Local media demands more transparency from administration

The Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan met with local media representatives from the Chinese, Portuguese and English media outlets yesterday afternoon at Macau Tower, many of whom urged more transparency from the administration and a better communication mechanism with the government.
During the session for Portuguese and English media, Director of TDM Canal Macau Joao Francisco Pinto pointed out that the local government has set up a spokesperson system in order to better communicate with the media and convey messages to residents yet most of the time the efficiency of the system is questionable as the government’s reply to media enquires is inevitably late.
Paulo Azevedo, Publisher of Business Daily, also indicated that local government officials can be very difficult to reach, not only now but for a long time in the past. He cited the example of the neighbouring Special Administrative Region, saying that principal officials from Hong Kong always use different media platforms to deliver their messages to residents and conduct dialogues with the public on a regular basis. Mr. Azevedo stressed the need for more transparency by the administration, saying that the delay or absence of information may lead to the public losing trust in the media whilst undermining the image of the administration.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice said that media plays an important role in building a bridge between the government and the public. She expressed her gratitude for the local media’s continuous effort in delivering government information as well as explaining government policies to the public. She vowed that the local administration would take a more proactive role in releasing information, decisions and policies, and adopt a more timely manner in doing so.
TDM Portuguese radio journalist Isabel Castro despaired at the lack of good Portuguese translation provided by the government not only at media events or official occasions but in the daily lives of those in the SAR; this, she said, despite the fact that Portuguese is one of the official languages of Macau with Chinese. Sonia Chan acknowledged that Macau lacks bilingual talent but pledged to enhance the situation by putting more effort into it as well as urging the institutions under her secretariat to address the issue.
English media outlets representatives also voiced their hope that the government would pay more attention to delivering messages in English as Macau is aspiring to become a more international tourism destination. Secretary Chan said that for the time being the policy still mandates only Chinese and Portuguese as the official languages in the SAR and that these would be the usual languages for the government to deliver information. Depending on the target of the announcements, however, the administration may use English in appropriate circumstances.
Secretary Chan also said that the administration welcomed the media exercising supervision of the government and reiterated that the newly-inaugurated fourth term of the SAR would uphold the policy of “people-oriented, scientific decision-making”. In the area of administration and justice, Ms. Chan vowed to make “streamlining public administration, continuously improving public services, enhancing the execution capability and credibility of the government, promoting the construction of the legal system” as the key policy.
Ms. Chan said her priority upon taking office was to review the procedure of legislation. In March, the administration will deliver its policy address and the plans of the administration for the following year at the Legislative Assembly. After the session, more communication with the media and the public will be conducted. She also pledged to host this kind of meeting with the media on a more regular basis.