President Hu Jintao arrived in Macao at around 11:30 AM (local time) on Sunday to attend a celebration gathering to mark the fifth anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland.  

He was greeted at the airport by Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR).

Hu conveyed at the airport the congratulations and greetings from the central government and the whole nation to the people of Macao.

He said that since Macao returned to the motherland five years ago, it has been achieving great success in the economic, social and other sectors.

Macao people are delighted at these achievements and so are the central government and people of the various ethnic groups of the country, he said.

The president expressed confidence that Macao's tomorrow will be more beautiful as long as Macao people continue to make concerted efforts under the leadership of the MSAR government led by Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah.

Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, will attend the inauguration of the second-term MSAR government.

This is the first time for President Hu to come to the MSAR.

During his two-day stay in Macao, Hu will meet with principal officials of the MSAR government and well-known personages from all walks of life in Macao, and inspect troops of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison in the MSAR.

He will also visit Macao's major sites of historic interest, learn more about the construction and development process of Macao since its return to the motherland.

He will also meet with HKSAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, who will attend the celebration activities. 

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2004)