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Chief Executive to attend Boao Forum in Hainan Province
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is to lead a delegation to Hainan Province on Sunday (1 April) for the opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia 2012, a statement by the Government Spokesperson Office said today. The annual conference of Boao Forum for Asia will be held on 1 to 3 April in Boao, Hainan, under the theme of "Asia in the Changing World: Moving toward Sound and Sustainable Development". During his visit, Mr Chui is scheduled to meet with leading officials of the Hainan administration. Mr Chui's delegation will include the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam; and Advisors of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Fung Sio Weng and Mr Kou Chin Hung. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive, while Mr Chui is away.
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Chief Executive congratulates Mr Leung Chun-ying’s successful election
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, had cordially congratulated Mr Leung Chun-ying for his successful election in the 2012 Chief Executive Election of the Hong Kong SAR of the People's Republic of China. A statement by the Government Spokesperson Office today quoted Mr Chui as having said that Hong Kong and Macao had maintained successful co-operations for a long time, in particular in projects such as building the Greater Pearl River Delta metropolis circle and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. He said he believed that the two administrations would continue to work together and move forward with their co-operation based on the current favourable foundation and build a better future for the people of Macao and Hong Kong.
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Tour around Macao with IFT Students
The Institute for Tourism Studies' Bachelor Degree Programme emphasises on the balance between theory and practice. Students are required to complete certain hours of practical tasks related to their majors every year. One of the tasks given to the Tourism Business Management students is to provide free guided tour to tourists and local residents. The activity, with the theme of "Tour around Macao with IFT Students", is organised by year two students of Tourism Business Management Degree Programme. With the assistance from the instructors, five different itineraries have been designed and each lasts about one hour and thirty minutes. This free guided tour service will be provided to all tourists and local residents on Saturday and Sunday, from 24 March – 21 April. The main objectives of the activity: I. It allows the students to put what they have learnt about tourism into practice. The whole project, from itinerary design to time control to the actual tour guiding, is planned by the students themselves with assistance from instructors. By coordinating the activity, their communication skills can also be enhanced. II. To promote Macao to the tourists by offering the free guiding service at the city centre and tourist attractions. Residents will also be made aware of the importance of tourism to Macao. The Institute for Tourism Studies is the only public higher education institution in Macao that cultivate talents for tourism and service industry. It endeavours to promote Macao through various activities and to leave a good impressionto everyone who visits the place.
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Consumer Council released specific price survey on canned foods
Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on canned foods on 20th March, surveying retail prices of 11 canned food brand samples from 21 retail outlets .Obvious differences were observed this time in both price increase and decrease in canned foods, 8 surveyed samples recorded very different price changes with both significant price rise and drop: the highest price increase of 'Ma Ling Premium Ham Luncheon Meat (340g)' was 18.5% while the greatest price drop was 14.6%. 'Porthos Sardines in Olive Oil (125g)', which was stable in price in previous surveys, recorded a price increase of 3.3% to 17.3% in some retail outlets; 'Gu Long Spiced Pork Cubes (142g)' which had a price drop in last survey, recorded an obvious price rise this time. Consumers are advised to check with the data available on the Council's website as well as the "Supermarket Price Information Platform" iPhone app as prices of canned foods varied distinctly. Further, Consumer Council's newly published issue no.223 of Consumer Report features a detailed report of a test on extruded foods, pastries, and snacks co-tested by Guangdong Consumer Council and Macao Consumer Council. Other articles featured in this issue include how to choose cooking oil and an introduction of washing labels, etc., information of Consumers International's 2012 annual theme 'Our Money, Our Rights' is also included in this issue of Consumer Report. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the office of Consumer Council (Rua Inácio Baptista, Nº 6-6A Edficio Seaview Garden R/C), and the service counter of Consumer Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources online at the Council's official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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Visitor Arrivals for February 2012
Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total visitor arrivals recorded a 1.5% year-on-year decrease to 2,130,977 in February 2012; same-day visitors (1,136,136) accounted for 53.3% of the total. The average length of stay of visitors decreased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 0.9 day, with that of overnight visitors and same-day visitors being 1.8 days and 0.2 day respectively. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China increased by 6.7% year-on-year to 1,285,266 (60.3% of the total), mostly from Guangdong Province (635,835), Fujian Province (67,880) and Shanghai (40,111). Mainland visitors travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) totalled 514,095, down by 11.4% year-on-year. The average length of stay of Mainland visitors was 1.0 day, with that of overnight visitors at 2.0 days. Visitors from Hong Kong (520,144); and Taiwan, China (83,357) decreased by 20.9% and 3.4% respectively year-on-year. However, those from the Republic of Korea (45,441) and Japan (40,129) increased by 15.5% and 25.1% respectively; long haul visitors from the Americas (20,853), Europe (18,926) and Oceania (9,386) also recorded increase of 4.4%, 8.6% and 14.7% year-on-year. In the first two months of 2012, visitor arrivals increased by 8.3% year-on-year to 4,592,617. Visitors from Mainland China (2,780,143), the Republic of Korea (91,617) and Japan (71,798) increased by 14.7%, 12.5% and 5.2% respectively; in addition, visitors from Russia (+97.9%), the Philippines (+20.0%), India (+15.7%) and Australia (+13.2%) also registered noticeable increase year-on-year. Meanwhile, those from Hong Kong (1,158,176) and Taiwan, China (168,903) decreased by 2.4% and 5.3% respectively. Same-day visitors accounted for 54.6% of the total visitor arrivals, at 2,507,226.
