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The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has released “Investigation report on the land exchange case related to the site of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory”. According to the report, the CCAC considers that the Commitment concerning the land exchange signed between the Macao SAR Government and the Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança Development Company (Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company) in 2001 does not accord with the relevant provisions under the old Land Law. Moreover, the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company does not have any rights on the most part of the site of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory. Therefore, the agreement of land exchange is null and the Macao SAR Government does not owe the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company or any other companies any land grant deals or promises. In other words, there have been no so-called “land debts”. On 10th August 2015, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works sent a letter to the CCAC and handed the file concerning the land exchange case of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory to the CCAC for investigation. Upon receipt of the above-mentioned documents, the Commissioner Against Corruption conducted a preliminary analysis and made an order to commence investigation of the incident in order to clarify the procedures involved and the legality and reasonableness of the decisions made. The CCAC found during the investigation that the Iec Long Firecracker Factory covering an area of 28,340 m2, of which 21,668 m2 was granted by way of lease to the two operators of the then Iec Long Firecracker Factory by the Portuguese Macao Government in 1950s, so that the two operators could utilise the land together with the 1,655 m2 private land they owned and other land for the operation of the firecracker business. In 1980s, the Iec Long Firecracker Factory was basically in a state of shutdown. Thus, in 1986, the Portuguese Macao Government declared the rescission of the aforementioned concession contract and the termination of validity of the concession. Later, the ownership of the private land within the site was transferred to other people and the Portuguese Macao Government received several applications from the right holders of the Iec Long site for construction of commercial and residential buildings or exchange for another plot of land. However, no agreement was reached. In addition, there was a dispute between the relevant right holders and the Government over the premium of the BT27 parcel in Taipa. In mid-2000, the Prosecutor General suggested solving the problem concerning the premium together with the land exchange case involving the Iec Long site, which was being processed at that time. In the same year, the DSSOPT reached an agreement regarding the land exchange with the right holders of the Iec Long site after several negotiations. On 10th January 2001, the Macao SAR Government, represented by the Director of the DSSOPT, and the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company signed a Commitment of land exchange, under which the Government promised to grant a plot of land measuring 152,073 m2 located at Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança in Taipa to the company. Moreover, the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company promised that all the parcels would be transferred to the Macao SAR Government free of burden. In March 2002, the Macao SAR Government gave approval to the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company on dividing the land of Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança into two parcels with respective areas of 99,000 m2 and 53,073 m2 and the company transferred the first parcel to the Shun Tak Recreational Service Limited (Shun Tak Limited) under the price of HKD500,000,000 for the construction of a hotel. In 2006, the Shun Tak Limited declared to abandon a portion of land covering an area of 18,344 m2 in the above parcel in order to exchange with the Macao SAR Government for a concession by lease, and with exemption from public bidding, of a parcel of land covering an equivalent area, located at Outer Harbour New Land Reclamation Area for construction of a hotel and residence apartments. Based on the analysis of the CCAC, the above Commitment is the most important and core document concerning the land exchange of the Iec Long site. However, the form of signing and the content of the Commitment obviously violated the “principle of legality”. According to the old Land Law, the Director of the DSSOPT did not have the competence or was not vested with the statutory power to grant the land by lease. Thus, the Commitment did not comply with the stipulation concerning the competence for disposition of land of the Macao SAR. Since the Commitment was signed in 2001, it has never been published in the Official Gazette of Macao SAR and therefore does not comply with the stipulation concerning necessary forms for disposition of land of the Macao SAR contained in the old Land Law. The Commitment and the relevant files were not sent to the Land Commission for discussion and giving opinions. Thus, the Commitment does not comply with the stipulation concerning the necessary procedure for disposition of land of the Macao SAR. According to the cadastral map enclosed with the Commitment, a 21,668-square-metre area of the site, granted by lease by the Portuguese Macao Government for running the Iec Long Firecracker Factory, was the major and core parcel component. However, the concession was declared invalid in 1986 according to an order. In reply to the enquiries from the CCAC, the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company said the Government did not start the land resumption procedure after the concession became invalid. Nevertheless, the CCAC found that the cadastral map in Appendix 2 of the Commitment does clearly indicate the nature of each parcel component of the Iec Long site. Furthermore, the ownership of the parcels would not change no matter whether the Government started the land resumption procedure or not. The CCAC believes that when the Commitment was signed, except for the 1655 m2 privately owned