With the guidance of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the first "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week" that is jointly held by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Identification Services Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region came to a successful end on 3rd December 2011. All activities were held successfully with the high concern and strong support of the Central People's Government. The organizer is grateful for the support and assistance from all supporting entities, educational sector, press and media and various sectors of the society. Furthermore, Mr. Huang Ping, the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China especially mentioned several times about the importance of the preventive consular protection in the seminars during the promotion week. The Identification Services Bureau of the Macao SAR will cooperate with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR on implementing the promotion of preventive consular protection. In order to provide Macao residents with more considerate services, the Identification Services Bureau of the Macao SAR will study to enrich the content of the consular protection SMS (short message services) provided to Macao residents. Local information and safety reminders of the countries that Macao residents travelling to will be increased. It is believed that such message will bring conveniences and benefits to Macao residents. The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR and the Identification Services Bureau of the Macao SAR expect the "Consular Protection and Consular Services Promotion Week" can further enhance the knowledge of Macao residents on consular protection and consular services. It can also improve their safety precaution and the conscience of self-protection, and strengthen their ability to handle emergency, so as to reach the aim of going abroad and returning home safely. In addition, the "Chinese Consular Service Net" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China （http://cs.mfa.gov.cn） has been put into use on 22nd November 2011. The website introduces the knowledge of consular protection and consular services of China, including the guidelines of consular protection, overseas safety, contact information of overseas embassies/consulates of the People's Republic of China, and so on. When citizens are browsing the website of the Identification Services Bureau (www.dsi.gov.mo), they can also get access to the information about consular protection and consular services through the linkage to the "Chinese Consular Service Net".
