Meet Macau’s happy millennials, 20 years after return to China

CHOI Hio Lam was born in Macau near the turn of the millennium.

Like most millennials the world over, Choi grew up in an increasingly affluent society. But she and her Macau cohorts stand out from the international pack as 1999 marked a shift of fortune for the former Portuguese colony.

Choi was only 8 days old when Macau returned to its motherland on December 20, 1999, to become a special administrative region of China under the “one country, two systems” principle.

Today, Choi studies traditional Chinese music in Beijing and says she is as excited about the upcoming 20th anniversary of Macau’s return at her 20th birthday.

In just two decades, Macau has been transformed into a much more prosperous cosmopolis with a rapidly developing economy, modern infrastructure and an excellent social welfare system.

As the first generation born in Macau after the city’s return, Choi and her peers benefit from the boom and are empowered to dream big.

“It has been a good and happy life for our generation in Macau,” said Choi.

Into the new millennium, more investment has been poured into the Macau

Special Administrative Region to improve its infrastructure, education and public security.

Its gross domestic product has increased from 51.9 billion patacas (US$6.5 billion) at its return to 444.7 billion patacas in 2018. GDP per capita reached about US$83,000 in 2018.

Fuller coffers have enabled the government to offer 15 years of free education, from preschool to high school. According to the Higher Education Bureau, public education spending in 2019 was seven times that of 1999.

Education a key asset

According to a recently released report from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2018, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among the 79 participating countries and regions, Macau’s 15-year-olds ranked third in reading, math and science.

Macau students not only score better in tests but also have better chances to pursue their extracurricular passions.

For Choi, she began learning music at the age of 3, starting with the piano. But influenced by her grandfather, Choi soon found her true passion was for guzheng, a classical Chinese zither.

After graduating from high school, Choi set her sights on studying traditional Chinese music at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

New in Beijing, Choi found she had a lot of catching up to do if she was to keep pace with her classmates. But she practiced hard, seven to eight hours a day.

In October, Choi was invited to play at the 33rd Macau International Music Festival. She now plans to bring the beauty of traditional Chinese instruments to the world.

Choi is one of a growing number of Macau youth coming to study in or visit the mainland every year.

This is made possible by both the public and private sectors through projects like exchanges between middle schools in the mainland and Macau and themed activities in the Guangdong-Hong KongMacau Greater Bay Area.

Alex Mok, head of the Macau Youth Federation, said such activities help pass on the tradition of patriotism in Macau.

“We want to let young people in Macau know that without our motherland, we wouldn’t have what we have,” Mok said.

(Xinhua)