Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of China's Macao Special administrative Region, said in Macao Friday that the requirement raised by the Labor Day protest is reasonable and justified.

Ho, when talking to the local media, attributed the clashes between the demonstrators and the police to "someone's certain political motives."

Macao is a legal society in which residents have the right to express their opinions through demonstrations, said Ho, adding that the protesters, however, have to abide by the law and have to follow the police instructions.

The administration is to handle the residents' requirement seriously and to take legal actions on those who breached the social orders, Ho said.

He noted that the police personnel who fired five rounds of gun shots into the air during the Labor Day protest was not with the purpose to crackdown the demonstration.

The police officer was in a bid to warn the protesters in case that a severe stampage might be happening, said Ho.

The gunshots were not instructed by high-profile police authorities, he stated.

The chief executive said his government is carrying out investigations on the gunfire incident.

He hailed the police for their restraint during the protest.

Ho also pledged to step up efforts on sectors including anti- corruption, crackdown on illegal labor imports and protection of local laborers' benefit.

He expressed the belief that the Macao people will witness a more prosperous and perfect society through the hardworking of all walks of social life.

Source: Xinhua