The re-election campaign of Edmund Ho Hau Wah, the chief executive of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), went into a full swing on Saturday, as he left his post temporarily to concentrate on his running for the second term.

Ho chose the first station of his campaign to the Macao Chamber of Commerce Saturday morning, which is Macao's most influential society. At the meeting chaired by Chairman Ma Man Kei, Ho exchanged views with 17 personages from the industry and commerce circles.

Focus of the discussion was given to diversifying Macao's economic structure, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, the shortage of professionals, the quality of living in Macao as well as urban planning and the traffic network.

Ho has garnered endorsement from a total of 297 members of a 300-strong Election Committee on his candidature nomination form for the chief executive running earlier last week, making him the sole candidate in the upcoming election, which is designated for August 29.

Ho said that he would take his two-week campaign period to widely solicit opinions and suggestions for the better development of the Macao SAR.

Ho also went to the headquarters of the Macao Federation of Workers' Unions Saturday afternoon. His election affair office said that Ho has made a tight schedule for his campaign in order to meet face-to-face with people from the manufacturing industry, the trade society, the SME association, the culture circle, the Association of the Neighborhood Community, the Women's Federation, the Portuguese community and etc.

Ho said that he would form a responsible government if he could be re-elected. The new government should be ready to encounter new problems that have been seen after Macao's open-up of the gaming industry, such as the shortage of professional workers, the difficulty of SMEs as well as the risks from the singularity in the economy.

Although enjoying a absolute popularity, Ho did not yet regard himself re-elected, based on the fact that he is supposed to garner more than half of the votes with the Election Committee to be cast in a secret ballot on August 29.

As the first chief executive ever elected by Macao people, Ho's five-year term will expire on Dec. 19 this year, which will coincide with the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR.

Ho is expected to temporarily leave his post from Aug. 14-29 for his re-election campaign. During his vacancy, his post will be taken over by senior SAR government officials in rotation.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2004)