China's central govt appoints Ho Iat Seng as Macao's chief executive

The State Council of China decided at a plenary meeting on Wednesday to appoint Ho Iat Seng as the fifth-term chief executive of Macao Special Administrative Region.

Ho Iat Seng attends a press briefing, on August 25, 2019, in Macao. [File Photo: VCG/China News Agency/Zhang Wei]

Ho will assume office on December 20 – the date that marks the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to China.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presided over the meeting and signed a State Council decree on the appointment.

Ho was elected Macao's chief executive-designate on August 25.

Born in Macao in 1957, Ho served as a member of the Executive Council of the Macao SAR from 2004 to 2009. In October 2013, he was elected president of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR and was re-elected in October 2017.

Premier Li said at the meeting that the practice of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle in Macao has been successful over the past 20 years, adding that the central government will continue to resolutely implement the principles of "One Country, Two Systems," "Macao people administering Macao" with a high degree of autonomy.

The development of Macao is closely linked to the development of the Chinese mainland, and the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area offers new and big opportunities for the SAR, he stressed.

The premier expressed confidence in Ho to unite and lead the new Macao SAR government and people from all social sectors of Macao to achieve greater success under the "One Country, Two Systems" principle.

Chinese Vice Premiers Han Zheng, Sun Chunlan and Liu He and State Councilors Wang Yong and Xiao Jie also attended the meeting.