting the policy of concerted efforts, reform and innovation, the new SAR government will continue to fully and accurately implement "one country, two systems," strictly follow the Constitution and the Basic Law, conscientiously safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and undertake greater courage and innovative ability to advance economic and social development of Macao.
Ho, born in Macao in 1957, served as a member of the Executive Council of the Macao SAR from 2004 to 2009. In 2013, he was elected president of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR and reelected in 2017.
He had also been a deputy to the National People's Congress and a member of its standing committee.
On July 25, 2019, he was accepted as the sole candidate for the fifth-term chief executive of the Macao SAR and gained a total of 379 signatures by members of the chief executive election committee.
On Aug. 10, Ho put forward his plan for future work in fields including public governance, economic diversification, people's livelihood, youth development and cultural cooperation.
On Aug. 25, he was declared winner in the fifth-term chief executive election of the Macao SAR, gaining a total of 392 votes in favor by the members of the election committee. He saw a dominant 98 percent winning rate.
Ho, after elected, said he would spare no effort to uphold the principles of "one country, two systems," "Macao people governing Macao" with a high degree of autonomy, and would also unswervingly carry out his duties and governance in strict accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law of the Macao SAR to serve the people, the Macao SAR and the country.
On Sept. 4, China's State Council appointed Ho as the Macao SAR's fifth-term chief executive.