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UM to hold Asia’s first comprehensive advanced course in student affairs
University staff responsible for student affairs need to fulfill a large amount of administrative work every day in addition to handling the various questions from students of different nationalities. As a result, they often cannot learn the latest knowledge about student affairs in a timely manner. In view of this, the University of Macau (UM) will organize an advanced certificate course in student affairs from 21 May to 1 June 2012. This course will be Asia's first comprehensive and systematic quality course in university student affairs in recent years. Education and student affairs experts from the U.S. with a solid grasp of theoretical knowledge and rich practical work experience will be the lecturers. They will use scientific teaching methods, apply advanced teaching philosophies, and approach from logically sound perspectives, to analyze the importance of student-affairs-related work, as well as ways to carry out the work in a scientific, innovative and artistic manner. In addition to imparting the newest ideas as well as rules and regulations concerning student-affairs-related work, they will also disclose to the students their unique secrets to achieving academic excellence. The course will cover the following issues: responsibilities and tasks of university student-affairs-related work (job requirements, skills and ethical standards); theories concerning students' growth paths; campus culture and attainment of academic excellence; up-close analysis of student-affairs-related work (basic skills and theory of education); design of quality activities (the role and organization of such activities); guidance on the management of residential colleges and student groups; and the formulation of development plans for residential college students. The course will be conducted in English, and is now open for application by interested parties from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore and other Asian countries and regions, with a quota of between fifteen and twenty. Those with a master's degree (or equivalent degree) or above, good English proficiency, a strong sense of responsibility, and the wish to pursue a career in student affairs are welcome to apply (relevant work experience is preferred). Tuition fees will be waived, but the cost of transportation, meals, accommodation and teaching materials shall be borne by the students. For enquiries or more details, please visit the Website of UM's Faculty of Education http://www.umac.mo/fed/MSAI.html or call 83978777/83978788. Should you have any query, please feel free to contact Ms. Albee Lei at（853）8397 4325 or albeelei@umac.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.
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Mail Services to Kuwait
Owing to strike action taken by customs workers in Kuwait, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to Kuwait are subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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Mail Services to South Korea
In order to guarantee the safety of the "Nuclear Security Summit", Korea Post has taken special security measures to all mail items. Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet, Parcel and EMS) from Macao to South Korea, particularly the areas with postal codes as below are subject to delay until further notice. Postal Code
Seoul - 100-XXX, 110-XXX, 135-XXX, 140-XXX, 143-XXX
Other area - 1XX-XXX Thank you for your kind attention.
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Seminar on “Urbanism Law”
The Legal and Judicial Training Centre will organise an "Urbanism Law" seminar on March 26th to 30th in the Auditorium of the Centre, Rua Dr. Pedro José Lobo, n.os 1-3, Banco Luso Internacional building , 18th floor, from 5 pm to 7 pm. Integrated as part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, this event will feature as its keynote speaker Dr. Fernanda Paula Marques de Oliveira, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra and Professor in the Centre of Studies for Urban Planning, Urbanism and Environment (CEDOUA), Portugal. This event will be conducted in Portuguese, with simultaneous translation into Cantonese. During the five daily sessions, which will take place until March 30th, the following topics, among others, will be discussed sharing a global view on Urbanism Law: 1. Characterisation of the urbanism law and their main reference areas: urban planning, land law and public construction law; 2. The city planning and its legal system (legal comparative differences between Portugal and Macao): types of statutory plans, their interrelationship, development procedure(s) (with emphasis on public participation) and other related issues; 3. Law of the lands: the importance of the law of the lands for a coherent and effective urban policy. Reference to instruments of land policy and fiscal policy associated with urbanisation policy. The legal norms governing urban property and urban expropriations (in the classical and sacrifice sense); 4. The difference between public construction law and the private construction law; 5. New tendencies in the development of urban planning law in Portugal: town planning for urban containment (to fight urban sprawl), consolidation or intensification of the existing urban fabric (a compact city approach), urban renewal (at the expense of new construction) and social cohesion (as opposed to segregation); 6. Models of urban management. The 2nd Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" and is going to take place until December 2013. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, together with many entities and public departments of the Macao SAR, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macao.
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MGTO explores Russian market at Travel Fairs in Moscow
Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) promotes Macau in two major Russian international travel fairs, INTOURMARKET 2012 (ITM) and 19th Edition of Moscow International Exhibition, Travel & Tourism (MITT), once again to explore the Russian market. The delegation from Macau, including representatives from MGTO and local tourism industry, traveled to Russia - a potential market for Macau, to participate in both travel events and promote Macau tourism to the Russian tour operators. IMT took place from 17th to 20th and MITT will run from 21st to 24th March, both in Moscow. MGTO participates in both fairs with a booth, under the theme "Touching Moments - Experience Macau", to showcase the tourism situation, new facilities/infrastructures, and tourist products, as well as to promote the Macau trade offers. During MITT, MGTO in partnership with Hong Kong Tourism Board and Sanya Tourism Development Commission, organize on the 22nd March a joint event for Russian media and travel trade to promote a multi-destination product (of the three regions) and to release new features about tourism industry in the region. The number of Russian visitors to Macau has been increasing continuously in recent years. In 2011 the total number of Russian visitors increased 41 percent, and in the two first months of this year has increased 98 percent already. MGTO will continue to explore new markets, so as to diversify the source markets, putting Macau as World Center of Tourism and Leisure. This press release is available at: www.macautourism.gov.mo
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