News

The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met the Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic, Mr António Costa, to exchange views on matters relating to Macao’s role in connecting China and Portuguese-speaking countries. During the meeting at Santa Sancha on Wednesday (12 October), Mr Chui extended his warm greeting to Mr Costa, who had been leading a Portuguese delegation to Macao for the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), also known as Forum Macao. Mr Chui said his most recent visit to Portugal in September had been fruitful. He added it was a basis for the SAR Government to dedicate further effort to strengthening ties with Portugal. Premier Li Keqiang had given clear direction – while he was in Macao this week – that the city would make further use of its unique connecting and platform roles, said Mr Chui. He noted Premier Li had also said Macao would take further steps to enhance its strategic position, enabling it to become a world centre of tourism and leisure, and a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries (collectively known as “Centre and Platform” policies). Mr Chui said he believed that, under the guidance of the Central Government, Macao would further develop shared platforms and establish further multilateral cooperation mechanisms, in order to facilitate jointly the development of the mainland, the Portuguese-speaking countries and the Macao SAR. Mr Costa said he was pleased to be in Macao, and to meet the Chief Executive. He said Macao had been playing an important role in boosting trade and cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. Portugal paid great attention to Sino-Portuguese relations, and to its links with Macao, said Mr Costa. He stated he looked forward to expanding the existing cooperation with Macao on education, training and judicial matters; and expanding collaboration to include other fields. The Chief Executive added that Macao and Portugal had developed a profound and friendly cooperation over the years: continuing this bilateral effort would surely also advance the development of China and of Portuguese-speaking countries. Officials representing the Portuguese Republic at the meeting included: the Minister of Economy, Mr Manuel Caldeira Cabral; the Portuguese Ambassador to China, Mr Jorge Torres Pereira; the Secretary of State of Internationalization, Mr Jorge Costa Oliveira; the Secretary of State of Industry, Mr João Vasconcelos; the Head of Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Ms Rita Faden; and the Consul-General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, Mr Vítor Sereno. Officials representing the SAR Government included: the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan; the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac; the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak; the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng; the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo Arrais do Rosario; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Mr Fung Sio Weng; and the Director of the Macao Economic and Trade Office in Lisbon, Ms O Tin Lin.
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The Macao Orchestra (OM, from the Portuguese acronym), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will present the first chamber music concert of this season, The Dual Faces of Russia, on 5 November, Saturday, at 8pm, at Dom Pedro V Theatre, demonstrating the flamboyant notes and heroic passion of Russian ethnic culture. Tickets are now available through the Macau Ticketing Network. Russians have an extraordinary feeling towards music – some say that music can be found in every Russian’s consciousness. Russian music often bears traumatised memories as well as passion due to the history of the race. The chamber music concert The Dual Faces of Russia will present Prokofiev’s dynamic quintet and Borodin’s unadorned and affectionate string quartet No. 2, which exemplify two extremes of Russian music. In tandem with the theme of this concert season “My Time with Music”, an exclusive activity for Friends of OM titled “Music Hour with Musicians” will be held at the Mirror Hall of the Dom Pedro V Theatre at 7:15pm on that day, conducted by violinist Vit Polasek and the Principal Oboe of the Macao Orchestra, to demonstrate these musical pieces. Admission to the exchange session is free. Music fans are welcome to share their views with musicians. Tickets for the concert The Dual Faces of Russia are priced at MOP120 and MOP100, with various discounts packages available. Ticketing Hotline: 2855 5555. All interested parties can register for “Music Hour with Musicians” between 14 and 28 October through tel. no. 2853 0782 during office hours, or through OM’s WeChat official account “Macao Orchestra”. For details of the programme, please visit Macao Orchestra’s webpage www.icm.gov.mo/om.
