On 10 November, the General Council of Archive of the MSAR had a meeting in the conference room of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building to present the achievements of the two cross-departmental working groups; namely, the group for “Retention Schedule for Common Administrative Records” and “Technical Specification for Digitization of Paper Records”. Alexis, Tam Chon Weng, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and President of the General Council of Archives, chaired the meeting.

In his introductory remarks, Tam affirmed the social value and historical significance of archives and their role as an important component of cultural heritage. In light of the rapid development of society in the recent years, the government of the MSAR has been exerting efforts for the betterment of the community. With a large number of records being created in the course of government transactions, it is necessary to establish an efficient record management system to optimize the administrative operation of the government. It was envisioned that the meeting could facilitate the effective and substantial management of records across the government.

At the meeting, the General Archives Council heard final reports from Maria Fátima Lau and Lai Chi Wa, respectively the convenor of the working group on “Retention Schedule for Common Administrative Records” and “Technical Specification for Digitization of Paper Records”, about the work progress of the groups, which included the finalization of the drafting of “Retention Schedule for Common Administrative Records” and “Normative Technical Guidelines on Digitization of Paper Records”. The Council approved the two reports and had a discussion and productive exchange of ideas on matters proposed to be followed-up in the reports.

Under the direction of Tam, a working group on legislative work would be set up to follow up the legislation of the “Retention Schedule for Common Administrative Records” and “Normative Technical Guidelines on Digitization of Paper Records”. 

From 2012, the General Council of Archive set up two cross-departmental working groups for the "Retention Schedule for Common Administrative Records" and “Technical Specification for Digitization of Paper Records". Over the past three years, the two working groups held 18 work meetings, 3 rounds of consultation which involved over 80 governmental departments and 12 exchange sessions. As a result of significant efforts by the two working groups, the drafting of the “Retention Schedule for Common Administrative Records” and “Normative Technical Guidelines on Digitization of Paper Records” were finalized recently.

Also presented at the meeting were Lai Ieng Kit, Chief of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Lam Wan Nei and Lam Io Pak, advisors of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ung Vai Meng, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Chan Peng Fai, Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau and members of the General Council of Archives including Tam Vun San, representative of the Legislative Assembly, Ma Kam Sang, representative of the Financial Services Bureau, Lum Ting Ting, representative of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, Chan Chi Ieong, representative of the Legal Affairs Bureau and Lau Fong, Director of the Historical Archives of Macao.