News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers was MOP529 in the first quarter of 2010, same as that in the previous quarter. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers stayed unchanged at MOP566, of which scaffolders (MOP679), welders (MOP649), plant operators (MOP638) and concreters and drain layers (MOP629) were earning higher average wages; meanwhile, the average daily wage of unskilled workers (MOP313) registered a decrease of 12.3%. After discounting the effect of inflation, the wage index of construction workers for the first quarter of 2010 was 94.7 in real terms, down by 1.9% over the previous quarter. As regards construction materials, the average price of spiral and round reinforcing steel bars decreased slightly by 0.6% quarter-to-quarter to MOP4,226 per tonne, and that of Portland cement fell by 2.5% to MOP625 per tonne; however, the average price of sand registered an increase of 6.7% to MOP80 per cubic metre. In the first quarter of 2010, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings rose by 4.5% quarter-to-quarter to 132.4; in particular, the price indices of electric wires and aluminium increased by 14.2% and 8.6% respectively, while the price indices of steel and concrete pipe piles went down by 0.6% and 0.7%. Compared with the same quarter of 2009, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings registered an increase of 4.1%.
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The 21st Macao Arts Festival runs from the 1st to the 29th of May. To enable audiences to get the most from the performances, and to enhance the interactions between artists and the public, the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau is proud to present a series of free discussion sessions and lectures, to take place from the 8th to the 25th of May. These events provide audience members with the opportunity to talk to artists, while allowing the artists to share the experiences they had when designing and rehearsing their work. On the discussion panel at the pre-performance discussion session for the Macao Chinese Orchestra concert will be the Orchestra's Principal Conductor, Pang Ka Pang, along with the nationally renowned composers Li Binyang, Kuan Nai Chung and Liu Wenjin, whose music is featured on the concert programme. Li Binyang is the composer of the 29th Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony theme song. Kuan Nai Chung has served as conductor and composer in residence with the Oriental Song-and-Dance Ensemble, composer in residence with the Chinese Artistic Orchestra and conductor of the Beijing Arts Orchestra and China Song-and-Dance Ensemble. Liu Wenjin was honoured as an Outstanding Artist by the China Ministry of Culture. The leading actor in the Cantonese opera The Red Silk Romance, Peng Chiquan, will give a lecture on “Cantonese Opera Musical Analysis”. In addition, there will be a workshop held for the drama Stories of the Rose Alley, for which the director, Cheang Kai Sang, and the actors have been invited to share their thoughts on the topic “The Fading of a Historical City – the creative process behind Stories of the Rose Alley”. Director Lawrence Lei and the actors from the drama In a Grove will hold a workshop titled “In a Grove: a pre-performance script reading” before the play begins. Moreover, a series of discussions on the performances La Boîte (The Box), In a Grove and Yummy, It’s Good! will take place following each of these shows.
Audience members interested in attending any of these events are welcome to call 8399 6699 for registration. Admission is granted on a first come, first served basis, so seize the chance! For any enquires and for further information, please visit www.icm.gov.mo/fam or dial 8399 6699.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today met with the Secretary of the Guangdong CPC Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Yang, and the Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral co-operation. This is the first time Mr Chui met with the Guangdong leaders in his official capacity after he assumed the position of Chief Executive of the Macau SAR last December. The meeting took place in Guangzhou where Mr Chui expressed his appreciation towards Guangdong for supporting Macao permanently. He said he agreed with the Guangdong leaders that the two places should joint hands to speed up the implementation of the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta Plan (2008-2020) and the Hengqin Overall Development Plan for the benefit of the nation and the people. Mr Wang Yang said that the two plans, approved by the State Council had accentuated the development and function of Hengqin Island. The State Council has upgraded Guangdong-Macao co-operation as one of the national development strategies. Both parties also exchanged views on stepping up co-operation at all levels. After the meeting, Mr Chui and the Macao delegation visited Zhuhai on the first nine cities in the Pearl River Delta that Mr Chui would visit. Accompanied by the Major of Zhuhai, Mr Zhong Shijian, the Chief Executive was briefed on the projects of the Hengqin Central Business District and the Chimelong International Ocean Resort. Afterwards, the Zhuhai Municipal Party Secretary, Mr Gan Lin, introduced Mr Chui to the progress of the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta Plan (2008-2020) after it has been implemented for more than a year. During the meeting, they discussed co-operation in tourism under the Plan. Mr Chui said that a taskforce has been set up to follow up on bilateral co-operation. The Chief Executive will soon visit the other eight cities in the Pearl River Delta.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for January - March 2010 held stable at 2.9% and the underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.8% in comparison with the previous period (December 2009 - February 2010). Total labour force was 323,300 in January - March 2010 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.1%, with the employed population increasing by 600 over the previous period to 313,800. Analyzed by industry, employment of Retail Trade and the Hotel Sector saw increase from the previous period, while that of the Construction Sector and Wholesale Trade registered a decrease. In January - March 2010, number of the unemployed increased by about 300 from the previous period to 9,500, with 5.9% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 2.7 percentage points. In comparison with January - March 2009, the labour force participation rate and the unemployment rate dropped by 1.3 and 0.9 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the underemployment rate stayed unchanged. In the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate of local residents was 3.7%, same as the fourth quarter of 2009; the labour force participation rate of local residents increased slightly by 0.2 percentage point to 66.2%.
