News

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, has sent his greetings to the people of Macao during the joyful spring festival on behalf of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government. Mr Ho said that we had not only enriched our experience and consolidated our confidence, but had also sharpened our minds through various experience the society had gained over the past year. Macao would have sustainable continuous development when we continued to keep our coherent attitude. For the Lunar New Year ahead, the Chief Executive encouraged Macao residents to face challenges with active behaviour, and to grow with faith. He cheered the citizens for future success with a motto: hard work makes success, co-operation makes enlargement, devotion makes gain, and present makes future. Promotion of humanities and establish ethical principles to our times are important measures the MSAR Government would implement, he said. He urged everyone to devote their efforts to the society so that we might live in a place full of opportunities. Mr Ho expressed his sincere greetings to civil servants and citizens who had to work over the holidays. As spring returns in the Year of the Dog, he also wished everyone in Macao a fruitful, harmonious and serene New Year.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that number of licensed vehicles in Macao reached 153,867 at the end of 2005, of which 51% (78,816) were motorcycles and 44% (68,334) were light vehicles. New registration of vehicles surged by 15% year-on-year to 17,550 in 2005, motorcycles and light vehicles accounted for 59% and 38% respectively of the new registrations. There were 13,318 cases of traffic accidents reported in 2005, an increase of 4% over 2004, resulting in 4,331 casualties and 18 of them were killed. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China grew by 10% to 3,101,421 vehicle trips. The Border Gate was the major passage that took up 78% of the total, the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 687,254 vehicle trips. In 2005, arrival and departure of commercial flights at the Macao International Airport totalled 42,766, up by 12% over 2004. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 53% and 36% of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, 17,061 helicopter flights (-7% year-on-year) between Macao and Hong Kong were recorded; besides, helicopter flights between Macao and Mainland China totalled 3,022 in 2005. Compared with 2004, passenger transport by sea between Hong Kong and Macao increased by 6% to 80,052 ferry trips, while passenger ferry between Macao and Mainland China (11,562 trips) rose by 8%. Number of cargo vessel departures was 11,986, with a total capacity of 3,331,000 net registered tons, 66% (7,866) of the vessels were flying the Chinese flag. In 2005, total seaborne container throughput was 117,482 TEUs or 93,935 seaborne containers handled, which fell by 10% and 8% compared with 2004. Number of container flow by land showed a 17% year-on-year decrease to 9,401. In addition, gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo in the first eleven months of 2005 decreased by 14% over 2004 to 267,940 tonnes, of which 80,676 tonnes were transshipment goods; meanwhile, gross weight of containerized cargo by land dropped by 19% to 81,447 tonnes, including 62,229 tonnes of transit goods. Total weight of outward cargo handled at the Macao International Airport registered a year-on-year decrease of 9% to 96,366 tonnes in 2005, while that of inward cargo also fell by 6% to 27,957 tonnes. Number of fixed telephone lines totalled 174,389 at the end of 2005; mobile telephone and stored value GSM card users reached 532,758. Regarding internet services, number of subscribers increased to 88,592 and cumulative hour of usage reached 79.18 million hours in 2005, up by 15% and 47% respectively compared with 2004.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the fourth quarter of 2005, the average daily nominal wage of construction workers was MOP454, of which the average daily nominal wage of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers was MOP486 and unskilled workers MOP282. The overall nominal wage index increased 6.4% compared with the third quarter of 2005. Nominal wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 6.6%, and that of unskilled workers went up 4.4%. In the fourth quarter of 2005, the overall real wage index increased 5.0% compared with the third quarter of 2005. Real wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 5.2%, and that of unskilled workers went up 3.1%. Among the various occupations of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers, the real wage index of truck drivers rose the most, up 15.0%, whereas that of plant operators registered the largest decline, down 7.0%. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2004, the overall real wage index increased 25.1%, of which the index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 24.5%, and that of unskilled workers went up 29.7%. Compared with the whole year of 2004, both the 2005 annual nominal and real wage indices of construction workers recorded increments, up 27.3% and 21.8% respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the fourth quarter of 2005, price indices rose in most of the surveyed construction materials, compared with the third quarter of 2005. Steel, aluminium, sand, concrete, aggregates, glass, paint, pipes, sanitary articles, cement and electric wires rose between 0.1% and 7.8%, whilst lime, timber, red bricks and ceramic products fell between 0.1% and 3.1%. Among the above changes in price indices, sand recorded the largest increase of 7.8%, whereas red bricks decreased the most, down 3.1%. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2004, price indices rose in all the surveyed construction materials, with the biggest increase in sand, up 40.4%, followed by concrete, up 16.5%. Compared with the whole year of 2004, the price indices in most of construction materials rose in 2005, except sanitary articles, which was down by 0.2%. The biggest increase was in electric wires, up 34.4%.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for October - December 2005 was 4.0%, which remained at the same level as recorded in September - November 2005, and decreased by 0.1 percentage point compared with the same period of 2004. The underemployment rate was 1.4%, down by 0.1 percentage point compared with September - November 2005, but unchanged compared with the same period of 2004. Number of the unemployed searching for their first job was about 1,100, which represented 10.6% of the total unemployed population, down by 3.1 percentage points over September - November 2005. Compared with September - November 2005, the unemployment situation continued to improve in Hotels, restaurants & similar activities; and Retail trade sector. Recreational, cultural, gaming & other service activities also showed improvement, while the situation was less favourable in Real estate, renting & business activities; and Transport, storage & communications. Total labour force was estimated at 259,000 in October - December 2005; the employed and the unemployed populations were 249,000 and 10,000 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 64.3%, up by 0.8 and 1.3 percentage points respectively compared with September - November 2005 and the same period of 2004. Administrative information from the Public Security Police indicated that number of non-resident workers with working permits totalled 39,411 at the end of December 2005, an increase of 13.5% over September 2005. Please refer to the attached table for detailed information on non-resident workers by industry.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today that the interaction of different thoughts and concepts, which developed in the evolving society, had lifted Macao people’s consciousness as the master of the SAR. Mr Ho was speaking when he attended the Lunar New Year reception hosted by the Liaison Office of the Central Government in the Macao SAR. He said that in the past year, China had achieved political, economic and cultural developments, and those different developments had interacted in harmony, thus improving people’s livelihood. The society was moving towards the goal of prosperity and harmony, with the continued advancement in the successful implementation of “One Country Two System” principle, and in the course to unify the country, he said. “The fifth plenary session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has drawn a incisive, sustainable blueprint for the country’s development in the next five years and it is expected that the achievement of the reformation would be shared by everyone in the country. “With the trust and support of the Central Government, the Macao SAR had sailed through the Year of the Rooster, grasping the pulse of our time and following closely our country’s developments. Many new issues were set to be discussed and matters that raised public concerns had been discussed in depth.” He said continued economic growth had contributed to Macao’s prosperity, but more importantly was the interaction of different thoughts and concepts which promoted the active adjustments in many issues, which prepared the SAR for its future and lifted Macao people’s consciousness as the master of the SAR. The Central Government had continued to fully support the Macao SAR in many aspects and intensified the policies favourable to the SAR in order to meet the needs of social development. “The experience of the development of Macao SAR in the past six years had became an important part of the successful implementation of ‘One Country Two Systems’ principle.” Mr Ho conveyed his gratitude to the staff of the Liaison Office for their efforts in ensuring the continued and stable implementation of the Central Government’s policy in Macao. He said with the strong leadership of its Director, Mr Bai Zhijian, the office would always carry out its duty with excellence.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government announces the 17th Macao Arts Festival (MAF) to be held between 11 March and 1 April 2006. This year the Macao Arts Festival beats all its previous performance records. In 22 days, Macao will host 39 performances of 18 different shows. Artists from every corner of world will present shows mixing tradition and modernity from Macao, Mainland China, Vietnam, Portugal, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Guinea-Conakry, and Canada. In this 17th edition of the Festival, two companies highlighting the circus show why these arts have found new audiences all over the world. Circus Baobab, the first of its kind in Africa, opens the festival. Emerging from a cultural collaboration between France and Guinea-Conakry, they employ modern circus techniques to distil the purest essence of African tradition. On 11 March, Sai Van Lake Square will be decorated with a baobab, a tropical tree the branches of which will be the stage for jugglers, dancers, and acrobats. Marinated in a cauldron of many arts, the drama of Balagan -- a circus extravaganza to be staged at the Macau Tower on 30 and 31 March -- is peppered with humour and sensuality. This recipe for dreams from the creative mind of Sebastiano Toma (Tiger Lilies Circus) gathers dancers, acrobats, and