News

To encourage consumers to keep their shopping receipts and invoices, Consumer Council will hold its ‘Keep your shopping receipts 2016’ activity from 1 July to 31 August. When making purchases of MOP50 or above, consumers can use their receipts to register and participate in the lucky draw held by the Council. The Council added a registration platform in its ‘Certified Shops’ app for easy registration of consumers. ‘Keep your shopping receipts’ has been held consecutively for 3 years The Council indicates that receipts and invoices are important evidences when consumers exercise their rights to claim, consumers are therefore encouraged to retain their shopping receipts and invoices. The ‘Keep your shopping receipts’ activity was first held in 2014, and the number of participating ‘Certified Shops’ in 2015 increased to over 250 shops, and about 2,800 persons participated in the lucky draw. The Council hopes to encourage consumers to retain shopping receipts as a habit by holding the activity continuously. The ‘Keep your shopping receipts 2016’ is held from 1 July to 31 August. Consumers can shop at shops bearing the 2016 ‘Certified Shop’ emblem and use their shopping receipts of purchase over MOP50 to register and participate in the lucky draw held by the Council Register at ‘Certified Shops’ app To make it more convenient for consumers to participate in the event, Consumer Council added a registration platform inside its ‘Certified Shops’ app and consumers can easily register for lucky draw by following the included instructions. Meanwhile, consumers can also register at the Council’s offices (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 26 or Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52 RAEM Services Centre ). Draw prizes include cash prizes of MOP2,000 (1 winner), MOP1,500 (2 winners), and MOP1,000 (3 winners). Another 50 winners will also be drawn for a special ‘Certified Shop’ edition of electronic money card of MOP100 each. All ‘Certified Shops’ participate in the activity Over 1,000 ‘Certified Shops’ are invited to participate in the ‘Keep your shopping receipts’ activity. Consumers are reminded not to overlook their own consumer rights and ask for shopping receipts. Interested parties may visit the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) to check for the details and the list of all participating shops. For enquiry, please call8988 7333.
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Promoting further the support for those young people in Guangzhou and Macao that wish to start a business – and support for employment opportunities in general – would be priorities of the next phase of Guangzhou-Macao cooperation, said today the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac.
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The 32nd Collective Exhibition of Macao Artists, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will undertake jury assessment on Thursday, 7 July, at 10am, at the Macau Forum, with audience area opened for the public and all are welcome to attend. A total of 260 works were received this edition, including 78 chinese paintings, 84 western paintings and 98 chinese calligraphy works. The adjudicating panel invited by the organization, was composed of veteran artists and art critics from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. The assessment comprises the categories of painting (chinese technique), painting (western technique) and chinese calligraphy, the winning works and best works will be selected in each category. One winner will be awarded “Best Work” and “Prize of New Talent” in each category respectively, and each award-winner will receive cash prize and a trophy as encouragement. One winner of “Best Creation Special Prize” will be selected from the winning works of “Best Work” by the jury, and will be invited to hold an individual exhibition; while winners of the “Prize of New Talent” in each category will also be invited to hold a collective exhibition. Selected and awarded works will be showcased in the 32nd Collective Exhibition of Macao Artists, to be held in September of this year. Award-winning works will further incorporate IC’s permanent collection. The announcement of assessment will be available at IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo. Award winners will be notified individually. For more information on the jury assessment, please contact IC through tel. no. 8988 4100, during office hours.
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Ground and preparatory foundation works for the Islands District Medical Complex have already begun; meanwhile, the Government was finalising revisions regarding the blueprints and tenders for the different parts of the complex. The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo do Rosário, made the comments on Wednesday (29 June) after a meeting – at the Legislative Assembly – with the Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concession Affairs. Mr Rosário said it had been proposed that the Islands District Medical Complex would comprise seven buildings: there were two development phases – each featuring a different design project – for each individual building, and these would require the scrutiny of more than 10 bodies, including public departments and other parties involved in the Islands District Medical Complex project. As of the present time, some of the design proposals had twice been subject to revisions. It was difficult to estimate how many revisions in total each design proposal would need, as the Islands District Medical Complex was a relatively complicated facility, he added. So far, preparatory foundation works had been completed for two of the seven structures, Mr Rosário stated. The Government expected that the Islands District Medical Complex would not be completed by 2019, as there was a large number of issues to consider, including: revisions to design proposals; the defining of the various construction works that would be required for each structure; and the respective construction tendering processes.
