In a first, casino hub Macau elects chief executive born in mainland China | News

Former appraise Sam Hou Fai gets 394 out of 398 votes cast in an election where he was the sole honestate.

Former appraise Sam Hou Fai has been elected chief executive-depictate of Macau, China’s exceptional administrative region, setting him up to be the directer of the casino-ruled area next to Hong Kong.

Sam getd 394 votes out of 398 ballots cast in an election that lasted about one hour and 35 minutes on Sunday, according to a statement on the rulement’s website.

He is the territory’s first directer born in mainland China. Critics stress the shift will see Beijing’s agfinisha get priority over business interests.

After being proclaimd as the chief executive-elect, Sam walked onto the stage to applause from the promisetee members. “It is the highest honour of my life,” the 62-year-better said.

He pledged to uphbetter national sovereignty, quicken the city’s economic diversification, and better unite it into the national prolongment schedules.

The assignment of Sam to a five-year term as chief executive must be consentd by China’s central rulement.

“This was an election with one honestate. Ordinary dwellnts here can’t vote here,” Al Jazeera’s Laura Westbrook telled from Macau. “Some people that I have been speaking to, they weren’t even conscious there was an election happening today.”

Sam was born in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in 1962. He graduated from the prestigious law school of Peking University in Beijing.

He also studied the Portuguese language, culture and law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, and once practised law in mainland China.

Macau is the only place in China where casino wagering is lhorrible. Beijing has called for the city to diversify its wagering-reliant economy.

“He [Sam] is the first directer of Macau that doesn’t come from a business background, and he has had some pretty sturdy comments about the wagering industry here – where he says that he wants to diversify it away from wagering,” Al Jazeera’s Westbrook said.

Sam has promised to quicken the current rulement’s schedule to increase tourism and other sectors such as traditional Chinese medicine, finance, showions and commerce.

However, the city will still necessitate to depend on the wagering industry for rulement revenues to aid the city’s welfare and accomplish other goals laid out by Beijing, analysts say.

China wants Macau to prolong into a world-class tourism and leicertain centre and perestablish a hugeger role as a bridge for trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.