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Profile: Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of Macao SAR Incumbent Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah won the election for a second term on Sunday. He will still need to be appointed by the Chinese central government to become the second chief executive. Ho was the only candidate in the election, after garnering 297 endorsement forms out of the 300-member Election Committee for his candidature nomination. He won the election with 296 votes in favor and three abstentions from a total of 299 members with the Election Committee, who registered to cast votes Sunday morning. Ho's first five-year-term will expire on Dec. 19 this year. The second chief executive's mandate will commence on the following day. Under Ho's leadership, Macao's economy has sustained a growth for four consecutive years and realized the fastest growth in history at 15.6 percent last year. Macao's civil society has also witnessed an all-round improvement in the fields of culture and social security, which proclaims an initial success in the implementation of China's "one country, two systems" principle. During his first five-year term, Ho's administration has broken the monopoly of Macao's gaming industry, started to establish three trade platforms linking China with the rest of the world, and achieved a triumph in the combat against the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) last year. Born in 1955 in Macao, Edmund Ho is the son of Macao's famous patriotic businessman Ho Yin. The junior Ho went abroad for studies at the age of 13. He graduated from the Business Management Department of the York University in Toronto, Canada in 1978 and became an auditor with special permit and certified accountant in Canada in 1981. Ho went back to Macao to take over his family business, working as the general manager of Tai Fung Bank, and quickly emerged as a renowned banker. Ho was elected as the first chief executive of the Macao SAR on May 15, 1999 with a supporting rate of 82 percent. Since taking office on Dec. 20, 1999, Ho has demonstrated a foresight of political wisdom and a pragmatic working style, which have been widely acclaimed by all walks of life in Macao. Ho gave an easy-going impression to ordinary Macao citizens, who would rather call him "Brother Wah." He is frequently seen in all kinds of civil activities listening to the views of the grass- roots. Ho and his wife Tatiana Lau have one son and one daughter. |
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