The flag-raising ceremony is held at the Golden Lotus Square, downtown Macao, to mark the eighth anniversary of the region's return to the Chinese motherland. [Photos: Xinhua]

The red five-star Chinese national flag and the emerald green lotus-featured regional flag Thursday were seen hoisted in the music of the Chinese national anthem at the Golden Lotus Square, downtown Macao.

The flag-raising ceremony was held to mark the eighth anniversary of the region's return to the Chinese motherland.

The ceremony was chaired by the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah.

Officials from the central government's liaison office and foreign affairs commission in Macao as well as the MSAR government and hundreds of local residents witnessed the scene.

(CRI December 21, 2007)