News

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is to attend the second Expo Central China to be held in Zhengzhou, Henan this Wednesday. Mr Ho is to attend the opening ceremony of the exposition and the signing ceremony of Major Cooperation Projects on Pushing Industrial Shift on 26 April. He is scheduled to deliver a speech in the Central China Business Summit 2007. During his two-day visit, Mr Ho will meet with the Secretary of the CPC Henan Provincial Party Committee, and the Governor of Henan, Mr Li Chengyu respectively. Expo Central China 2007 is to be held from 26-28 April. It provides a platform for traders and investors from different countries to fully understand investment and trade policies of the central area, to obtain information on priority projects and commodities, and to start trade relationship and industrial development. Approved by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Taxation, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, State Administration for Radio and Television, State Tourist Bureau, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and China Federation of Industrial Economics, the Expo is co-sponsored by the six provincial governments of Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Henan. Members of the official delegation from Macao include the Secretary for Economic and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Chief of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Ho Veng On and the President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Lee Peng Hong. Mr Ho is scheduled to leave on Wednesday and return to Macao on 26 April. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Ho is away.
…

The Executive Council had just completed discussions on a bill aimed at overhauling labour laws that have been in effect for the past 18 years. The bill, to replace the existing Macao Labour Relations Law (Decree-Law No. 24/89/M), will be submitted to the Legislative Assembly for further study. The bill is a result of lengthy discussions within the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action and taken into account the views of employers and labour association representatives. The bill contained proposals to better protect both employers and employees. For example, maternity leave would go up from 35 to 56 days; workers who quit their job must give more notice than the present seven days. The bill also clarified the rights and obligations for part-time workers, domestic workers and contracted workers, and stipulated compensations for overtime working, working on public and mandatory holidays, as well as allowances for midnight working and shift-taking. Meanwhile, the Executive Council had received a Bill on regulating the employment of imported labour and would start to review it soon, spokesman for the Council, Mr Tong Chi Kin, said at a press conference today. He said the Council had also completed discussing a By-Law that would transfer the Labour Affairs Bureau's function on dealing with imported labour applications to an office to be established to enhance efficiency.
…

Results of the Education Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service indicated that in the academic year 2005/2006, there were 135 schools or institutions providing regular education in Macao, comprising 12 institutions of higher education and 123 schools that offered pre-primary, primary and secondary (including vocational-technical secondary) education. Among those providing non-tertiary education, 104 were private schools, of which 83 had joined the universal basic education network. The survey also covered 12 schools of special education and 133 establishments of adult education; meanwhile, the survey coverage was extended, for the first time, to include information on 154 private tutorial centres. At the end of the academic year 2005/2006, there were 15,927 students attending higher education, up by 14.0% over the previous academic year, and 73.5% were local students. At the same time, students in non-tertiary education decreased by 3.2% to 91,398, of which the number of students in secondary education (45,995) dropped slightly by 0.2% after rising continuously in the past years, while those in pre-primary (10,216) and primary education (35,187) continued a decreasing tendency to go down by 8.2% and 5.5% respectively. On the other hand, number of teachers engaged in regular education increased by 1.9% to 6,073. The teacher/student ratio for the system of regular education was 1 to 17.7; the ratio for non-tertiary and higher education was 1 to 20.2 and 1 to 10.3 respectively. Compared with the academic year 2004/2005, number of students studying in special education dropped by 7.4% to 514, while students enrolled in adult education totalled 103,553, up by 15.7%. Information provided by 154 private tutorial centres indicated that 5,153 students were receiving auxiliary tutorial services at these centres, with 34.4% attending lower primary and 32.3% attending upper primary education.
…

(Macao – 20 April 2007) The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, met the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Mr Wu Bangguo, in Hainan Province this afternoon. During the meeting, Mr Wu attributed Macao’s steady economic growth, social stability and improved living conditions to every endeavour made by the SAR Government and all the people of Macao. Mr Ho expressed his gratitude to Mr Wu for Central Government’s support for Macao. The Chief Executive arrived in Hainan today for the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2007, where he attended a welcoming banquet hosted by the People’s Government of Hainan Province in the evening. Mr Ho and his delegation is scheduled to return to Macao tomorrow after attending the opening ceremony of the conference.
…

