Through prosperity, Macao has realized its dreams

The total size of the Macao Special Administrative Region is only 32.9 square kilometers, making it smaller than Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

With some 670,900 people living there, it is the most densely populated area in the world. Macao ranks second on the global average GDP list, with an annual average income of 574,000 Macao pataca ($71,480) in 2018.

The SAR government has adopted an annual cash sharing plan since 2008, according to which each local resident could get about 10,000 Macao pataca.

In other words, two years' income in Macao is enough to turn a person, in terms of Macao pataca, into a millionaire. The average life expectancy in Macao is around 84 years, ranking fourth in the world.

Macao has made great strides in governance, thanks to its people-centered policies, whose central task has been improving the livelihoods of the local people.

Upon the SAR's return to China in 1999, its government－faced with a high unemployment rate and economic slowdown－took appropriate measures to boost the service sector, which helped to provide jobs to ordinary people, thereby improving the economy. From 1999 to last year, the unemployment rate in Macao dropped from 6.3 percent to 1.8 percent.

The government's next priority was ushering in more social welfare measures and fighting corruption. It also increased interactions with ordinary residents and brought more transparency to decision-making.

The definition of good governance may vary. But at least there is one standard that applies to all, and that is the richness of the people who are governed.

When a city is full of people who struggle to get their daily bread, it is difficult for them to behave in a polite manner. To quote an old Chinese saying, "Only with full stomachs can people behave morally."

Of course, one can't expect prosperity alone to solve every problem. But richness is the prerequisite for all other things, including how a society can develop its education, commerce and industry. Macao is realizing all its dreams through its prosperity.

That's a lesson for all countries and regions around the world.

The author is a writer at China Daily.