parcels, the Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Company did not have the right to deal with the other parcels (totalling 26,685 m2) within the Iec Long site, let alone the right to promise to transfer all the parcels within the site to the Macao SAR Government free of burden. Therefore, the content of the Commitment is unable to be implemented and never was. It is not necessary and not possible that the Macao SAR Government has to obtain from the company the other parcels within the Iec Long site that are State property in the first place. And, from a legal point view, the Commitment is with a “subject impossible”. The CCAC discovered in the investigation that the value of the Iec Long site confirmed in the Commitment included not only that of the private land and the land on long-term leasehold but also that of the land on leasehold which has already been returned to the Government and the land without registered ownership. Moreover, the value of the relevant State-owned land was deducted from the amount of the premium. Such clause in the Commitment obviously contradicted the principle of “equal benefits” provided by the old Land Law, which jeopardises public interest. The CCAC pointed out that the “principle of legality” is the most fundamental rule that the public works department shall observe when managing the land resources of the Macao SAR. In other words, to act in accordance with the law is the most basic requirement. Therefore, the public works department cannot shirk its responsibility for the land exchange case. The Code of Administrative Procedure stipulates that the Public Administration has the “duty to state reasons” for the administrative acts it carries out. Administrative acts shall not only be “lawful” but also “substantiated”. However, in the process of the land exchange deal involving the Iec Long site, the public works department stated neither the criteria nor the reasons for making the important decisions, including adjusting the amount of the premium to be returned to the concessionaire of the BT27 parcel, modifying the method of calculating the value of the Iec Long site and increasing the usable plot ratio of the residence to be built at Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança. Therefore, it is inevitable that the public will have doubts about the fairness and justice of the administrative acts, thus resulting in negative effect on the prestige and public reliance of the administration of the Macao SAR Government. The CCAC also pointed out in the investigation that the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) borne more than MOP5,000,000 restoration and remediation costs in the conservation works of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory. However, there is not any basis for the IC to pay on the owners’ behalf and to be reimbursed later, rather than the expenses being paid by the “owner”. The CCAC also did not see the IC’s attempt to recover the expenses from the “owners”. Although the IC expressed to the CCAC that the Iec Long Firecracker Factory is not qualified to be prioritised and listed in the list of initiating evaluation process, judging from the practice of the IC funding the conservation costs, the initiation of the cultural relics evaluation process of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory is not only necessary but also pressing to a certain extent. The ownership disputes of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory should not become a hindrance to start the evaluation process since the current Cultural Heritage Protection Law has already set institutional norms on the solving of the ownership of the real estates that are under evaluation or to be evaluated. If the conservation and evaluation of the Iec Long Firecracker Factory was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law strictly, it is believed that the result would be much more effective. The CCAC suggests that the relevant departments of the Macao SAR Government should seriously study and properly handle the subsequent questions arising from the nullity of the agreement of the land exchange of the Iec Long site, the dispute on premium payment for the BT27 parcel in Taipa and the issues concerning the land concession to the Shun Tak Limited. The CCAC has submitted the report to the Chief Executive and the full report can be downloaded from the CCAC’s website.
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Following Prof Tu Youyou’s discovery of the antimalarial efficacy of artemisinin, which earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015, a research team led by Prof Zheng Wenhua from the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at the University of Macau (UM) recently made important new progress in the study of this Chinese medicine. The UM team found that artemisinin can effectively protect cells from damages induced by oxidative stress and identified the mechanism of action of artemisinin. The study shows that artemisinin has a significant neuroprotective effect, which makes it a potential compound for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. This is the world’s first report on the neuroprotective effect of artemisinin, which has huge potential in clinical applications. The findings have been published, in late June, in Free Radical Biology and Medicine and Redox Biology, respectively. Both journals are among the most prestigious journals in the fields of free radical research and endocrinology and metabolism research. Because of a rapidly ageing global population, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases has increased dramatically. Developing drugs to treat these diseases, therefore, has become a key research area. However, most projects eventually failed because the compounds developed either could not cross the blood-brain barrier or caused unbearable side effects. Artemisinin is an anti-malaria medicine approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, which can get past the blood-brain barrier and only causes minor side effects. The UM team’s findings show that artemisinin has neuroprotective properties, which makes it a promising potential drug for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. Artemisinin can also protect against injuries that occur in other cells such as pigment epithelial cells in the eyes, so it can be a potential drug for other related disorders. The discovery of artemisinin’s neuroprotective effect opened a new chapter in research on the pharmacological effects of this compound. But Prof Zheng points out that a lot of work still needs to be done before artemisinin can be translated into clinical applications.