News

The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) urges residents not to travel to Thailand due to worsening of situation in the country, with several confrontations on the streets reported, leading to more than 100 people wounded. For Macao residents currently traveling in Thailand, please remain cautious of personal safety, and avoid protest locations. In case of any emergency, please report to the local police and contact the Chinese Embassy in Thailand - (Tel: (66)-819840658, (66)-818214771). Macao residents may
also call the Macau Tourism Hotline: (853) 2833 3000 for assistance. According to the communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China, Mainland residents and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan may also contact the Centre for Consular Assistance and Protection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assistance (86)10-65964086. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand had issued a travel notice to Chinese citizens on April 7 alerting that the government in Thailand had declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Ayutthaya. Previous travel notices issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand are still in force, as well as the advice counseling nationals to temporarily avoid traveling to the country; Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has raised the travel alert to black; GGCT is closely monitoring the situation and at the same time warns residents not to travel to Thailand. According to existing information, there is currently a tour group of 25 residents traveling in Thailand, which departed on April 7 and will return to Macao tomorrow (11). According to local travel agents there will be no tours heading to Thailand in the ensuing two days.
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The 2010 Macao International Environmental Cooperation Exhibition and Forum (2010 MIECF) closes today (10 April). Overseas participants are very satisfied and believe that they will come again in the next edition of MIECF to continue their exploration of business opportunities. Oil spill solution expert from Finland, Lamor Corporation Ab, Global Sales Director Mr Pekka Tyllila applauded MIECF for the exquisite arrangement and eagerness of the event personnel for their earnest support. He commended that Macao is a very desirable place as the quality of the exhibition venue is high, offering amble space and good ambient for the occasion. Mr Tyllila said he had established many solid connections through 2010 MIECF and had collected many interests in their businesses, and with a high matching rate. He added that if they had not found the really interested merchants, then their efforts would turn meaningless. He concluded that the Macao trip had met their goals set and had planned to come again next year. By then, he would expect more merchants from other Asian countries to be involved. Representative of the Scottish Development International, Ms Fiona Donnelly found it encouraging to see the achievement of Macau within such a short time span amidst its rapid economic development. She commended that through MIECF she met many different nationalities including Koreans and Taiwanese, who expressed keen interests in the green industry of Scotland. She was proud to have successfully brought the wind power generation and bio-energy technology of Scotland to countries beyond Europe. Executive Director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Macau, Greg Sweeney pointed out that they had been working closely with the staff members of MIECF from early preparation to the actual event. He praised the earnestness of the staff members to help them connect to different countries, building up plenty of business networks. He mentioned that no communications problem has been encountered because the MIECF staff members are well-versed in Chinese and English. Grey Sweeney also said that the staff members are very responsible and help put up a seamless running of the event.
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The 2010 Macao International Environmental Cooperation Exhibition and Forum (2010 MIECF), hosted by Macao SAR Government, closes today (10th April). The Organiser announced that as at 5pm, today on 10 April, a total of 8,216 participants attended the event, an increase of nearly 40% comparing to last year’s event. As at 3pm today, the event attracted 5,990 forum participants, trade visitors and exhibitor representatives and more than 2,226 public visitors. Forty-seven countries and regions have sent delegation to attend the event, an increase of nearly 30% comparing to last year’s MIECF. The Organiser believes that the 2010 MIECF has achieved expected results in both exhibition and forum. Based on the previous two counts of MICEF, the 2010 MIECF has significant advancement. The exhibition floor area has increased by 10% when compared to the previous MIECF, covering a total of 13,465 square meters. A total of 362 enterprises and organisations took part, 42% more than last year’s 254. Apart from the patrons and exhibitors, the event has also gained much higher representation through the participation of enterprises coming from 25 different countries and regions instead of that of 19 in the previous edition, while 114 local exhibitors participated vis-à-vis that of 72 last year. The Organiser had collected 558 environmental and related projects, arranged 416 business matching sessions, and 24 agreements were signed during the event. Five official forums were staged, namely, Low-Carbon Building and Eco City, Clean Technology and Circular Economy, Low-Carbon Economy Forum, Green Economic Business Summit (in Green Business Co-operation Day) and Seminar for International Green Industry Exchanges. Forum speakers and moderators flew from 56 countries and regions across the globe – China, Hong Kong, Macao, Brazil, Austria, Singapore, Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom - to mediate the event. More than 1,000 people had participated the forums. Messe München Internation, the project manager of 2010MIECF, said that MIECF had become one of the most important green business event in Southern China region. On the Green Public Day, an array of activities rolled out with the goal to enhance green living. Members of the public were to enjoy a green fashion show, songs and dancing show, green workshops, seminars, and about 300 visitors had tried on the electric car. The next MIECF will be held from 31 March to 2 April 2011. For inquiries, please contact the 2010MIECF Secretariat in telephone (853) 7898-9675, fax (853) 2872-7123, email miecf2010@ipim.gov.mo, or visit the 2010 MIECF official website: www.macaomiecf.com.
