Feature: First Day of Macao Residents Apply to Be Masters of Their Own Destiny 　　For the 420,000 residents of Macao, a territory now under Portuguese rule, democracy and self-governance used to look like a faraway dream which, however, is going to come true. 　　At about nine this morning, Macao teacher Chan Sou Teng was amazed to find that he became the first one to apply for admission into a Selection Committee which will vote the first chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). 　　The Selection Committee is organized in accordance with an annex to the Macao Basic Law which was passed by China's top legislature in 1993 following thorough deliberations by people from both Macao and China's inland areas. 　　"The Macao people in general will be able to elect their own chief executive (of the SAR) for the first time," Chan Sou Teng said, noting that such a "first" is worthy to be written into Macao's history. 　　To handle affairs associated with the establishment of the SAR, a Preparatory Committee, which consists of 60 members from Macao and 40 members from the mainland, was set up last May. The committee has worked out a number of key resolutions for founding the SAR, including a method for forming the Selection Committee passed in last November. 　　At its latest plenary session in the middle of the month, the Preparatory Committee announced some detailed procedures on forming the Selection Committee, which will be composed of 200 permanent Macao residents coming from various social sectors. 　　The first step is that Macao residents apply to become members of the Selection Committee between January 26 to February 14. The application site was set at the Macao Office of the secretariat of the Preparatory Committee. 　　A middle-aged woman who only gave her surname as Fung, also came in the morning in company with her husband. 　　"To elect the chief executive is a great event of all people in Macao," the lady said after having her name, ID card number and other personal materials registered. 　　"We want to elect one who is truly able to bring benefits to us, especially one who can manage Macao's economy and public security well." 　　Throngs of people came to the application site, asking for application forms and going out with excitement and pride. By 7:00 pm, a total of 302 application sheets were issued. 　　Application sheets will be collected before 7:00 pm on February 14, and will then go through deliberation and assessment among the Preparatory Committee members. 　　In the end, 200 people will be selected in early April. Following that, the first chief executive is supposed to be elected in late May or early June. 　　Chen Ziying, secretary-general of the Preparatory Committee and deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office under China's State Council, is making a special trip to Macao supervising the application process. 　　"To form the Selection Committee and elect the first chief executive of the Macao SAR will be the first step to implement 'one country, two systems' concept and 'Macao people governing Macao'," Chen Ziying said. 　　"What's more important, it will be a gratifying beginning for Macao people to manage their own affairs," he added. "It is well-known that Macao residents have not had such a right at all for hundreds of years." 　　On the other hand, Chen noted that the customs and culture of Portuguese descendants in Macao will be respected and their legal rights protected. HomeNews 1999-01-27 Page4 Full Story in Chinese