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council collects prices of fresh pork and vegetables from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. The mentioned data collected during 6 July to 12 July are used for comparing the selling prices of the same products from Zhuhai and Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. The specific price surveys on fresh pork and vegetables are now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), iPhone & Android ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ app, and the Council’s WeChat Account page. The relevant surveys include selling prices of local fresh pork and vegetables, and comparison on the respective selling prices rom Zhuhai, HK, and Macao. The Council also uploads the prices of refrigerated and frozen pork collected on 12 July to the Council’s website. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), a launching ceremony of the book titled “A Bibliography of Macao Literature 1600-2014” was held on Saturday, 9 July, at 4pm, in the “19th Macao Book Carnival”, at the Macao Polytechnic Institute Sports Pavilion. The launching ceremony was officiated by the Head of the Division of Research and Publications of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Wong Man Fai; the book’s author, Dr. Wong Kwok Keung; the President of the Macao Library and Information Management Association, Choi Chi Long; the General-Director of the Pen of Macau, Tong Mui Siu; the Principal of Macao Lingnan Middle School, Ao Kam Iong; the President of the Macao Association of Literacy Promotion, Chan In Wa; and the veteran Macao educator, Lao Sin Peng. “A Bibliography of Macao Literature 1600-2014” is the second book of the “Macao Museum of Literature Collection – History Series”. The planning and publication of this collection aims to offer original materials to academic studies through the collection of historical materials and works, thereby hoping to lead to the publication of even broader and more in-depth works on Macao’s literature. The author, Wong Kwok Keung, has years of experience in historical collection and investigation, having selected a bibliography of over 6000 book related to Macao’s literature. Through an analysis of the characteristics and trends in the aspects of the content, language, publishers, and among others, of Macao-related literary works, he seeks to introduce the current development of Macao’s literature in the Chinese, Portuguese and English literature sector, in order to offer valuable reference materials to the development of Macao’s literature. Wong Kwok Keung has been working at the University of Macau Library since 1987, he also worked as the Head of the Publications Centre in 2005. Now he is the assistant librarian of University of Macau Library. From 1990 onwards, he became an active participant of social activities and begun compiling a list of Macao-related studies and publications, offering an important foundation to studies on the city. In recent years, he published close to 100 articles related to Macao’s publications and research studies, mainly focusing on Macao’s publishing history, document bibliography, library and archives history, reading history and Macao and Southeast Asia history. “A Bibliography of Macao Literature 1600-2014” is available for sale at MOP150 at the Plaza Cultural Macau, Seng Kwong Bookstore, Livraria Portuguesa, Macao Historical Archives, Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza and Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre. For more information, please contact Mr. Ao of IC through tel. no. 8399 6449, during office hours.
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Macao Post had launched the Android version of "Macao Post App" (Apps) on 9th October last year. In order to expand the service area of Macao Post and to become more convenient for the public to look for Macao Post’s information at all times, Macao Post will launch the "Macao Post App" (Apps) in IOS version on 9th July, 2016 for free download. Macao Post will continue to optimize the functions of mobile applications, in order to promote the electronic postal service and to enhance services quality. IOS version of "Macao Post App" is now available at the "App Store" for free download.
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Please be informed that, starting from 9:00a.m. on 18th July, 2016, the reprint label stamps “Old Streets and Alleys” will be available for sale at the automatic stamp vending machines in Macao (Attachment). The above machines will be temporarily suspended for the replacement of the reprint label stamps from 9:00a.m. on 17th July 2016. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. The label stamp “Old Streets and Alleys” was issued on 30th June 2015. The reprint label stamp maintains the original design, but with the wording “REIMP 2016” indicating the reprint year at the bottom of the empty selvage.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will attend a plenary session of the Legislative Assembly on 27 July and answer legislators’ questions on Government policy and social issues. The session will start at 3pm and will be broadcast live on television and radio channels of public broadcaster Teledifusão de Macau (TDM). Members of the public also have the option of watching the proceedings online via: the website of the Legislative Assembly (http://www.al.gov.mo); the Macao SAR Government Portal (http://www.gov.mo); the website of the Office of the Chief Executive (http://www.gce.gov.mo); the website of the Government Information Bureau (http://www.gcs.gov.mo); official channels on YouTube; and Government apps for mobile devices. The Chief Executive pays great attention to communication with the Legislative Assembly. Besides attending plenary sessions of the Assembly every year in order to deliver the Policy Address relating to the following fiscal year, the Chief Executive also attends two similar sessions each year. This is in order to update the public with the progress of Government work; to enhance communication with legislators; and to optimise administrative transparency.