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On the second day (9 April) of the 2010 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Exhibition and Forum (2010 MIECF), the Organiser arranged 216 business matching sessions. Nine co-operation projects were signed today. These projects include selling electric vehicles in Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, agency of recycled lunch box and recycling of tyres. Projects signed originated from Macao (50%), Mainland China (16.7%), Hong Kong (16.7%), Brazil (11%), and Portugal (5.6%). As of 6:00 pm, 1,709 people visited the exhibition hall today. To enhance public environmental awareness and to educate the public on how to enjoy green living, the Organiser will hold the “Green Public Day” tomorrow (April 10) and open this event to members of the public. Free shuttle buses will take visitors to the exhibition tomorrow. The shuttle buses connect Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from Av. Dr. Mario Soares (The Macau Square), Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida and Estr. Marginal do Hipodromo. They run every 30 minutes, from 09:00 to 18:30. Visitors may also get a four-hour free parking coupon for Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel at the exhibition venue.
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Exhibitors and guests from all over the world were attracted to The Macao International Environmental Co-operation Exhibition and Forum (MIECF) each year. Overseas participants appreciated the exceptional scale of MIECF and enjoy abundant interaction at the event. Coming from the Netherlands as a new participant of the exhibition, Silvie Mensink is deeply impressed by the event. It is refreshing to join hands with exhibitors from various countries and regions at the same time and she hoped that more people would be aware of the landscapes and resources of environmental protection in the Netherlands. Also visiting MIECF for the first time, Khalid Bilal, Pakistan Consulate-General in Hong Kong, regarded Africa as a crucial country for future development of green energy and green business. Macao should extend its horizons and foster collaboration with the region through this exhibition, he said. Michael Naylor, Amenity Management Director of MIECF, said that as MIECF came back for the third time, the event has grown significantly in its scale, testifying the attraction of environmental cooperation exhibition. Exhibitors from various regions may advance understanding of each other through exhibitions and forums, encouraging possible collaboration. As did MIECF, he believed that green businesses in Macao would continue to prosper in the future.