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The Institute For Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) has the honour in inviting Mr. Laurence Loh Kwong Yu, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) site evaluator for the World Heritage Sites of Macao and Kaiping, PRC, to deliver a public lecture on 26 April 2010 at IFT, on the topic – “What is the Spirit of Place?”. This public lecture, coordinated by the IFT’s Heritage Studies Centre, has attracted around 170 audiences. Finding and keeping “the spirit of place” has always been a major concern for most conservationists in preserving and restoring a physical structure. The spirit of place conveys the cultural essence of a site. It encompasses the meanings of a place accrued through time and through its past and present uses. Expressed through the tangible built heritage, these intangible heritage values give the place its distinctive character, an aura that draws people to the place, speaks to them, engages their emotions and, often, gives them a sublime experience of their surroundings. In this 90-minutes public lecture, Mr. Laurence Loh Kwong Yu acquainted the participants with how conservation of a physical structure articulates its spirit of place. Laurence has over 25 years of experience in protecting, conserving, managing and sustaining the cultural heritage of Malaysia. His expertise and contributions have been acknowledged nationally and regionally. The restoration and adaptive reuse of Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang, Malaysia, won him the “Most Excellent Project” in the inaugural UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards in 2000. He has received various awards since then and more recently, his work on the restoration of Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was conferred the “Award of Excellence” of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation in 2008. In parallel with his professional career path, Laurence has also devoted his time to education and capacity building. He is an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong and at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property for ICCROM in Rome, Italy. He was the ICOMOS site evaluator for the World Heritage Sites of Macao and Kaiping, PRC and is on the executive committee of the UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy of Heritage Management. The IFT’s Heritage Studies Centre was established in 2008. Its mission is to promote the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the field of heritage by working with intergovernmental agencies, academics and professionals. The Heritage Studies Centre is committed to promoting heritage studies in Macao and internationally, through conducting research and training programmes with local and global partners. Among the different projects, the Centre has written the training manual for the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Specialist Guides Programme that has been translated into six languages and adopted for the UNESCO World Heritage sites in ten countries. The Centre is also the focal point of training programme for Asian Academy of Heritage Management network. It has just hosted the Second UNESCO-ICCROM AAHM Conference on “Urban Heritage and Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities” in December last year, promoting academic exchange in the field.
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Pursuant to the stipulations of Administrative Regulation No. 9/2010 “The Regulation of Macao Special Administrative Region Refugee Identity Card”, the Identification Services Bureau will issue the Refugee Identity Card to persons who are qualified as refugee in accordance with Law No. 1/2004 “The Regime of Recognition and Loss of Refugee Status”. Applicants must produce a documentary proof issued by the Refugee Committee to recognize their refugee status. The Refugee Identity Card will adopt the traditional identity card design without chip embedded and its validity period is two years. The design is as following:
(* Please find the attachment) The Refugee Identity Card contains the following information: document number, date of first issuance, date of issuance, valid date, name of holder, date of birth, height, codes of place of birth and gender, facial image, signature and machine reading code. Refugee Identity Card
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With the aim to enable local SMEs’ gain access to information on overseas products, and enhance their knowledge on different product selections and quality assurance, the “Japan Wagyu Beef Quality Control and Evaluation Symposium” organized SME Service Centre, Association of Macao Frozen Meat Industry and Macao-Japan Exchange Association, co-organized by Sendai Central Meat Wholesale Market, will be held on April 29, 3 p.m. at Multi-function Conference Hall of Macao Business Support Centre (Alameda Dr. Carlos d’Assumpção No 263, Edif. China Civil Plaza, 19 Andar, Macau). In recent years, food & beverage and retailing are some of the industries that are faced with opportunities of increasing demand in product and service diversification triggered by Macao’s developing tourism market. Take the food & beverage market as an example, by promoting foreign cuisines, food culture and importing overseas food products, SMEs can grasp more business opportunities through a wider product variety for customers. In view of this, the symposium will focus on analyzing Japan Wagyu Beef and topics will include Macao meat consumption market, Japan Wagyu Beef quality control and evaluation. Representative from Macao Civics and Municipal Bureau will explain the procedures and important issues on importing frozen meat products. There will also be Japan Wagyu Beef product display during the symposium. The symposium will be conducted in both Cantonese and Japanese, with consecutive interpretation. SMEs interested in knowing more about overseas food product market and importing frozen meat products, merchandisers of restaurant and hotel operations are cordially welcomed to participate in the event. For more details and registration, please contact Mr. Ho or Ms. Leong of SME Service Centre (tel: 28728212; email: smec@ipim.gov.mo) or visit the IPIM website: www.ipim.gov.mo.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today met the the Vice President of Kuomintang, Mr Tseng Yung-chuan, who is also the President of the Friends of HongKong & Macau Association, and they exchanged views on enhancing the exchanges and co-operation on trade, tourism, education and culture between Macao and Taiwan. During the meeting, Mr Chui told Mr Tseng that the Policy Address delivered last month had pointed out that the Government would include Taiwan-related matters into its regular work areas and accelerate the studies on establishing a formal communication mechanism between Macao and Taiwan. He said that, based on the fabourable foundation of Cross-Strait exchanges, the Government would continue to optimise the co-operation between Macao and Taiwan on different aspects. To better promote Macao to the compatriots in Taiwan, Mr Chui said the Government had plans for a visit to Taiwan in the second half of the year and hold promotional activities, Macao Week, in Taiwan with the business sectors. The Government would encourage various associations to visit Taiwan and also welcome Taiwan organisations to visit Macao and learn more about the implementation of the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ in Macao, he said. He said he anticipated the strengthening of Macao-Taiwan co-operation in education, especially in the recognition of academic qualification. He also said he hoped the formal communication mechanism, which was under study now, could serve Macao residence and students in Taiwan in the future. The mechanism would definitely be positive for the continuous development of Macao-Taiwan relations and Cross-Strait relations. Mr Chui said he shared the same views of Mr Tseng on enhancing Macao-Taiwan relations, made an important speech at a Macao-Taiwan forum this morning. Tseng had said there were currently more than 20,000 Macao people living in Taiwan, and many Macao students furthered their education there. People had good impressions of in Macao residents in Taiwan, which exemplified the close relations between Macao and Taiwan. On the establishment of a formal communication mechanism, Mr Tseng said that it was in line with public opinions in both Macao and Taiwan, so it would certainly be supported from all sides concerned. Mr Chui and Mr Tseng reviewed on the contributions of Macao in the creation of “Macao mode” in the Cross-Strait charter flights during Chinese New Year, and agreed that Macao would continue to play an important and active role in the promotion of Cross-Strait relations. The participants of the meeting included the Director of Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Macao, Mr Lo Muh-Kuen, the Chief-of-Office of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, and the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today that the Government would unswervingly uphold the employment rights of Macao workers and, in accordance with the law, come down heavily on illegal workers and their employers. Speaking to the press after attending a forum on Macao-Taiwan relations, Mr Chui said the Government had introduced the Law on Employment of Non-Resident Workers, detailed regulations and related orders, to regulate the employment of non-resident workers. The Government would continue to make laws and regulations to further regulate the ratio between local and imported workers, and the withdrawal of imported labour and set up supervisory groups. Related regulations would soon be passed to the Executive Council for discussions and approval, he said. Mr Chui said the Government placed much importance on the employment rights of Macao workers, had listened to the opinions of different sectors, and introduced a series of measures to help ease unemployment, including vocational training and urgent subsidy. He re-iterated that the Government would continue to crack down on illegal workers.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the number of visitor and non-resident arrivals totalled 2,565,038 in March 2010. Total visitor arrivals increased by 6.7% year-on-year to 2,011,099. Same-day visitors (1,055,902) accounted for 52.5% of the total visitor arrivals, with 553,692 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China grew by 8.2% year-on-year to 1,057,395 (52.6% of total visitor arrivals), with 421,704 travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, down by 5.8% from March 2009 (447,465). Visitors from Hong Kong (569,466), Japan (41,815) and Malaysia (37,238) rose by 4.4%, 17.6% and 2.1% respectively; besides, visitors from the Republic of Korea (25,243), India (10,197) and Vietnam (8,232) also registered notable increases. However, those from Taiwan, China (114,409) decreased by 4.0%. Visitor arrivals totalled 6,115,221 in the first quarter of 2010, up by 12.1% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (3,334,375); Taiwan, China (330,215); and Japan (105,781) increased by 20.9%, 5.2% and 3.0% respectively, while those from Hong Kong (1,726,819) decreased slightly by 0.3%. In the first quarter of 2010, same-day visitors accounted for 52.0% of the total visitor arrivals, at 3,180,860. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 2,469,347 in the first quarter of 2010, up by 8.4% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour increased by 4.8% to 1,583,672, with the majority coming from Hong Kong (51.4%) and Mainland China (24.9%); meanwhile, those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa went up by 14.9% to 788,410. Visitor arrivals by land increased by 14.7% year-on-year to 3,213,932 in the first quarter of 2010; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 2,941,489 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (80.0%) and Hong Kong (13.0%). Visitor arrivals by air rose by 15.1% year-on-year to 431,942 in the first quarter of 2010. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport increased by 15.7% to 426,580, with the majority coming from Taiwan, China (35.9%); Mainland China (30.2%); and Malaysia (7.8%).
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