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improvement.
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Another member of the delegation, Tong Sek-kan,
said professional qualifications recognised in the enclave at present followed those under the Portuguese system. However, he said that they should be changed to be in line with the situation of the enclave during the transition.
Ta Kung Pao (18.10) said a delegation of the enclave's Chinese Civil Servants' Association had met HK and Macau Affairs Office vice-director Chen Ziying and had expressed their views on the draft. In welcoming members' views, Mr Chen said that the purpose of formulating the Basic Law was to confirm, through a legal framework, the concept of "one country, two systems" and related policies, which would be important guarantees for the enclave's stability and properity.
Ta Kung Pao and the HK Commercial Daily (26.10) noted that a delegation of the Macau BLDC left for China for an eight-day visit. At the invitation of their Chinese counterparts, they would exchange views on the Basic Law. At a seminar in which secretary-general Lu Ping and vice-director Li Hou participated, members discussed various issues, including the ratio of non-Chinese membership in the Legisative Assembly, the rights of locally-born Portuguese, private property rights and education. Head of the delegation Kang Hin-yang said that since the draft was released for the solicitation of public views, some 250 submissions had been received.
Airport
The Under-secretary for Public Works, Jose Machado, was quoted by the New Evening Post (1.10) as saying that the Macau Airport Company would issue short-term bonds worth one billion dollars to pool funds for the phase-one projects of the new airport. He said that the bonds would be for sale to the public and the banks. However, technical details such as the maturity period and the face value of the bonds had yet to be worked out. Mr Machado contended that the Government would be able to solve the airport problem on its own and that there was no need for China to assist.
Guo Dongpo was quoted as saying that China would support projects that were beneficial to the economic development of the enclave. He said that the pooling of funds by the Airport . Company was a matter of their own. However, it would be another question if the issues involved straddled 1999. Mr Guo made clear that the Chinese side did not want the financing of the new airport to become a financial burden on the future SAR.
Chinese leader on the JLG Kang Jimin said that the Chinese side would have to be consulted if the issued bonds straddled 1999. He said that up to now, the Macau Government had not yet Informed the JLG of the bond-issuing plans.
A shareholder of the Airport Company, Edmundo Ho Hau-wa, was quoted by Wah Kiu Yat Po (2.10) as saying that he anticipated no problem in the sale of the bonds. He said that the Airport