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, has arrived in Hainan to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2007 to be held in Qionghai city. Mr Ho’s chartered flight arrived in Haikou in the afternoon, where he was received by Mr Lin Fanglue, the Vice Governor of Hainan Province. Before his departure, responding to reporters who asked for his views on petitions, Mr Ho said Macao is ruled by law, which guarantees citizens the right to express their views in any reasonable way and form, whether it is by a telephone call, a letter or a petition. The Government would manage any situation with caution, he said. Mr Ho said the Government would try its best to solve any problems sparked by the entire economic development, but it would not set deadlines for any decision just because of certain days or events. The Chief Executive said the Government makes policy according to the social development taking into account the people’s needs. He said time is needed for any policy to be implemented, and stressed that the cooperation of the society was also required as not all social problems could be solved by the Government alone.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that the number of visitor arrivals totalled 2,161,407 in March 2007, representing a year-on-year increase of 19.2%. Visitors from Mainland China and Hong Kong increased by 13.4% and 28.2% respectively, whereas those from Taiwan, China dropped by 3.7%. Meanwhile, same-day visitors accounted for 52.6% of the total arrivals, at 1,137,808. The majority of the visitors came from Mainland China (54.7% of the total), Hong Kong (30.9%) and Taiwan, China (5.5%). Among the Mainland visitors, 52.7% travelled to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, at 623,205. In the first quarter of 2007, visitor arrivals totalled 6,369,664, up by 21.4% over the same period of last year. Arrivals from Mainland China rose 20.1% to 3,577,119, while those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China went up by 22.2% and 1.5% respectively. Furthermore, same day visitors made up 52.4% of the total arrivals, at 3,340,887. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea increased by 13.8% to 2,152,355 over the first quarter of 2006. Among them, 2,002,335 arrived at the Outer Harbour, with 61.6% from Hong Kong and 24.9% from Mainland China. Visitor arrivals at the Inner Harbour were 150,020, and 59.1% were from Mainland China. At the same time, visitors arrived by land surged by 26.1% to 3,875,130 and most of them entering through the Border Gate; visitors from Mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for 75.2% and 18.0% respectively. In addition, arrivals by air were 342,179 in the first quarter of 2007, up by 20.0% over the same quarter of 2006. Among the 338,660 arrivals at the Macao International Airport, visitors from Taiwan, China (45.3%), Mainland China (22.5%) and South East Asia (20.7%) were the major users.
…

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is to attend the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2007 in Hainan on Saturday. The theme of the three-day forum, which is to open in Qionghai city tomorrow, is 'Asia Winning in Today's Global Economy - Innovation and Sustainable Development'. Prominent government leaders, top corporate executives, scholars, experts and media representatives will attend a number of panel sessions to hold discussions on environmental protection, sustainable development, energy security, corporate social responsibility, innovation and development, and the rise of Asian enterprises. The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Mr Wu Bangguo, will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. Three other keynote speakers are President of the Philippines, Ms Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Shaukat Aziz; and, and Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Mr Bill Gates. Mr Ho will leave for Qionghai tomorrow. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Ho is away.
…

By the time that many museums are closing, the Macau Wine Museum is keeping its doors open for events such as cocktails, dinners and wine tasting, offering participants a genuine trip through the world of wine. Events taking place at the Wine Museum, organized by the Macau Government Tourist Office, the entity overseeing the museum, or by private initiatives, follow a special tradition. During these occasions, wine takes the center stage. Different kinds of wines are presented for tasting, mainly Portuguese, and, depending on the occasion, the host will take the opportunity to introduce the wines and the museum. “The Wine Museum is a one-of-its-kind place, which has a lot to do with Macau’s multiculturalism”, points out Wine Museum curator, José Braga Gonçalves. In a city with more than 400 years of cultural exchanges, Portuguese wines are the main focus of the Wine Museum, opened in 1995. Wines from the “Country of Grapes”, the Chinese name for Portugal, can be found in any of Macau’s restaurant menus, and are present in official banquets, consumed with Macanese, Portuguese or Cantonese food. A special moment of these nights at the Wine Museum is when wine tasting events take place, an occasion whereby the curator shares some of his knowledge and more of his great passion with the participants. “During the wine tasting, sometimes people ask me really funny questions, like for example, if I became drunk or if I drink a lot of wine”, recounts Braga Gonçalves, who has grown up in a land where wine was produced. Wine tasting is, in fact, part of the Wine Museum’s visiting ritual. At the end of the museum tour, each visitor is invited to choose a wine for tasting, then take a seat and relax.
…