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The Macao film project selection for the 2016 Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Film Production Investment and Trade Fair (“The Fair”) was completed on 2nd July with seven submissions selected. The applicants of the selected film projects will be invited to attend the Fair on 16th and 17th August, where they can meet with film investors and producers from the three regions, promote selected film projects and have the opportunities for collaboration. Committed to explore potential Macao film projects and broaden the communication channel of local film creators and filmmakers, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) called for submission of Macao film projects for the Fair. A total of eight applications were received. The adjudication panel selected eligible film projects based on creativity of the story, experience and execution ability of the applicant, the executive producer and production team as well as the rationale of budgeting. After assessment, there are seven eligible applications and all seven applications were passed, they are: Maxim Bessmertnyi, António José Caetano de Faria, Ho Fei, Hoi Kuok Meng, Lou Ka Hou, Fernando Manuel Nunes dos Santos Eloy and Wong Kong Po. Members of the adjudicating panel for this selection include Zheng Dawei, Secretary-general of the Guangdong Motion Picture Industry Association; Agnes Lam, Assistant Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Macau; Albert Chu Iao Ian, President of the Macau Association of Audio-Visual “CUT” and Chan Peng Fai, Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. During the assessment process, the panel also offered their advices to each film project. IC will then provide the advices integrated from the panel to the applicants of the selected film projects, hoping them have a better performance during the Fair. The Fair is co-organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Hong Kong Film Development Council, and the Guangdong Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television since 2014. It aims to provide a high-level and convenient communication platform for film investors and producers from the three regions. It not only helps to build a channel for film investment and co-operation, but also cultivates filmmaking talents and promotes the film industry in the three regions. Applicants of selected film projects will receive notification from the Cultural Affairs Bureau in several days. For enquiry about the results, please contact Mr. Chong or Mr. Leong of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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The Ministerial Conference between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, to be held in Macao later this year, would help take economic cooperation and trade between Cape Verde and Macao to a new level. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, made the remarks on Thursday (7 July) in a meeting with the former president of the Republic of Cape Verde, Mr Pedro Pires. The 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries is to be held in Macao. Through this event and other steps, the Government would use its utmost efforts to increase the number of business opportunities available to China, the Portuguese-speaking countries and Macao. The Government pays great attention to relations with Portuguese-speaking countries and to Macao’s bridging role between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, said Mr Chui. The Government is committed to the goals of transforming Macao into, respectively: a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries; a business and trade service centre for small- and medium-sized enterprises in Portuguese-speaking countries; a goods distribution centre; and a convention and exhibition centre for economic and trade cooperation between China and Portugal Mr Pires said he hoped his visit would facilitate deeper bilateral exchanges between Cape Verde and Macao. Reinforcing ties with Macao would help Cape Verde strengthen cooperation with China, countries in Africa and other Portuguese-speaking countries, he added. Mr Pires was visiting Macao for the first time, following an official visit to Beijing. He said he was impressed by Macao’s beautiful cityscape and robust social and economic developments. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, also attended Thursday’s meeting. Representatives of the Republic of Cape Verde that were are the meeting included: the Honorary Consul of Cape Verde in Macao, Mr David Chow Kam Fai; the wife of the former president of Cape Verde, Adélcia Pires; and the President of the Cape Verde-China Friendship Association, Mr José Correia.