circus artists from many countries to swim and stir in the brew of dreams that is Balagan’s stage. There are many local performances this year with the Bamboo Bazaar making a fresh entrance in the festival’s programme. During the weekend of 25 and 26 March, a stage for local Macao performers will call attention to the Senado Square. Over 160 local artists are being given the chance to present their work in the 2006 Visual Arts Annual Exhibition. Display will cross the Tap Seac Gallery borders reaching up to the Mount Fortress Access. The opening is on 25 March. Drama promises to attract many to the Cultural Centre with two local performances. The Dóci Papiaçám di Macau Drama Group presents an enticing new play in Patois entitled “Paradise Village” (25 and 26 March). Like the Macanese troupe, Theatre Farmers also stage a story, “Everlasting Beauty,” that humorously investigates Macao society. Cantonese opera has its own place in the festival with the performance Trading Twins (18, 19 March at Alegria Theatre) by the Chinese Opera Troupe of the General Union of Neighbours’ Association of Macao. A sense of humour and liveliness enrich this performance. Dynamic and imaginative, the story mixes the gentle and poetic with stirring battle scenes and comic relief, appealing to a diverse audience. In the musical world, The Macao Orchestra will take the public on a grand tour, from the familiar romantic settings of Brahms to faraway Scandinavia and Russia. Under the baton of Tsung Yeh, the Macao Orchestra will present a string of pearls from 50 years in the life of the father of new music in Hong Kong, Macao’s own Doming Lam. Reflections of East and West sparkle as one in these gems of Chinese contemporary music written by a man hailed by Tan Dun as one of today’s most important composers. From Mainland China comes one of the best contemporary drama theatre troupes. The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre will serve up “The Flavour of Cappuccino” on two nights (16 and 17 March, with surtitles in Portuguese and English) at the beautiful Dom Pedro V Theatre. Inspired by the human fabric of urban existence, this ultra-caffeinated “cappuccino” stimulated sold-out audiences for the first 20 days of its debut in Shanghai. Chinese dramatic brilliance will illuminate the Cultural Centre as it hosts a performance by the Wuhan Beijing Opera Theatre. Only recently have The Golden Lotus Feet (with surtitles in Portuguese and English) worn their miniature shoes upon the stage. This is a lost tradition lately restored to the public eye by this Beijing Opera troupe, now performing for the Macao Arts Festival. A troupe of 12 puppeteers will portray Vietnamese legends while dragons and fairies dance behind the puppet theatre’s bamboo curtain. Over 150 puppets of the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre give new life to one of the most ancient art forms in all of Asia, born almost a thousand years ago in the lakes of the villages of Vietnam. Handed down from generation to generation, this ancient art will be presented to the public in over 15 performances at the Barra Square (with surtitles in Chinese, Portuguese and English). Europe is the most featured continent in this year’s programme. On 18 March at the Cultural Centre, accompanied by the Septet La Habana 99, Portuguese popular singer Vitorino relives his childhood memories of boleros like Las Tres Palabras and Guantanamera. The bolero crossed the border from Madrid to Portugal decades ago and incited the people to dance to their rhythm. In a marriage of two cultures enamoured with one another for centuries, the Portuguese group Ala dos Namorados will join the delicate traditional sounds of The Macao Chinese Orchestra at the Mount Fortress stage on 17 March in a concert that will also include solo performances by the two groups. From the Czech Republic, Theatre Image will create on March 25 and 26 poetic illusions by setting colours in motion, by unfolding mysteries with magic tricks that leave the stage and enter into the audience. Appealing to families, this combination of dance, music, and the other circus arts have worked in harmony within the black velvet scenery of Theatre Image’s more than 6000 performances worldwide for the past decade. They now bring the very best of this black magic to Macao, to challenge the audience‘s imagination. It is from their own land that the Slovak National Folkloric Ballet draws its inspiration. For the past 50 years they have opened eyes and ears all over the world to the typical dances and sounds of their Eastern European country. This group of 30 dancers, joined as a rule by a band and choir, is reputed to be the highest expression of Slovak culture and said to weave the very fabric of tradition from living colour; strong arguments that make this one of the most important groups to perform in Macau, at the Cultural centre, closing the Arts Festival with a golden key.
Workshops and conferences will be held to promote public interest and participation in the arts. Similar to previous years’ festivals, rehearsals for some shows will be open to the public. The Macao Government Tourist Office kindly supports the 17th Macao Arts Festival promotion in Mainland China and overseas. The performances held at the Macao Cultural Centre are supported by the Macao Cultural Centre’s rental subsidy scheme. Tickets for the 17th Macao Arts Festival will be available after 10am on 27 January 2006 at all Kong Seng Paging outlets. There will be a variety of discount plans (up to 40%). Chinese New Year envelopes will be offered on tickets purchased before the Chinese New Year. Detailed publicity materials are available at ticket counters.