The “International Conference on Contemporary Issues in Air & Space Law”, organized by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM), Administration of Airports Ltd. (ADA) and Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL) of McGill University, Canada, and co-organized by the Faculty of Law of University of Macau and the Institute of Macao Civil Aviation, is being held from 19 to 21 April 2007 at Wynn Macau. The main objectives of holding this Conference are to promote air transport especially air and space law, Macao’s tourism and its MICE image, announced by the organizers. About 100 participants took part in the event. The opening ceremony of the Conference is held in the morning of 19 April 2007, which is presided by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr. Lau Si Io. Other guests include Director-General of the Department of International Organization and Legal Affairs, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao SAR, People’s Republic of China, Mr. Ma Ya Ou, Vice Director-General of Economic Affairs Department of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR, Mr. Xu Jian Ping, government and industry representatives, among others. The three-day Conference will discuss contemporary issues in Asian air and space; European laws, policies and practices and their impact on air transport; airline, manufacturer and air traffic liability and insurance issues in aviation; finance of aerospace equipment and infrastructure and registration of security interests; government regulation, bilaterals and the liberalization of air transport; emerging issues for airports and air traffic control, aviation safety and security, current issues in space law and policy. The speakers are scholars, government officials and industry experts possessing rich knowledge in aviation who come from McGill University, General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, General Civil Aviation Authority of United Arabs Emirates, International Civil Aviation Organization, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Studio Legale Guerreri, Boeing, Philippine Airlines, AACM, ADA and Health Authority of Macau International Airport. Apart from local participation, overseas participants come from 19 countries or areas including Australia, Canada, mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arabs Emirates, United States of America and Venezuela. They represent aeronautical authorities, airlines, airports, air services providers, manufacturers, insurance companies, academic institutions, international organizations and academic institutions. McGill University was established in 1824 and is situated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a distinguished academic institution in the world. The IASL is reputed for its excellence in teaching and research in aviation and has close cooperative relationships with the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Air Transport Association. A city tour will be arranged to allow the overseas participants to experience the mixed cultures of Macao and visit Macao’s World Heritage sites. Sponsors for the event are CAM-Macau International Airport Company Limited, Aeroportos de Portugal SA, Macao Foundation, Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau S.A.R.L., NAV Portugal, E.P.E., Macau Government Tourist Office, CNAC (Macau) Aviation Limited, Air Macau Company Limited, King Power Duty Free (Macau) Company Limited, MCS-Macau Catering Services Company Limited, Focus Facilities Management Limited, Restaurante do Aeroporto Internacional de Macau, Limitada and Menzies Macau Airport Services. The Conference is preceded by the Workshop on Introduction to Air and Space Law which was held from 16 to 18 April at the University of Macau. The workshop was taught by the law professors of IASL and the University of Macau covering air and space law topics on an introductory basis to provide beginners with the fundamental knowledge for attending the Conference.
…

The Government is to build about 3,000 public housing flats on Taipa, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, announced today. The site will be on a piece of land near the approach of the Friendship Bridge, which covers a gross land area of some 150,000 square feet. The construction, to be put out to tender later this year, would provide up to 3,000 flats, provided that the apartments are designed with two bedrooms and one living room. Meanwhile, a working group chaired by Mr Lau would submit an initial report to the Chief Executive next week, reviewing all sites suitable for public housing and number of flats to be built, Mr Lau said. Mr Lau was in Taipa and Coloane this afternoon to visit old districts and public facilities on the two islands, where he also met residents and listened to their opinion on urban planning for the neighborhood. He said the Government had plans to turn the old districts of Taipa into pedestrian-only zones and improve the transport network on the two islands.
…