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To actualize the Macao SAR government’s ‘people-oriented’ policy, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) has been proactively considering different measures to facilitate the public. The PSP has evaluated the operation at the Centro de Serviços and decides to improve the current services there. Starting from 4 July 2016, non-resident workers whose application for a Non-resident Worker’s Identification Card is approved may choose to collect the Card at either the Non-resident Workers Subdivision at the Immigration Department Office Building at Pac On, Taipa or Zone K, 1st Floor, Centro de Serviços, Rua Nova da Areia Preta. This supersedes the past restriction of collecting the document at only the same location where the application is submitted. The PSP will continue to review and improve the services provided at the Centro de Serviços, as well as study the feasibility of introducing more service items. In addition, we will extend the cooperation with other government departments located there to simplify administrative procedures. We hope to provide more comprehensive one-stop services at the Centro de Serviços.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in June on 29 June for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Taipa and Coloane area. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided over 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Macao Museum of Art (MAM) under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, in collaboration with the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macao and the Alliance Française de Macao, hold the exhibition “Auguste Borget: A Painter-Traveller on the South China Coast”, as part of Le French May 2016, which was inaugurated on 29 June, at 6:30pm, at the Gallery of Special Exhibitions located on the 2nd floor of the Museum. The exhibition features French painter Auguste Borget’s documentary works, made during his travels in the Far East, presenting a glimpse of the folk customs and cultures of Macao and its surrounding areas in the 19th century. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao S.A.R. Government, Ung Vai Meng; the Consul-General of the of France in Hong Kong and Macao, Eric Berti; the Representative and Assistant of the Chief of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Shao Bin; the Head of the Section of Public Diplomacy and Information of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Li Nan; the Chairman of the Board of Le French May, Andrew Yuen; the Curator of the Châteauroux Libraries of France, Carole Gasnier; the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Eve Tam; and the Vice-President of the Alliance Française de Macao, Éric Sautedé. The guests later toured the exhibition accompanied by the Director of Macao Museum of Art, Chan Hou Seng. The exhibition showcases over 120 exhibits on loan from nine cultural entities from Macao, Hong Kong, France and the United Kingdom as well as seven private organisations and collectors, including sketches, watercolours, oil paintings, prints and antique books. Over 40 paintings are themed on Macao in the 19th Century, while the rest depict areas like Hong Kong and Guangzhou during the same period. In particular, the oil painting “A-Ma Temple, Macao” which was acquired by the King of France, Louis Philippe I, is also shown in this exhibition. Born in the French town of Issoudun, the French painter and traveller Auguste Borget (1808 - 1877) was the son of a banker. Having a passion for art since his childhood, Borget studied with Jean-Antoine Gudin in his early years in Paris and where he made acquaintance with prominent French writer Honoré de Balzac who would have a deep impact on Borget. Although Borget has never been regarded as a great French artist, his talent in both writing and painting were in fact considered very rare in that time in France. In October 1836, the adventurous Borget embarked on a four-year-long voyage around the world. In 1838, Borget arrived in China, visiting Macao, Hong Kong, and Guangdong and Fujian provinces. During his stay in China, Borget spent over eight months in Macao, the “City in the Name of God”, where he stationed the longest in China; the icon of the city – the A-Ma Temple, was described by Borget as the “best architecture ever seen” and his art series on the temple is the most famous among his various series. Upon his return to France, Borget published the book Sketches of China and the Chinese in Paris in 1842, an illustrated volume with renderings of scenes and landscapes he had captured in China, which helped to enrich the French’ knowledge about the other side of the world. In an age before photography, Borget’s paintings captured the landscapes of the South China coast and his work serves as an important historical record of the folk customs and precious legacy of Sino-Western cultural exchange. The exhibition “Auguste Borget: A Painter-Traveller on the South China Coast” lastsuntil 9 October, including thematic exhibition guided tours in Cantonese available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between 3pm and 4pm, starting from 16 July. Furthermore, guided tour services are available in Cantonese, Mandarin and English for groups and schools by advance booking and the event “Go on an Adventure with Borget – Children Group Visit Exhibition” will open on 19 July. For details, please visit www.icm.gov.mo or www.MAM.gov.mo. For enquiries, please call MAM through tel. no. 8791 9814, during office hours. The Macao Museum of Art, located at Av. Xian Xing Hai, is open daily from 10am to 7pm (no admittance after 6:30pm; closed on Mondays). Admission fee is MOP5 and is free on Sundays and public holidays.