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Electric vehicles drew attention of the crowds in the 2010 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Exhibition and Forum (2010MIECF). Apart from the Companhia de Electricidade de Macau, Macao Green Environmental Protection Motor Vehicle Association also showcased electric vehicles at the exhibition. The Association exhibited a hybrid electric vehicle, modified hybrid electric vehicle and one electric vehicle manufactured in the Mainland. As the title reveals, both gasoline and electricity are compatible with the hybrid electric vehicle. The device is also equipped with a computed automatic energy adjustment function, allowing the vehicle to consume electricity and gasoline at high and low speed respectively. It is also pointed out that slow-driving and the intermittent starting and turning off the engine wasted the most gasoline and posed the most serious pollution to the environment. The Association expressed that a gas vehicle can travel 13-14 km with 1 liter of gasoline, while a hybrid vehicle travels over 20 km with the same amount of gas, saving 50% of gasoline. The Association also highlighted that the price of hybrid vehicles may cost over MOP$200,000 each and is rather expensive. Hence the Association co-operated with the Macao Electric Vehicle Research Center and supported local engineers to modify a decade-old gasoline vehicle to an electric vehicle. Although the traditional lead acid battery is adopted, the vehicle can still travel up to 150 km after fully charged. The said vehicle is still under testing at the moment, but it is already a leap forward in developing electric vehicles. Numerous benefits are spotted in the pioneering electric vehicle of the Companhia de Electricidade de Macau, such as the absence of fuse emission, quiet and smooth driving, low operation and maintenance cost, and most importantly, the vehicle enjoys high power efficiency. The electricity cost of electric vehicle is only one-third of the gasoline, i.e. MOP$0.16/km. Calculating at the current charges of MOP$1.3/w, it costs about MOP$20 to charge the vehicle with 16w of electricity.
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Numerous overseas exhibitors were attracted to The Macao International Environmental Co-operation Exhibition and Forum (MIECF) each year, with 2010 no exception. Exhibitors affirmed the potential of development in Macao and seized the opportunity to come and promote their brands, hoping to increase contact with the market and explore the flourishing business opportunity in this emerging Asian city. Located in the vicinity of the entrance, the noticeable European Pavilion has been established this year to showcase environmental products and services of various countries of the European Union. Corporations and institutions of countries like Germany, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, Belgium and France have come and set up booths in the Pavilion. Graham Cottingham, representative of AirconMiser Limited, a British manufacturer specifies in air-conditioning energy saving system, expressed the intention of opening up the Macao market through this exhibition, “After operating business in Hong Kong for some years, we decided to participate in MIECF 2010 through channels like British Consulate-General Hong Kong and European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Despite the vicinity of Macao and Hong Kong, it will be difficult for us to enter the Macao market if we restrict our market activities in Hong Kong alone. Hence we made effort to partake the exhibition this year.” The international exhibition veteran highlighted that Macao enjoys the benefits of comprehensive transportation and facilities without the pressure and tension in Hong Kong. Such atmosphere enables him to remain relaxed while at work. “Although we usually witness a larger crowd in exhibitions of Hong Kong, the high pedestrian flow often limits our time to communicate with each interviewee. I might have to deal with enquiries from another interested buyer before giving the interviewee a full understanding of our products. I ended up spending loads of time in answering questions, yet only a few of them can really understand our services. One major highlight of Macao exhibition is that fellow merchants are allowed more time for understanding our exhibits, while I am able to recognize their needs in a more interactive manner.” said Cottingham. Api Aduit Limtied is another participating European institution which offers quality control and consulting services. Booth manager Gabriel Amouyal believed that the numerous multi-national corporations stationing in Macao, especially those in the hospitality and entertainment industry, would find their assessment and consultation services concerning carbon emission and corporate environmental responsibility valuable. “Our services focus not only on the management of production line. For example, the operation of procurement in a hotel also involved environmental issues. It is our desire to explore the market of related corporations.” Furthermore, he stressed that the gathering of representatives from various regions in the European Pavilion enables him to maintain business partnership with EU corporations while tapping into the Asian market at the same time. Some of the booths are taken care of by the corresponding Consulate-General and they all believed that they were able to further promote the green image of their country in Asia by partaking in MIECF. Ms. Mensick of the Netherlands Pavilion stated, “We hope to enlighten more Asians about the environmental endeavors of the Netherlands. I believe that more people will get to know our country through the exhibition this year, meeting our original expectations.”
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Great news for those who want to accurately monitor their cardiovascular health status! The “e-Home Healthcare” system, which has been developed with the technical support from the University of Macau (UM), will spare users the trouble of going to the hospitals. With this system, users can monitor their cardiovascular health status in the comfort of their homes. Moreover, users can get monitoring results and early warning messages through various telecommunication equipment such as computers, smart phones and PDAs, thus preventing cardiovascular diseases and the resulting pathological conditions. Cardiovascular diseases are complicated. The severity and symptoms vary from patient to patient. External factors such as seasonal and temperature changes and air pollution also play an important role. Therefore, accurate monitoring of the cardiovascular health status is of extreme importance. The “e-Home Healthcare” system, which was developed by the research team from The Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering of Macau (INESC-Macau), with the funding from the Macao Science & Technology Development Foundation (FDCT) and the Research Committee of UM and the technical support from UM, allows users to monitor their cardiovascular health status at home and take more relevant healthcare measures based on the monitoring results. The project took more than three years to complete. Yesterday (9 April 2010) the INESC-Macau, the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) of UM, and the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory of UM, jointly held a presentation to update the audience on the operation method, technical features, hospital testing results and future R&D direction of the system. Through a combination of software and hardware, the “e-Home Healthcare” system allows users to monitor their cardiovascular health status at home through personal computers or the Internet. It noninvasively samples the sphygmorgram i.e. the wrist pulse waveform; utilizes various techniques such as wavelet analysis, support vector machines, and dynamic study of intracranial arterial blood flow to process and analyze the collected pulse waveform; and then uses artificial intelligence and computer-aided cardiovascular expert diagnostic techniques to process, analyze and diagnose the collected data. Through such a process it can quickly diagnose the users’ cardiovascular health status and give early warning messages. Moreover, the health index curve obtained through the long-term monitoring enables users to know their cardiovascular health trends and take more relevant healthcare measures. The “e-Home Healthcare” system adopts innovative, state-of-the-art technologies such as 2-dimension physiological signal feature characterization technique, multi-dimension mapping relationship model between pathophysiological symptoms and diseases, hybrid biomedical signals intelligent processing and medical decision-making support technique, intelligent analysis concerning uncertainty cases and pattern recognition based on fuzzy inference and prognosis etc. . Novel functions and features of the system include: 1）User-friendly interface with powerful functions, easy to use. 2）obtain stable and reliable pulse waveform via real-time signal auto-adjustment;
3) Intelligently extract and process the feature points from waveform and derive 32 hemodynamic-related cardiovascular health indices through designed model, which reflect the health status of the heart, blood vessels, blood and microcirculation; 4) Adopt a cardiovascular parameter indicating system similar to the traffic lighting system, with pink meaning beyond normal range, green meaning within normal range, and yellow meaning critical value. 5) An analysis model based on medical knowledge to enable fast analysis results and early warning messages.
6) Provide early warning messages in case the cardiovascular parameter is beyond the normal range; offer further explanation and useful information for reference at the click of the warning messages.
7) Automatically generate the long-term health indices curve to enable users to know the health status of their cardiovascular systems. 8) Store historical pulse waveform data, analysis results and early warning messages in the users’ individual files, thus more reliably predicting the potential pathological changes of the cardiovascular system;
9) Remote online intelligent analysis and system updating: by uploading the sampled physiological data to the backyard health center through the Internet, the feedback of in-time analysis results, which are obtained through the server’s more precise and reliable computing and reasoning based on his mass clinical records, medical knowledge and historical data, will be displayed on the front client’s displayer, and the client’s medical knowledge base will be simultaneously and automatically updated.
10) Suitable for family use, user-friendly design to enable independent operation by an adult user. Samples of this system have been tested by two registered hospitals in Guangxi Province and Beijing, one nursing home in Zhejiang Province, and an insurance company in Macao, which shows that its precision and stability both meet expectations. So far the research team has published seven high-level international and domestic journal papers and 19 conference papers. Another six papers have been included as the book chapters individually. In addition, application for the contrivance patent of China has passed the preliminary inspection and is now in the public announcement phase.
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The Seminar for International Green Industry Exchanges (the Seminar) of the 2010 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (2010 MIECF) had been successfully held in the afternoon of 9 April. The Seminar aimed at promoting green industry exchanges and co-operation in various regions such as the Mainland (particularly the Pan-PRD (PPRD) region), EU and Macao and the event has further highlighted Macao’s role as a green industry co-operation service platform for the Mainland, EU and overseas regions. The moderator of the Seminar is Prof. Hao Yufan, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Macau. Representatives from government departments, enterprises and green organisations in the Mainland (particularly the PPRD region), EU and Macao have conducted discussions on the development trend of environmental technology and green business opportunities. The Seminar was attended by Mr. Jian Xingchao, Deputy Director-General of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Environmental Protection Department, Mr. Zhou Zihua, Deputy Inspector of Department of Industry & Information Technology of Hainan Province, Mr. Ou Jun, Deputy Secretary of Guangdong Association of Environment Protection Industry, Ms. Fu Yeqiu, Director of Climate Change Division, Guizhou Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Liu Guoping, Deputy Chairman of Fujian Association of Environmental Protection Industry, Mr. Colin Hygate, Chairman of Green Fuels Ltd, Mr. Jaime Domingos Ferreira Silva, Director of MagPower Group, Mr. Xie Guangwu, Deputy Director of Chengdu Hydroelectric Investigation and Design Institute of HydroChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation, Mr. Zhang Wudi, Professor of Yunnan Normal University, Mr. Tang Zhimin, Director of Engineering Department of Jiangxi Association of Environmental Protection Industry, Mr. Massimo Bagnasco, Chair of Beijing Construction Working Group, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Dr. Wang Kaixuan, General Manager of Zhuhai Boka Cool Source Equipment Co Ltd, Mr. Liu Xiaojing, Deputy General Manager of Shenzhen GreenWheel Electric Vehicle Co Ltd, Mr. Pedro Pestana de Aguiar, Director of Mobizero Group Co Ltd and Dr. Steve T Chen, Managing Director of Halo Motor Co Ltd. The Seminar was attended by nearly 100 guests including representatives from Mainland, EU and local environmental industries, enterprises as well as academics in the field.
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To enhance public environmental awareness and to educate the public on how to enjoy green living, 2010 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2010MIECF) will hold the “Green Public Day” and open this event to members of the public tomorrow (April 10). The green event, held at Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, will be opened to the public from 10:00 to 17:00 tomorrow. Members of the public are invited to tour the exhibition and visit a dedicated green education area, which will display models of Macao’s environmental protection facilities and equipments, and panels introducing Macao’s natural environment and ways to enjoy a green life. Members of the public may also ride on an electric car and experience such zero-emission transportation means at Exhibition Hall B from 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00. Interested visitors may register at the “Green Public Day” booth at Exhibition Hall A. Due to the limited opening hours, only 80 visitors will be served on a first-come first-served basis. Highlights of the “Green Public Day” include a green fashion show by students of Institute For Tourism Studies (at 10:30 and 13:30), Living Green Q & A (at 10:45 and 14:45), environmental music and dance show (at 11:45 and 14:30), and a green workshop introducing the making of recycled bags and other green products (at 12:00 and 15:00). Representatives from Establishing a Water Conservation Society Working Group, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau and Environment Protection Bureau will hold a 15-minute presentations on Macao’s water, green environment and low-carbon living at 11:00, 14:00 and 15:00. Free shuttle buses will take visitors to the exhibition tomorrow. The shuttle buses connect Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from Av. Dr. Mario Soares (The Macau Square), Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida and Estr. Marginal do Hipodromo. They run every 30 minutes, from 09:00 to 18:30. Visitors may also get a four-hour free parking coupon for Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel at the exhibition venue. For inquiries, please contact the 2010MIECF Secretariat in telephone (853) 7898-9675, fax (853) 2872-7123, email miecf2010@ipim.gov.mo, or visit the 2010 MIECF official website: www.macaomiecf.com. Release Date: April 9, 2010
Source: 2010 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2010MIECF)
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