Wu Bangguo (Front), chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, delivers a keynote speech at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), in Macao, south China, Feb. 21, 2013. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Safeguarding China's national sovereignty and retaining the prosperity of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) are the core considerations in the Chinese central government's Macao policy, China's top legislator said on Thursday.
They are also the guiding principles for the Chinese central government to handle Macao affairs, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said in a keynote speech marking the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR.
The central government has tailored various policies based on these principles and the practical conditions of Macao, according to Wu.
The focal points of these policies are also to resume exercising sovereignty over Macao and keep its stability and development, while the approach for these policies' implementation is insisting on the principle of "one country, two systems," the top legislator said.
Wu added that, to publicize the Basic Law of Macao, people should thoroughly understand the systems enacted in the region and the relations between the central government and the SAR government.
He told people to safeguard the high-level autonomy of the Macao SAR as well as support the central government's authority so to fully realize the sound governing of Macao
The Basic Law of the Macao SAR was promulgated on March 31, 1993 and took effect on Dec. 20, 1999, when the SAR was returned to China. It has acted as the cornerstone of the region's political and legal systems.