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The 28th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest will be held above the sea area across Macau Tower on 3rd, 10th, 15th and 24th September and 1st October, featuring ten contesting teams ready to dazzle the skyline with spectacular fireworks displays that bring out a special theme each of the five scheduled evenings. The themes of the fireworks nights include “Pyro Fantasia”, “Tribute to Bond”, “Mid-Autumn Harmony”, “Stars from afar” and “Celebration in the Sky”. The Macao International Fireworks Display Contest is organized by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). During the press conference today (7th July), MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes unveiled the event program of this year. Looking back, Director Senna Fernandes was glad to see so many prominent fireworks companies coming from across the globe to grace the contest over the last 27 years. The event has, for over two decades, drawn a multitude of visiting spectators to Macao. She stated that in the days ahead, MGTO will carry on with its efforts to stage a wider diversity of fascinating events. In pursuit of stronger collaboration with the tourism and travel-related sectors, the Office will strive to incorporate various elements with tourism as well so that more visitors from around the world would love to come and experience the city in different styles. Its endeavor is in line with Macao’s goal to become a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. Outstanding fireworks teams The contest has pit a range of globally-acclaimed pyrotechnic companies against each other over the past editions, and without exception, features a strong line-up of competitors this year. A total of ten teams are from different countries as follows (in order of appearance in the contest): Thailand, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Italy, Canada, Romania and China. This is the first time for the contest to feature a team from Romania; on the other hand, the Canadian company is making its debut in Macao. The Japanese and Korean teams will present their fireworks shows on 15th September, the Mid-Autumn Festival, whereas the teams from Romania and China will come on stage on 1st October, the National Day. The ten teams are outstanding and well-matched, ready to bring on an array of stunning fireworks displays for residents and visitors. Established in Canada in 1999, Feu d’artifice Orion stages more than 80 fireworks shows over the province of Québec and the world annually, including various displays in celebration of Québec’s National Holiday and Canada Day; in 2015, the company won the first prize in the World Championship Blackpool England. As the contest’s first Romanian team, Pyro-Technic Transilvania Ltd. was founded in 1998 and organizes over 250 fireworks shows for major festivities and prestigious sports events in Romania every year; in 2006, the company won the championship in the Romanian National Fireworks Contest. The other eight teams all shined in the contest in Macao before, with several of them ranking among the top three. Based in Portugal, Macedos Pirotecnia, Lda joined the contest four times in the past and won the first prize in the 12th edition; boasting over 80 years’ pyrotechnic experience, the Portuguese company once presented the then biggest fireworks display in the world for New Year Eve on Madeira Island in 2006, an achievement recognized by the Guinness World Records, and held the record until 2012. Second-prize winner in the 12th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, the British company Pyro 2000 Ltd. stages fireworks displays in the world-famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland each year. Specialized in orchestrating fireworks displays to live music performance, Pyro 2000 Ltd. is among the key players of musical fireworks displays in the United Kingdom. Established in Switzerland in 1967, SUGYP SA brings on over 250 fireworks shows across Switzerland and the world every year, and won the third prize in the 25th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest. Coming from Japan, Marutamaya Ogatsu Fireworks Co., Ltd. won the first and third prizes in the 5th and 19th editions of the contest in Macao before. Taking pride in its over 150 years’ experience in pyrotechnics, the Japanese company is set to enthrall its audience with unforgettable fireworks displays in “Edo-Tokyo style”, which combines modern innovation of Tokyo and traditional techniques of pyrotechnic craft dating from the Edo period in Japanese history. Based in Hunan Province, famed as the “Hometown of firecrackers” in China, Hunan Jingtai Fireworks Co., Inc. has been manufacturing fireworks for over three decades and exporting its products to Asia, Europe, North America and other parts of the world. Taking the Macao contest’s championship back home the year before, the company now comes back to compete against other teams. For the rest of the teams, Thailand Fireworks, Daehan Fireworks Co. from Korea and Orzella Fireworks from Italy all joined the Macao contest before. Music and laser light effects This year, MGTO again requests the teams to choreograph their fireworks displays to both music and laser light projections, not only to bring out their display’s theme and character but also to present a light and sound spectacular. Spectators can enjoy the fireworks shows live broadcast on TDM – Macao TV Channel with their background music streaming from TDM - Radio Macao's Chinese Channel (FM 100.7) as well every scheduled evening. Publicity via various channels The Office will vigorously promote this year’s contest through an array of international, regional and local media and publicity channels, including advertisements broadcast through international media in neighboring regions and promotion via key media and travel magazines in Macao, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Other means include poster and leaflet distribution, etc. The Office will widely spotlight the event in regional and overseas travel fairs and exhibitions, as well as on the Internet as a publicity channel. Side activities bring a lively vibe MGTO strives to organize a variety of vibrant events and activities in partnership with various public departments, entities and non-governmental organizations to encourage participation among residents and bring out a greater synergistic effect. The Office will hence join hands with the General Union of Neighbors Association of Macau again this year to present the Fireworks Carnival, filling the event with fun and colorful dimensions. Last year, the five-day carnival welcomed in excess of 77,000 participants. Applications forms are available starting today (7th July) for the Trophy Design Contest, Photo Contest and Student Drawing Contest of the 28th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest. A prize-giving ceremony was held today (7th July) for winners of last year’s contests. This year, residents and visitors can choose to enjoy the fireworks at “Anim’Arte Nam Van”, the new landmark for leisure, culture and creativity in town, while relishing gourmet delights served at the cafe. It is also a place where they can enjoy different artistic performances with unique color with the craft market alongside cultural and creative shops to stroll around for a relaxing evening. This press release is available at: http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/pressroom/index.php
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