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Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has introduced a new service for the Collection of Notification of Approval of Temporary Residency Renewal (the notification) at the social welfare service area of IACM´s (Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau) in the Centro de Serviços da RAEM in Areia Preta, located in Bairro da Areia Preta. This demonstrates the Macao SAR Government´s concept of a “One-Stop Service” and, at the same time, achieves the objective of assisting residents by improving public sector efficiency. Additional collection points for the picking up of the Notification of Approval of Temporary Residency Renewal Aiming to assist residents, IPIM launched in conjunction with several government departments under the same Secretariat in August 2015 the “Document Submission Service for Bureaus under the Secretariat for Economy and Finance”, in response to the appeal of the Secretary for Economy and Finance. , IPIM has now introduced a new “cross-departmental” service with IACM to provide greater support to local residents in the collection of the Notification of Approval of Temporary Residency Renewal. Applicants or their authorised persons who have received notice of the results of their renewal applications by SMS may select in advance collect the notification at the IACM social welfare service area in the Centro de Serviços da RAEM in Areia Preta. Furthermore, the Immigration Department and Macao Identification Services Bureau now provide the services for the application of the "Receipt of Residence Authorization Renewal" and the renewal of the Macao Resident Identity Card. Services currently provided at the Immigration Department's Building in Pac-On, Taipa, and Macao Identification Services Bureau in China Plaza, Avenida da Praia Grande, remain unchanged. For further details, please visit IPIM´s official website at www.ipim.gov.mo. IPIM Provide Online and Offline Application Enquiry Service Regarding “Temporary Residency Application for Management and/or Technical Personnel” and “Temporary Residency for Major Investment/Investment Plan” applications, with the aim of assisting applicants with their enquiries about the status of their application and related details, apart from the official IPIM website, applicants may also make enquire by e-mail (gjfr@ipim.gov.mo), or phone 28712055, fax 28713950 or in person at IPIM’s office, on 1st Floor 918 Avenida da Amizade World Trade Centre.
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IFT’s new Taipa campus will be in operation from 1 August, while its former campus, located at Estrada Coronel Nicolau de Mesquita No. 14, Edif. César Fortune AC/V1-V3, Taipa, Macao, will be suspended from 1 July. For any public queries, please feel welcome to contact IFT at 2856-1252. Last year, Macao SAR Government has granted IFT the former University of Macau Library, the Staff Quarter building, two laboratories, in addition to the East Asia Hall being granted earlier. The new premises enable IFT to offer a better and more spacious and interactive teaching and learning environment. More programmes and professional courses can be planned to respond to the needs of the industry and the changing industry environment. More local and international students and scholars can also be welcome to further enhance the Institute’s multi-cultural teaching, research and learning environment. New training facilities including a training hotel will be incorporated in the new campus for training and practice. All these serve the ultimate goal of enhancing tourism education and training in Macao, so as to develop competent industry professionals and leaders who will help realise Macao’s vision to become a World Centre for Tourism and Leisure. The former library building is located on a small hill, it is now named as “Forward Building”, meaning to look forward to a new prospect and fruitful future for IFT. Forward Building will be in operation from 1 August as a teaching building complex of IFT. Besides classrooms, there will be facilities like library, conference venues, training center, administrative and teaching staff offices, food and beverage venue and car park. In the new Taipa campus, the East Asia Hall, where the students had moved in at the year-end of 2015, will mainly serve the purpose as student hostel. For the former Staff Quarter building, it will be modelled after serviced apartments and act as a training hotel for students so as to provide more practical training opportunities to them. 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 7 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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The Government has launched – with effect from today – a new tool that allows citizens to check online any financial obligation to be paid. Under the new online tool, members of the public can check information regarding any payments they might owe, such as tax, fines, and fees to public departments. The new tool can be accessed by citizens that have set up a personal account with the Electronic Service of the Financial Services Bureau. It can also be accessed at relevant self-service kiosks, by the Macao resident submitting his or her identity card for scanning. Any balances owed can be paid via the Financial Services Bureau’s Coercive Collection Bureau, located at Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues n.os 614A-640, Edifício Long Cheng.
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