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The 21st Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (hereinafter referred to as MIF) will be held at the Cotai Strip Convention and Exhibition Centre, The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from 20 to 22 October (Thursday to Saturday). The Cultural Affairs Bureau will set up “Macao Creative Pavilion” at the MIF, organizing the local cultural and creative entities to participate and jointly promoting Macao’s handicrafts and design products. All are welcome to attend. The Cultural Affairs Bureau has set up “Macao Creative Pavilion” at MIF annually since 2010, organising the local cultural and creative entities to participate and promoting assorted local original brands and products, so as to allow the public to know about and support Macao’s cultural and creative industries. This year, “Macao Creative Pavilion” will continue to use the theme of the “Shenzhen International Cultural Industries Fair–Macao Creative Pavilion” held in May this year, featuring Macao’s handicrafts and design products, including daily utensils, accessories and handmade products and among others. Occupying an area of 135m2, the Pavilion features multiple hues and irregular colour patches, which symbolise the urban vitality of Macao in a distinctive way. This year, ten local cultural and creative entities selected from the Macao Database for Cultural and Creative Industries have been invited to participate and exhibit their products at the “Macao Creative Pavilion”. The participating entities include Macau Creations Limited, Soda Panda Product Design, Casa de Artesanato Nam Fan Lou, Leathership Creation Limited Company, San Seng Fung, JE Handcrafts Co., Ltd., Mobiliário Urbano Designers Limitada, Follow Design Company Limited, Creative Industries Promotion Association of St. Lazarus Church District and Macau Handcraft and Creative People Association.
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To celebrate the Open Day of Government Headquarters of the MSAR, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up in front of Government Headquarters, Avenida Doutor Stanley Ho, at 9H00 to 18H00 on 15th to 16th October 2016 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Open Day of Government Headquarters of the MSAR”. A set of commemorative envelope and postcard presented in an exquisite cover priced at MOP18.00 will be issued. The above commemorative envelope will also be available for individual sale at MOP3.00. During the above activity, various philatelic products will also be available for customer’s selection. Welcome to visit us and collect Macao Stamps!
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PATA Travel Mart 2017 (PTM 2017) will be held in Macao SAR from September 13-15. The 40th edition of the Mart will be hosted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). PATA Travel Mart is the Association’s signature event and Asia Pacific’s premier travel trade show, featuring networking and contracting opportunities to help travel and tourism organisations access decision makers, meet new clients, expand networks and build or maintain existing relationships. In response to PATA Travel Mart being once again held in Macao, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes stated, "PATA Travel Mart mobilises a relevant contingent of travel trade stakeholders from the Asia Pacific region and around the world and we are enthusiastic with the perspective of providing a first-hand update about the significant developments in our city since we last met in Macao for the PATA Travel Mart 2010 and in 2005 for the PATA Annual Conference. “For decades, PATA has been a resourceful inspiration and a valuable platform for Macao's tourism industry development. It is a privilege for our city to host and contribute to the organisation of the 40th edition of the Association's premier annual travel trade show, following the successful organisation of two major PATA events. Macao is looking forward to once again play its role as a facilitator for this international tourism gathering as the city continues to pave the way to transform itself into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure,” added by MGTO Director. PATA CEO Mario Hardy said, “It is an exciting prospect to be returning to Macao SAR for the fortieth anniversary of PATA Travel Mart, having previously held a successful Mart there in 2010. PATA and the MGTO enjoy a very special, unique and rewarding relationship that we treasure and hold in high regard. “MGTO has been a valuable member of PATA since 1958 and has sponsored the PATA Gold Awards for the past 21 years. Next year’s PTM provides us with the perfect opportunity to showcase that amazing relationship and highlight one of the most unique destinations in the Asia Pacific region,” he continued. Over the weekend, PATA top leaders will be in Macao to attend Global Tourism Economy Forum•Macau 2016 (GTEF). PATA is one of the supporting units of GTEF, organised for the fifth year in Macao in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization. PATA Chairman Andrew Jones, will deliver a congratulatory message at the opening of the event, gathering tourism ministerial officials, global entrepreneurs and scholars from around the world to zero in on the theme 'The Growing Consumer Class - Rethinking and Reshaping the Future Tourism Landscape.' Together with Connecting Travel, PATA will also present one of the sessions of the programme of the Forum, titled 'Tourism and Technology - the Inseparable Duo' and moderated by PATA CEO, Mario Hardy. PTM 2016 in Indonesia attracted 1,358 delegates from 63 destinations for the three-day event, facilitating over 10,000 pre-matched appointments and bringing together qualified international buyers and sellers for face-to-face meetings, educational forums and networking functions. Founded in 1951, PATA is a non-profit membership association dedicated to building responsible development of the Asia-Pacific travel and tourism industry, providing insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 95 government, state and city tourism bodies, 29 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 63 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. For more updates about PATA Travel Mart, please visit: https://www.pata.org/ This press release is available at: http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/pressroom/