For more information please check the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at www.icm.gov.mo Information (853) 555 555 in Macao; (852) 2380 5083 in Hong Kong
Online Reservations: www.macauticket.net
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah today meet with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vanuatu, Mr Sato Kilman. Mr Ho was accompanied by Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen. The meetingwas followed by a banquet hosted by Mr Ho at the Government Guest House. After their arrival in Macao this afternoon, Mr and Mrs Kilman visited the Macau Tower, the Macau Grand Prix Museum, the Wine Museum, The Ruins of St Paul Church and the Handover Gifts Museuum. Mr Kilman is scheduled to leave Macao tomorrow. The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation located in the Islands of Melanesia in South Pacific Ocean, consisting of aboaut 80 Islands, 68 of them inhabited. The Republic of Vanuatu had established diplomatic ties with China on 26 March 1982.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that Composite CPI for December 2005 was 101.06, up by 0.43% compared with November 2005. The increasing charges of medical services, rising prices in jewellery and air tickets pushed the indices of Health; Other goods and services; and Transport and communications up by 0.92%, 0.76% and 0.60% respectively. On the other hand, Education and leisure was the only section that recorded a decreasing index (-0.02%) in December, as a result of price reduction in video and sound equipment. Composite CPI for December 2005 registered a significant year-on-year increase of 5.61%. For the fourth quarter of 2005, Composite CPI recorded a 1.34% increase over the third quarter. In comparison with the same quarter of 2004, Composite CPI rose by 5.56%. In 2005, the annual average Composite CPI went up by 4.40% over 2004, with marked increases in the indices of Rent and housing expenses (+8.27%); Education and leisure (+4.07%); as well as Foodstuff and beverages (+3.99%). Compared with the previous month, CPI(A) and CPI(B) for December 2005 increased by 0.39% and 0.38% respectively. In addition, the annual average CPI(A) and CPI(B) for 2005 rose by 4.50% and 4.20% respectively over 2004. CPI(A) relates to 54% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP3,000 - MOP9,999. CPI(B) relates to 26% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 - MOP19,999.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, has accorded honours and awards to 33 people and organisations for their significant contribution to the city. The presentation ceremony was held today at the Cultural Centre. The recipients come from all walks of life. They were honoured or awarded in recognition of their to Macao or for their dedicated public and community service. The Medal of Honour is awarded to outstanding individuals and organisations for their contribution to the image, reputation and development of the MSAR. The recipients are: Tong Chi Kin (Golden Lotus); Cheong Chou Kei (Silver Lotus); Lo Weng (Silver Lotus); The Medal of Merit, in seven categories including Profession, Industry and Commerce, Tourism, Education, Culture, Altruism and Sport are given to outstanding individual and organisation that have distinguished service in promoting the development of the relevant sectors in Macao. The recipients are: Pedro Manuel Batalha (Profession);
Chan Hio Wan (Profession);
Ho Kuai Leng (Industry and Commerce);
Sin Chi Yiu (Industry and Commerce);
Chui Yuk Lum Antonio (Industry and Commerce);
Sio Un I (Industry and Commerce);
Andrew Walter Stow (Tourism);
Li Pik Ki (Education);
Au Tin Heong (Education);
The Chinese Educators' Association of Macau (Education);
Fr. Luis Sequeira (Culture);
Tong Mui Siu (Culture);
Association Piedosa Asilo de São José de Macau (Altuism);
The Scout Association of Macau (Altuism);
Zeng Tieming (Sport);
Huang Yanhui (Sport);
Cheang Veng Kin (Sport); Distinguish Service Medal is given to outstanding individual and organisation for their fulfillment in duty. The recipients are: The Macao volunteer medical team of the China International Rescue Team for the South Asian Earthquake. (Bravery) The Interlectual Property Department of the Macao Custom Service (Bravery);
Cheang Kuok Keong (Dedication); Commendations of Prestige and of Merit are given to individuals who have contributed to the development of MSAR. The recipients are: Alan John Hackett (Prestige);
Saba Payman (Prestige);
Wong Wing Cheung, Victor (Merit);
Qin Zhijian (Merit);
Au Wai Hong (Merit);
Cheong Chi Un (Merit);
Chan Chi Chon (Merit);
Mak Pui In (Merit);
Vong Heong Lon (Merit);
Yang Houqin (Merit);
Jia Rui (Merit);
Paula Cristina Pereira Carion (Merit);
Chong Ka Lap (Merit);
Kuan Sok Mui (Merit);
The Macao Women’s Small Dragon Boat Team in the 4th East Asian Games (Merit); The Macao Men’s Small Dragon Boat Team in the 4th East Asian Games (Merit); The Macao Roller Hockey Team in the 11th Asian Roller Hockey Trophey (Merit).
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