News

The principle of ''putting the people's interests first'' implied that the Government would put the interests of all residents of Macao as top priority, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Speaking at the 85th anniversary celebration and commendation ceremony of the Macau Red Cross, Mr Ho said the Government would consider the genuine needs of different communities and individuals when it formulated its policies. Mr Ho said the Government would listen to the majority and also consider the interests of the minority when it implemented its policies. He praised the Macau Red Cross's humanitarian efforts in the past 85 years and gave an assurance that the Government would continue to support all local organisations devoted to humanitarian works.
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After the explosions in London, United Kingdom, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) Headquarters has received a total of 3 local enquires till 6 p.m. today (July 13) and MGTO’s Representation Office in London has not received any enquiry so far. As there is no information indicating any Macau resident is affected by the incident, the MGTO hotlines set up in the Headquarter and London right after the incident will stop accepting enquiry from 8 pm today.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicates that in May 2005, visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 215,340, up 14.0% over May 2004. Visitors from Mainland China (159,604) dropped 1.8% year-on-year; visitors from Taiwan, China (23,044) surged 111.4% and those from Hong Kong (8,707) increased 58.2%. In the first five months of 2005, visitor arrivals in package tours grew 7.6% over the same period of 2004 to 1,043,939. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours totalled 24,550 in May 2005, a year-on-year increase of 62.4%. Mainland China, Thailand and Taiwan, China were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 83.9%, 3.8% and 3.5% of the total respectively. In the first five months of 2005, Macao residents travelling in package tours went up 57.9% compared with the same period of 2004. Meanwhile, 24,773 Macao residents travelled under own arrangements with the assistance of travel agencies, an increase of 11.1% over May 2004; Mainland China (32.1%), Taiwan, China (22.9%) and Hong Kong (18.1%) were the major destinations. In the first five months of 2005, Macao residents travelling under such arrangements fell 1.4% compared with the same period of 2004. At the end of May 2005, there were 10,454 rooms available in hotels and similar establishments, an increase of 1,141 rooms (12.3%) over May 2004. In May 2005, a total of 329,184 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments in Macao, an increase of 4.6% over May 2004. The average hotel occupancy rate fell 4.1 percentage points to 67.0% compared with the same month of 2004. The highest occupancy rate was in 3-star hotels, at 76.4%. The average length of stay of hotel guests dropped 0.01 night over May 2004 to 1.18 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (55.7%), Hong Kong (27.9%) and Taiwan, China (3.3%). In the first five months of 2005, number of hotel guests showed a marginal increase of 0.9% to 1,569,712 over the same period of 2004. In the first five months of 2005, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 41.6% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 46.3% recorded in the same period of 2004.
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The Legislative Assembly Election Commission has sent out letters to Government departments to look for staff to man the boards that oversee the operation of polling stations, Commission Chairman Judge Fong Man Chong said today. Speaking after a Commission meeting, Judge Fong said the response from the departments was positive. Due to the increase in polling booths, he said he expected the number of staff to increase to about 1,200. Judge Fong said that the Commission would issue guidelines to the boards to direct the operations of the polling stations. According to the Legislative Assembly Election Law, a board should be constituted in each polling station to direct and preside over the polling operations. Meanwhile, the Commission gave details of the promotional campaign for the election, which would focus on the function of the Legislative Assembly and the significance of the election. The Commission had designed two posters, with radio promotions going on air from next week onwards, said Judge Fong. The Commission has selected the winners of a poster competition and the winning entries will be displayed during the election campaign, which starts on 10 September 2005.