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Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and co-organised by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, this year’s “Tap Siac Craft Market” will be held from 17 to 20 November 2016 (from Thursday to Sunday) at Tap Siac Square. Craft Market stall registration is now open and all cultural and creative entities and individuals are invited to register, in order to showcase and sell their original brands and products. The registration deadline is 6pm, 26 October 2016 (Wednesday). This year’s “Tap Siac Craft Market” features a total of 240 stalls. In addition to local cultural and creative practitioners, IC will also invite participants from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, amongst others. Concurrently, music performances and handicraft workshops will be held for the public to enjoy diversified activities. Inaugurated in 2008, the “Tap Siac Craft Market” is Macao’s first large-scale integrated platform for the display and sale of cultural and creative products, while also featuring original music performances. Every year the event attracts participants from Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Southeast Asia and has been highly appreciated by both residents and tourists since its inception. For details, please visit the Tap Siac Craft Market page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MacaoCraftMarket). Applicants must be Macao residents, registration is free and can be made on behalf of a group or individually; IC will select stall operators considering the originality and peculiarity of their products. Application forms are now available at the Department for Promoting Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (No. 567, Avenida da Praia Grande, BNU Building, 12th floor A-D, Macao) or can be downloaded from IC’s website (www.icm.gov.mo) and the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). Applicants must submit all required documents together with the completed application form to the Department for Promoting Cultural and Creative Industries during the specific period of time stated in the Application Form. For enquiries, please contact Ms. Wong, staff member of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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The Legal and Judicial Training Centre will organise, during October 17th to 20th, from 6 pm to 8:30 pm, in the auditorium of the Civil Service Training Centre located on Alameda Dr. Carlos D’ Assumpção n.° 322-362, Cheng Feng Commercial Centre, 7th floor, a seminar on “Urban Planning: Land Concession, Expropriation and Compensation”. Integrated as part of the 3rd Macao Special Administrative Region - EU Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, this event will feature the following keynote speakers: 1. Professor Fernando Alves Correia, Professor of the Law Faculty, University of Coimbra, Portugal; 2. Professor Fernando Licínio Lopes Martins, Professor of the Law Faculty, University of Coimbra, Portugal. This event will be conducted in Portuguese, with simultaneous translation into Cantonese. During the four daily sessions, which will take place until October 20th, the following topics, among others, will be discussed sharing a global view on Urban Planning: 1. The urban legal framework of the Macao Special Administrative Region 2. The specific aspects of the legal regime governing land in the Macao Special Administrative Region 2.1 Types of concession 2.2 Procedures for concession 2.3 System of concession 2.4 Vicissitudes of concession: revision, invalidation and reversion 3. The expropriation for public use in the Macao Special Administrative Region 3.1 Concept of expropriation: expropriation in the classic sense and expropriation of sacrifice 3.2 Purpose of expropriation 3.3 Subject of the legal relationship of expropriation 3.4 Presumptions of the legitimacy of expropriation 3.5 Private guarantees in legal expropriation 3.6 Procedure and process of expropriation 4. The legal system of urban planning in the Macao Special Administrative Region 4.1 Functions and modes of planning 4.2 Formation of the planning procedure 4.3 Legal nature of planning 4.4 Relationship between plannings 4.5 Preventive measures 4.6 Dynamics of planning 4.7 Violation of planning 4.8 Planning disputes 4.9 Special cases of indemnification for damage resulting from urban planning and related preventive measures The 3rd Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the Macao Special Administrative Region and the European Union, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective “Promote the Development and Modernisation of the Macao Special Administrative Region’s Legal System” and is going to take place until November 2019. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Legal Affairs Bureau, together with many entities and public departments of the Macao Special Administrative Region, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Institute of European Studies of Macau, the Economic Services, the Consumer Council and the Social Welfare Bureau.
