在周六举行的澳门下任领导人竞选中，唯一参选人Sam Hou-fai承诺将推动经济多元化发展，这一目标此前已得到中国政府的认可与期望。
作为该特区的前首席法官，Sam在新闻发布会上强调了经济多元化的关键性问题，并指出这是其就任后的首要任务。在另一场活动中，他向10月13日即将投票决定下届领导人的人士表示，疫情教训让澳门深知过度依赖某一行业风险巨大。
受疫情控制措施影响，此前繁荣的旅游和赌博业遭受严重下滑。中国调整“零新冠”策略后才得以缓解。
Sam提出，“单靠赌博产业是不够的。”“否则，如果我们遭遇大危机，该如何应对？”
现年62岁的Sam被普遍预期能在下月的投票中获得领导位置，由400名成员组成的委员会，其中绝大多数是由体制内人物主导，负责选举领导者。澳门大约68.7万居民中，大多数没有投票权，他将成为澳门首位来自中国大陆的领导人。
在提名期间，Sam已经收到了386位委员的支持，并获得了国家安全审查机关对其忠诚度的认可。中国的国家主席习近平期望澳门能够实现健康、可持续的经济发展，并且多元化其以博彩业为主的经济。澳门是中国内地唯一允许赌博合法化的地区。
今年5月，现任行政长官Ho Iat-seng透露，博彩业在澳门国内生产总值中的占比已从过去约60%降至少于40%，去年，政府推出了旨在提振旅游业、休闲产业及其他如中医、金融和展览商业等领域的多元化计划。由于健康原因，Ho决定不再寻求连任。
Sam于1962年出生在中国广东省，并毕业于北京的北京大学法学院，在葡萄牙科英布拉大学修习葡语、文化与法律。他曾在大陆地区担任律师一职。
从澳门回归中国统治起，Sam担任最高法院院长至今年8月卸任。有人质疑他是否有能力领导政府，考虑到其缺乏企业管理和行政经验背景。
他声称自己在澳门生活和工作近40年，并指出对澳门的理解不低于许多人所谓的知名人士，将其管理法院的经验类比于运行一个小型的行政机构。
Sam在任职期间还处理了一些敏感案件，包括支持警方禁止纪念中国1989年天安门广场民主示威活动的集会禁令。他也曾就当局决定阻止民主派人士参加2021年立法选举的支持者判决。
以上内容是对原文的忠实译文优化，在保持原有信息的基础上使之更适合中国人阅读习惯，无扩充或解释性说明。
新闻来源：www.abcnews.go.com
原文地址：The sole candidate for Macao’s leader pledges to diversify the casino city’s economy
新闻日期：2024-09-28
原文摘要：
The sole candidate in the election for Macao’s next leader on Saturday pledged to diversify the economy of the Chinese casino city, a goal previously laid out by Beijing. Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, said at a news conference that the diversification is a key issue he must address. At a separate event, he told election committee members who will vote on Oct. 13 that the city has learned a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic. Macao's tourism and gaming industries suffered a big slump because of the virus controls before China rolled back its “zero-COVID” strategy in late 2022. Sam said just relying on the gaming industry is not enough. “Otherwise, how could we handle it if big disasters arise?” he said. Sam, 62, is widely expected to secure the leadership in next month's vote, during which a 400-member committee — mostly dominated by establishment figures — picks the leader. Most of the semi-autonomous territory’s population of 687,000 does not have a right to vote. He would be the city’s first leader from mainland China. During the application period, he already received nominations from 386 committee members. The city’s safeguarding national security committee affirmed his loyalty to China and Macao. Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed hopes that the former Portuguese colony can promote healthy and sustainable economic development and diversify its economy, which its gaming industry has dominated for decades. Macao is the only place in China where casinos are legal. In May, incumbent Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said the gaming industry accounted for less than 40% of the city’s gross domestic product, down from its past contribution of about 60%. Last year, his government rolled out a diversification plan to boost the tourism and leisure industry and other sectors such as traditional Chinese medicine, finance, and exhibition and commerce. Ho decided not to seek reelection due to health reasons. Sam was born in Guangdong province in 1962 and graduated from the law school of Peking University in Beijing. He studied the Portuguese language, culture and law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He once worked as a lawyer in mainland China. Sam was the city’s top judge from when Macao returned to Chinese rule in 1999 until he resigned in August. Critics have questioned his ability to administer a government given his lack of business and executive background. He previously said he has worked and lived in Macao for nearly 40 years. He argued his understanding of Macao is no worse than that of many well-known figures and likened his experience of managing the city’s courts to running a small government. Sam has also handled some politically sensitive cases during his tenure, including upholding the police’s ban on a vigil commemorating China’s bloody 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. The top court also ruled in the authorities’ favor over their decision to bar pro-democracy figures from joining the legislative election in 2021.