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(Macao 06 July 2005) Seventy millions new banknotes, with total valued 8.15 billion, will be put into circulation in 8 August. The Executive Council today discussed the by-law, permitting BNU (Banco Nacional Ultramarino) to issue new MOP10, MOP20, MOP100, MOP500 and MOP1000 banknotes. The spokeman of the Executive Council, Mr Tong Chi Kin, said base on the original design, advanced security features were added to enhance their anti-counterfeiting capabilities. Invisible fluorescent fiber and two special techniques for prevent counterfeiting were added Mr Tong said. Meanwhile, other characteristics which can be identificated by eyes and hands including a very bright highlight watermark, a line which gives embossed feel, etc. Mr. Tong said since the exiting banknotes have been circulated for a period, and in order to prevent counterfeiting, it was necessary to launch new banknotes, which including 2,500 for MOP10; 2,000 for MOP20; 1500 for MOP100; 800 for MOP500 and 200 for MOP1000.
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The Maritime Museum (including the esplanade) will be temporarily closed to the public on Monday, 11 July 2005, to prepare for a thematic exhibition. The Museum will be reopened on Saturday, 30 July 2005. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
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Included in the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, is starting tomorrow, 6 July, at 6:30 pm, at the auditorium of the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (Luso-International Bank Building, 18th floor) the Seminar on “Mutual Legal Assistance: Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters”. The seminar will tale place until 8 July and will have as speaker Christophe Bernasconi, First Secretary of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The seminar will be conducted in English and addresses to the bachelors of laws. During the three days of seminar will be discussed the following topics “The Hague Conference on Private International Law – a brief overview”, “The Hague Service Convention – general overview”, “Scope of the Service Convention”, “The main channel: Central Authorities”, “Alternative channels”, “Derogatory channels” and “Protection of the defendant”, among other issues. The seminar is jointly organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre and the International Law Office. The 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 already in its fourth and last year, taking place until February 2006. The total budget for the programme is of 1.980.000 euros, shared in equal parts by the European Union and Macao. The co-ordination of the Co-operation Programme is at the responsibility of the International Law Office, being the organisation of the pertaining activities ensured by several other entities of the MSAR’s Government, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services and the Institute of European Studies, other than the International Law Office itself.
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong – Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (CUTW) Community College and the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) in Macau today announced an agreement whereby students of the Associate Degree in Hotel and Catering Management Programme of CUTW will be taking two courses at IFT’s state-of-the-art teaching facilities in Macao, in order to have a thorough understanding of the practicality and operation of the tourism and hotel industry there. Professor Richard Ho, the President of CUTW Community College, points out that due to geographical proximity, Hong Kong and Macao have all along been closely linked economically, especially in area of tourism; nevertheless, more frequent cultural and academic exchanges between the two cities still remain to be seen. This collaboration spells an auspicious start and enables students of CUTW to widen their horizon by experiencing the culture and dynamics of Macao, which are so different from those of Hong Kong. Professor Ho believes the world-class facilities of IFT will allow CUTW’s students to gain excellent practical experience before they enter the labour market. Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT, also considers the collaboration a good start for both institutes. As the courses of CUTW Community College will be conducted in IFT’s well-equipped training units, which are highly acclaimed and well-recognized, students of CUTW Community College and IFT will also be able to be acquainted with one another, exchange views and thus enhance their learning experience. In a longer term, IFT hopes to develop student exchange programmes so that students of IFT can also benefit from learning in a Hong Kong setting. IFT also hopes to strengthen the strategic alliance between Hong Kong and Macao in tourism industry, and look forward to having more collaboration with CUTW Community College in the area of academic research etc. “The School of Business Administration and Tourism Management of CUTW believes that should students be allowed to learn in a simulated working environment, they can learn in-depth professional knowledge and be well-equipped for their future careers.” said Prof. Anthony Ko, Director of School of Business Administration and Tourism Management of CUTW Community College. “In this regard, CUTW Community College and IFT decided to join forces to customize two unique courses so that students can get to know the real operation and have a feel on the industrial practice, especially in a tourism-based-economy city like Macao. We trust that such experience will be an asset for students in their future careers with professional knowledge gained on a solid ground.” According to the agreement signed today, CUTW Community College will have two courses from the Hotel and Catering Programme, i.e. Professional Food Preparation and Dining Room Management taught in IFT’s six Teaching Kitchens and the Educational Restaurant, which serves with a Macanese, Portuguese and International a la carte menu, a daily special as well as Buffet Dinner. Both CUTW Community College and IFT believe that such world-class facilities will bring students superb learning experience. The Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) being the first WTO-Themis TedQual certified institution in tourism education, is a public institution of higher education, offering tourism and hospitality management education, as well as related professional training. The mission of IFT is to become a destination for tourism and hospitality studies with European characteristics. Not only for the benefits of Macao, but also for the Asia Pacific region, it will produce students with professional knowledge and technical competence in preparation for their future leadership responsibilities in the industry. CUTW Community College offers full-time and part-time Pre-Associate degree and Associate Degree programmes, aspires to provide high-quality tertiary education for students, both local and non-local, to prepare them for transfer to senior years of university education and for their future careers. As a junior university, CUTW Community College’s vision is to be widely recognized as one of the best international centres of tertiary education in Asia capable of helping its students grow to their full potential and preparing them adequately for change and challenges. Contact:
Public Relations Department of CUTW Community College, please call 3190-6617 Ken Lam or email to pakclam@cutw.edu.hk for enquiries. Public Relations of IFT, please call (853) 5983 182 or email to frida@ift.edu.mo for enquiries.
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In May 2005, Macao’s total export value amounted to MOP1.29 billion, down 29.6% over the same month of 2004. Among this, the value of domestic exports decreased 42.5% to MOP786 million, and the value of re-exports went up 8.6% to MOP501 million. Value of imports amounted to MOP2.45 billion, up 9.3% over the same period of 2004. A trade deficit of MOP1.16 billion was recorded this month. During the period of January – May 2005, the value of total exports recorded a year-on-year decrease of 23.5% to MOP5.92 billion. Among this, the value of domestic exports decreased 33.1% whereas the value of re-exports rose 3.6%. Meanwhile, the value of imports amounted to MOP10.81 billion, up 3.7% over the same period of 2004. In the first five months of 2005, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP4.89 billion. During this period, the exports/imports ratio decreased from 74.3% in the corresponding period of 2004 to 54.8%. In the first five months of 2005, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 71.7% of the total exports, decreased 29.6% over the same period of 2004. Moreover, the value of Non-textile exports also dropped 1.9%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof expanded 8.8%, whereas Footwear fell 89.7% year on year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 55.5% of the total export value. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 44.3% of the total export value, decreased 24.0% in value over the same period of 2004; exports to the EU, which made up 11.2% of the total exports, also decreased 62.5% in value over the same period of 2004. During the period of January – May 2005, Macao’s total import value increased 3.7% year on year. In terms of broad economic categories, Fuels & lubricants, Capital goods and Consumer goods rose 42.0%, 21.7% and 6.1% respectively, whereas Raw materials & semi-manufactures registered a year-on-year decrease of 12.2%. Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong together constituted 50.1% of the total import value. Compared with the same period of 2004, the value of imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong fell 3.4% and 1.6% respectively.
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The Legislative Assembly Election Commission has decided to increase the number of polling booth in the September election to cater for the increase in the number of registered voters. After the Commission’s meeting today, Commission Chairman Judge Fong Man Chong said as some 60,000 new voters have been registered after the last Legislature election in 2001, the Commission has decided to increase the number of polling booth by between 50 to 60, on top of the 169 booths in previous election. He said most of the extra booths would be set up in the districts of Fatima and St. Anthony, which registered the biggest increase in registered voters. Polling stations would be set up in schools and stadiums as it was in the last election, Judge Fong said. The Commission would introduce measures to prevent anyone from using mobile phones to photograph records of ballots. It would also consider removing curtains in polling booths to prevent unlawful acts during the casting of votes, without compromising secrecy. The Commission would also consider adapting more measures to ensure secrecy in polling, Judge Fong added.
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