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The Legal and Judicial Training Centre will organise, during October 17th to 20th, from 6 pm to 8:30 pm, in the auditorium of the Civil Service Training Centre located on Alameda Dr. Carlos D’ Assumpção n.° 322-362, Cheng Feng Commercial Centre, 7th floor, a seminar on “Urban Planning: Land Concession, Expropriation and Compensation”.
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Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang, announced today a further 19 measures from the Central Government designed to drive the development of Macao’s economy. The advantageous policies include: implementing before year-end a measure to enable Macao-registered vehicles to enter Hengqin Island in Zhuhai Prefecture; and implementation before 30 June 2017 of a scheme to facilitate pleasure craft journeys in the waters linking Guangdong and Macao. Premier Li’s commentary was given this morning during a meeting with people from different sectors of the community. The event, held at the Macao East Asia Games Dome, was attended by approximately 200 people. Highlights of the Central Government’s new measures included: support for Macao to host annually the Global Tourism Economy Forum; support for Macao to develop as a renminbi clearing centre for Portuguese-speaking countries and for the setting up of a system for trade credit insurance involving those countries; Macao to be the headquarters of the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Cooperation and Development Fund; support for Macao to develop as a ‘smart city’ in relation to information technology; to optimise capacity for customs clearing and quarantine inspection between the mainland and Macao; to support Macao as it continues to develop its “Three Centres” role; and to support the development of a centre of traditional Chinese medicine, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and China’s health authorities, as well as the development of the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park in Hengqin New Area on Hengqin Island. The Central Government would additionally support Macao to strengthen the city’s management role regarding its local waters, and push forward the development of the maritime economy in Macao, Premier Li said. The Central Government will directly assist in promoting Macao’s bridging role in connecting China and Portuguese-speaking countries. The enhancement of that role will include a greater part for Macao in relation to: Central Government-stipulated development strategies; and the organisation of large-scale events that involve external as well as internal exchanges. The Central Government will also study closely what role Macao could play in initiating projects with the Silk Road Fund; in relation to industrial cooperation between China and Latin America; and in relation to the China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Fund. Following the meeting, Premier Li held a separate meeting with senior officials of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in the Macao SAR. Premier Li said he noted the successful implementation of the principle “One country, two systems”, “Macao people governing Macao”, and a high degree of autonomy, as well as the SAR Government’s strict adherence to the Basic Law of Macao. The Central Government would, as always, support the Macao SAR Government to govern in accordance with the law; and would continue to support the SAR Government in advancing progress in relation to adequate economic diversification. Premier Li said the Central Government fully affirms the work – pursued by the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in Macao – to boost economic development, advance wellbeing and maintain social harmony.
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The Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) has always been committed to promoting the cultural industry in Macao. Apart from constantly providing a variety of cultural and creative courses, IFT has also pursued active cooperation with artists in recent years, organising exhibitions to provide a platform for local artists to demonstrate their artworks and in turn to integrate arts into the daily life of local residents. IFT Café at “Anim’Arte NAM VAN”, is one of the platforms to showcase local arts and provides citizens and tourists with a relaxing dining experience with cultural and art elements. IFT has the honour to invite teachers and students from the School of Arts in Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) to hold “Believe in Art” exhibition at IFT Café from 12 October to 5 December, showcasing their creative artworks. This exhibition has been made possible with MPI’s support and involvement. The theme of this exhibition is “Believe in Art”, in which the term “Believe” is interpreted in two ways: Art creation itself reflects the belief, concept and ideology of the artists. It is an integration of idea incubation and use of materials which incorporates with rationality and sensibility. On the other hand, this exhibition showcases the artworks of both teachers and students from MPI’s School of Arts, featuring the fruitful achievement and devotion to local art development of the Institute. The newly established IFT Café not only serves the Institute’s appetising food; but also provides training to IFT students. The outlet additionally operates as a venue to promote culture, and will regularly host exhibitions featuring local artworks. In addition to IFT Café, “Anim’Arte NAM VAN” has many other elements in creativity, leisure and performances for citizens and tourists to experience. The revitalised waterfront includes recreational facilities, shops selling cultural and creative products, a book market, and a weekend craft market. Additionally, the area has regular outdoor performances. At the lake, pedal boats are also available for visitors to ride. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 97 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 8 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
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