In a first, casino hub Macau elects chief executive born in mainland China

Former justice Sam Hou Fai receives 394 retired of 398 votes formed successful an predetermination wherever helium was the sole candidate.

Former justice Sam Hou Fai has been elected main executive-designate of Macau, China’s peculiar administrative region, mounting him up to beryllium the person of the casino-dominated country adjacent to Hong Kong.

Sam received 394 votes retired of 398 ballots formed successful an predetermination that lasted astir 1 hr and 35 minutes connected Sunday, according to a connection connected the government’s website.

He is the territory’s archetypal person calved successful mainland China. Critics fearfulness the determination volition spot Beijing’s docket instrumentality precedence implicit concern interests.

After being announced arsenic the main executive-elect, Sam walked onto the signifier to applause from the committee members. “It is the highest honour of my life,” the 62-year-old said.

He pledged to uphold nationalist sovereignty, accelerate the city’s economical diversification, and amended integrate it into the nationalist improvement plans.

Sam celebrates aft being declared the victor of Macau’s main enforcement predetermination [Bertha Wang/AP Photo]

The assignment of Sam to a five-year word arsenic main enforcement indispensable beryllium approved by China’s cardinal government.

“This was an predetermination with 1 candidate. Ordinary residents present can’t ballot here,” Al Jazeera’s Laura Westbrook reported from Macau. “Some radical that I person been speaking to, they weren’t adjacent alert determination was an predetermination happening today.”

Sam was calved successful the confederate Chinese state of Guangdong successful 1962. He graduated from the prestigious instrumentality schoolhouse of Peking University successful Beijing.

He besides studied the Portuguese language, civilization and instrumentality astatine the University of Coimbra successful Portugal, and erstwhile practised instrumentality successful mainland China.

Macau is the lone spot successful China wherever casino gambling is legal. Beijing has called for the metropolis to diversify its gambling-reliant economy.

“He [Sam] is the archetypal person of Macau that doesn’t travel from a concern background, and helium has had immoderate beauteous beardown comments astir the gambling manufacture present – wherever helium says that helium wants to diversify it distant from gambling,” Al Jazeera’s Westbrook said.

Sam has promised to accelerate the existent government’s program to boost tourism and different sectors specified arsenic accepted Chinese medicine, finance, exhibitions and commerce.

However, the metropolis volition inactive request to trust connected the gambling manufacture for authorities revenues to enactment the city’s payment and execute different goals laid retired by Beijing, analysts say.

China wants Macau to make into a world-class tourism and leisure centre and play a bigger relation arsenic a span for commercialized betwixt China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies