Ｍａ Ｍａｎ－Ｋｅｉ ａｎｄ Ｈｉｓ Ｌｅｇｅｎｄａｒｙ Ｌｉｆｅ

Mr. Ma Man-Kei is a legendary business tycoon in Macao and vice president of the 11th CPPCC. As a business tycoon， a high-profile celebrity with political influence with the central government， and a staunch patriot for decades， he has been highly concerned with public affairs and welfares of the people of Macao since his arrival in Macao in the early 1940s. As an individual， he treasures friendship wrought in hardships and tribulations.

Born in October 1919， Ma moved to Macao from Hong Kong in 1941 and soon established himself as a successful businessman. Before he was going to marry Luo Baixin in 1943， families and friends looked forward to a grand wedding banquet. Yet， there was only a simple cocktail party to entertain guests， relatives and friends. It was announced at the wedding ceremony that the newlyweds， with the blessing of their parents， would donate 50，000 silver dollars budgeted for the wedding and the honeymoon to the Guangdong Provincial Women Association. The money would be used to take care of war orphans.

During World War Two， Ma bought and sold lots of supplies to support the resistance activities on the mainland against the Japanese invaders and his business flourished. His friends said although he was very cautious about his business deals， he never hesitated to take risks to help his motherland. One evening， a bomb exploded in the backyard of his house just after the family had had supper. Ma went to the backyard to investigate and found half of the backyard wall had been blasted. The Macao government later uncovered a network of secret agents and leaned Ma had been on a blacklist.

In the late 1940s Ma met He Xiangning (1878-1972) in Hong Kong and later met her son Liao Chengzhi (He Xiangning was the wife of Liao Zhongkai， a prominent revolutionary and friend of Sun Yat-sen， the founding father of Republic of China). In 1956， He Xiangning invited Ma and his wife to tour Hangzhou and Suzhou. Knowing that the couple donated the honeymoon fund to the war efforts in 1943， Liao made arrangements for Ma and his wife to have a honeymoon this time. Every hotel the couple stayed during the trip provided the couple with a bridal chamber and gave them royal treatment. Touched by Liao’s generosity and kindness， Ma’s wife Luo Baixin said， “We are married for 13 years and have seven children. Now we are having our honeymoon!” Ma wrote a poem in memory of the unusual honeymoon.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)， Liao was politically persecuted by red guards. When Ma’s son， working in Beijing and seeing the public propaganda against Liao， asked his father if he feared the situation of the Liaos might get out of control and suck him into political chaos， the senior asked his son to keep in mind that Liao was from a family of loyal people and martyrs. He replied， “I have no fear of political repercussions that might get me embroiled.” Ma asked his son to keep that in mind and never succumb to groundless accusations made by the red guards.

In 1968， Ma and his wife traveled all the way from Macao to Beijing for a visit to Liao’s mother He Xiangning who was then in her 90s and Liao’s wife Jing Puchun. The couple brought He Xiangning her favorite cookies and medications.Liao’s mother was moved by the couple’s visit.

Ma Man-Kei met Marshal Ye Jianying in 1950 and the two maintained a lifelong friendship. After learning Ma suffered a relapse of lung disease， Ye invited Ma to Beijing for medical treatment. Ma recovered completely. Ye found himself in a difficult situation when the Cultural Revolution broke out. Ma and his wife were highly concerned with Ye’s personal safety and visited Ye in Beijing. Instead of talking about his trouble， the marshal asked Ma Man-Kei to unite with people in Hong Kong and Macao and do his best to eliminate the bad impact of the Cultural Revolution in two regions. In 1967， the marshal took the two sons of Ma studying in Beijing under his wing and advised them to focus on academic studies. When Ma was seriously ill in the early 1970s， Ye immediately asked Ma to send the case history to Beijing. Ma himself tended to have surgery， but Ye， based on the expert opinion， advised Ma to adopt a more conservative approach and take a treatment just made available. The treatment worked. Even today Ma still insists he owes his life to the marshal for the precious advice and he will remember that all his life.

Ma Man-Kei has always given the top priority to his motherland in whatever he does and says， for he loves China and he loves Macao. His sixty-six years in Macao since 1941 has made him an extraordinary witness to the huge changes Macao has experienced.

Ma Man-Kei showed great concerns when China and Portugal were in talks on the resumption by the Chinese government of the exercise of the sovereignty over Macao. He wished the colony would return to the motherland before the 21st century. He proposed that the Chinese army station in Macao because， in his opinion， the Chinese military presence would stand for sovereignty and bring peace and safety to the island where organized crimes had been a problem. He opposed the dual nationality for Macao residents， a proposition espoused by Portugal. When he spoke， the central government listened. His ideas were adopted.

Ma Man-Kei is satisfied with Macao’s return to China and the political situation on the island. He says proudly that the practices of the past years since the return of Macao to the motherland have proved that the people in Macao can administer Macao well and that the leadership of Macao has grown stronger and consolidated in the process of promoting the prosperity of the island.

Ma has led a full and fruitful life. Talking about his health regimen， he says that he retires early and rises early and that he keeps an open mind and adopts an active and positive attitude toward life. He does not smoke， he does not drink， and he loves sports. He does Taiji， he hikes， he writes poems， he enjoys friends， and he enjoys his grandchildren.

More importantly， he is a royal patriot， devoting himself to the solidarity and prosperity of the motherland. Patriotism and dedication to the motherland is his lifelong pursuit in both his life and business. His motto is “utter devotion no matter what happens”， which epitomizes his way toward friends and toward China.