The construction of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (Cooperation Zone) is gradually moving from project to reality. As the number of families relocating there continues to grow, the need for childcare services, family care support and medical facilities is also increasing.
With regard to childcare services, although Songqin Kindergarten in Hengqin launched a pilot childcare project at the beginning of this year, the service is only available to children aged between 2 and 3. For families with babies and children under the age of 2, the service gap is particularly evident.
Some Macau residents living in the Cooperation Zone admit that, due to the lack of childcare services for children under 2 in the area, they have to make daily cross-border trips to nurseries in Macau, which takes time and energy and makes daily life extremely inconvenient.
As for the need for foreign domestic workers, the current policy allowing Macau residents to bring foreign domestic helpers into the Cooperation Zone applies only to the “Macau New Neighbourhood” project. However, many Macau families living in other residential developments face the same care pressures and hope that the policy will be extended to the whole Cooperation Zone.
In addition, foreign domestic workers already employed in the “Macau New Neighbourhood”, if they need to go to Macau, must use tourist visas and passports, and are subject to restrictions on the number of entries and exits from mainland China. This prevents them from travelling daily between Macau and Hengqin to take cross-border students to and from school, substantially affecting families’ day-to-day care arrangements.
In terms of medical services, allowing Macau residents living in the Cooperation Zone to enjoy convenient medical services in mainland China is also an important part of the current integration of livelihoods between Macau and Hengqin.
Although the health centre in the “Macau New Neighbourhood” is already in operation and provides certain healthcare services, it still lacks services such as oral health, traditional Chinese medicine and prenatal care. Residents with these needs still have to return to Macau for medical consultations, which does not fully meet their actual needs.
The Macao SAR Government should proactively align itself with national strategies, turning the broad guidelines of the 15th Five-Year Plan into concrete policies, so that the Cooperation Zone truly becomes a new home suitable for Macau residents to live and work in, while promoting high-quality coordinated development between Macau and Hengqin.
To this end, the authorities need to strengthen communication with the relevant mainland departments, effectively improve livelihood facilities in the area, and build a living environment with conditions similar to those in Macau.
