MSAR Preparatory Committee Holds Ninth Plenary Session ����The ninth plenary session of the Preparatory Committee for the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) opened in Beijing Friday. ����Qian Qichen, vice-premier and chairman of the MSAR Preparatory Committee, said at the opening of the two-day meeting that Edmund Ho Hau Wah, first chief executive of the MSAR had launched the work for establishing the MSAR government. ����He expressed belief that the preparations for the establishment of the MSAR government would be carried out successfully, with support from the vast number of Macao residents and that the policy of "Macao people governing Macao" would be well implemented. ����Qian said the preparatory committee has already done a lot for preparing the establishment of the MSAR and key tasks for selecting the first executive of the MSAR had gone ahead smoothly. ����He added that the State Council issued on May 20 decree No.264 appointing Edmund Ho Hau Wah first chief executive of the MSAR and President Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji had met him during his visit to Beijing. ����The top leaders said that the central government would make every possible effort to support the work of the soon to be established MSAR government, Qian said. ����Qian said the overall cooperation between China and Portugal in this later period leading to the transition in Macao had gone smoothly. Top leaders of the two countries will hold a meeting later this year and the Chinese side will continue to strengthen consultation and cooperation with the Portuguese side to ensure Macao's smooth transition and transfer of power, he said. (Xinhua) HomeNews 1999-07-03 Page2 Full Story in Chinese