People visit a flower show on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, Dec. 14, 2024. A flower show celebrating the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland kicked off here on Saturday, and will run until Jan. 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, I went to this city to conduct an in-depth interview that lasted for a week. When asked about "what the motherland means in your mind," a Macao girl replied, "It's everything." The motherland is like a mother, a strong backer and also a huge opportunity for development.

Another young Macao resident said that people of his parents' generation tended to stay and work in Macao, but the young people of his generation, with the motherland as their strong backer, should "broaden" and "extend" their dreams. They can choose to stay in Macao, or go to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (hereinafter referred to as the "Cooperation Zone") or any city in the mainland. 

The Macao Special Administrative Region has a land area of only 33.3 square kilometers, while the Chinese mainland covers an area of 9.6 million square kilometers. Young people in Macao thus have a hugely broader space to fulfill their dreams if they go to the mainland.

In recent years, the state has been vigorously promoting the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In 2023, the total economic output of the Greater Bay Area exceeded 14 trillion yuan, up from 10.8 trillion yuan in 2018. Since its establishment over three years ago, the Cooperation Zone has attracted an increasing number of Macao enterprises. As of the end of October this year, more than 6,400 Macao enterprises have settled in Hengqin. In the first half of this year, the added value of Macao-funded enterprises in the Cooperation Zone was close to 1.9 billion yuan, making it the region with the highest concentration of Macao-funded enterprises in the mainland.

In the era of the vigorous development of the Greater Bay Area and the accelerated construction of the Cooperation Zone, young people in Macao are seizing the opportunities of the times and giving full play to their talents in fields such as scientific and technological innovation, cross-border e-commerce, and the integration of culture and tourism.

The successful practice of "one country, two systems" is the cornerstone of Macao's prosperity and stability, paving a solid road for young people in Macao to pursue and realize their dreams. The Macao Youth Development Service Center, inaugurated on June 30, 2023, helps young people in Macao solve practical difficulties they encounter in their studies, employment, entrepreneurship and housing. 

The Macao Youth Federation was granted special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2021. With the help of this platform, young people in Macao have stepped onto the international stage, participated in United Nations meetings, told the story of the successful practice of "one country, two systems" in Macao with their own experiences and talked about the new development opportunities that young people in Macao have gained with the motherland as their strong backer. 

Through in-depth interviews, I learned that young people in Macao use these associations to participate in social affairs and are active in all sectors of Macao. Meanwhile, all sectors of Macao are committed to cultivating young talents in various fields to inject youthful vitality into the Macao Special Administrative Region government and Macao society. It can be said that today's young people in Macao have shouldered the responsibilities for Macao and the motherland, and they are also embracing the world.

In the 25 years since its return to the motherland, Macao has witnessed many great changes. Among them, the rapidly growing group of young people in Macao will undoubtedly make this city shine even more brightly in the future. When I was interviewing at the University of Macao, the teachers and students there spontaneously sang the song "My Motherland and I" and shouted "Bless the motherland! Bless Macao!" Young people in Macao are full of courage and hope and are creating the next even more glorious 25 years with a more open attitude. 

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn