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The Olympic Torch Relay took place in Macao this afternoon. At the opening ceremony of the run, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said in a speech that the Olympic Games is the largest sporting event and it is encouraging and thrilling that Beijing is holding the 29th Olympic Games. The SAR Government and all the Macao people are honoured to hold the Torch Relay in Macao for the first time and it is a historic event for Macao, he said. On behalf of the Macao SAR, Mr Ho thanked the Central Government, the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) for providing the privilege to Macao to take part in the Torch Relay, the Journey of Harmony. The Olympic Flame bears the mission and dream of all the people in the world. After traveling to different parts of the five continents, the Olympic Flame arrived in Macao from where it will go on to the mother country, he said. Mr Ho said the Olympic Spirit will then spread to all corners of China and the new faces of China will be displayed to the world. He said that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will open on 8 August and the Macao SAR Government and all the people in Macao will fully support the Games. He wished that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games a great success.
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World Expo 2010 will be held from May 1 to October 31 in Shanghai China; Macao is preparing the construction of the Macao Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo exhibition site. Echoing the main theme of Shanghai Expo “Better City, Better Life”, the theme of Macao Pavilion is “Macao – Spirit of Cultures, Essence of Harmony”. Through displaying its essence of historical culture and harmony of socio-economic aspects, Macao will showcase its all-embracing and harmonizing development conception – the root inherited from the eastern and western cultural exchanges in Macao. Macao Pavilion will be situated in the south west of China Pavilion, and next to Hong Kong Pavilion. It will cover a site area of about 600 meter square, and an exhibition area of about 800 meter square. On behalf of the MSAR Government, Ms Ieong Pou Yee, Director of the Office for Preparation of Macao’s Participation in the Shanghai Expo, submitted Macao’s theme statement for its exhibition in the China Pavilion to the Shanghai Expo organizers on April 25 in Shanghai. Mr. Zhou Hanmin, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and China’s representative to the BIE, received the statement. Mr. Zhou also congratulated Macao’s ‘Tak Seng On’ Pawnshop for being listed in the final list of Urban Best Practice Area. Macao’s tradition of cultural exchanges is an embodiment of harmony. After four hundred years of historical sedimentation and social integration, a cultural structure unique to Macao has evolved. Primarily a Chinese culture mingled with Portuguese culture, it is a multi-colors all-embracing culture that could be fully demonstrated in different aspects, such as architecture, religion, cuisines, languages and living habits. Due to the harmonizing spirit of humanism shared by the Macao people, foreign culture could be retained and inter-grew in Macao. It not only continues the centuries old integration of Chinese-western culture, but also respects and tolerates the different cultures of the time. In recent years, the economy of Macao has experienced dramatic growth. It has attracted a huge amount of international investments, plus related new industries, management philosophy, operating models and international networks to blossom in Macao. These new elements interact with the local economy and integrate into the unique corporate culture of Macao. It enriches the contents and gradation of the Macao economy and lends an impetus to Macao’s diversification of economic development. The sustainable development of Macao is based on these aspirations of harmony and tolerance. The all-embracing and harmonizing development concept has brought up today’s Macao. It was in the past, and it will be in the future. The Shanghai Expo is rich in contents. It includes demonstrations of national (regional) pavilions, corporate pavilions, Urban Best Practice Area and Online Expo. In addition, there will be a series of activities, carnivals, parades and different types of forums. Macao will actively participate in the events under practical conditions.
The MSAR Government attaches great importance to the work of Macao’s participation in the Shanghai Expo. Due to its broad scope, several MSAR governmental departments including Government Information Bureau, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Economic Services, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Cultural Affairs Bureau and Macao Government Tourist Office will be involved in the work, coordinated by the Office for Preparation of Macao’s Participation in the Shanghai Expo. The Macao delegation, led by Director Ieong Pou Yee, held a working meeting with the related units of the Shanghai Expo during its stay in Shanghai from April 23-25. At the meeting, Director Ieong Pou Yee briefed the progress of Macao’s preparation work for the Shanghai Expo. She also exchanged views with the officials on matters such as Macao’s participations in various activities, forums, Urban Best Practice Area, pavilion construction, Macao Promotion Week, Online Expo, and ticketing; as well as matters of concrete operation and cooperation. The delegation also visited the showroom of the Shanghai Expo and Shanghai Fashion Pavilion – the Shanghai Innovative Industry Site.
The Macao delegation was invited to banquet by Li Mingjun, Director of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs under Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. During the banquet, Director Li congratulated Macao’s ‘Tak Seng On’ Pawnshop for being listed in the final list of Urban Best Practice Area. The two sides also exchanged views on the coordinating matters on Macao’s participation in the Shanghai Expo. The Macao delegation includes Sum Kam San, Adviser of the Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance, and representatives of Government Information Bureau, Economic Services and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. To promote general participation in the construction of Macao Pavilion in the Shanghai Expo, the MSAR Government will conduct the “Macao Pavilion Concept Design Competition” in May. The winning entries will be used as blueprints for the architectural design of the Macao Pavilion. Office for Preparation of Macao’s Participation in the Shanghai Expo
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Macau Government Tourist Office’s (MGTO) colorful campaign 'Experience Macau' was awarded as the ‘Best City Tourism Promotion Campaign in the Asia-Pacific Region’ by the first edition of the Seoul Tourism Awards 2008. “MGTO is very happy to be among the winners on the first edition of the Seoul Tourism Awards. This recognition shows that our campaign caught the public’s eye and conquered hearts in Korea - one of our priority markets -, indicating that our marketing strategy is well received,” said MGTO Director, João Manuel Costa Antunes. Macau Government Tourist Office’s multicolored campaign, launched worldwide last year with its promotional theme ‘Experience Macau’, has been actively promoted in South Korea by MGTO’s representative office, through a great variety of marketing tools. The campaign, created by MGTO’s head office and projected as a colorful collage of pictures of Macau, intends to create a unity of bold colors. Looking through this unity of colors, each color chip reveals Macau’s unique culture and custom with its beautiful scenery and reflects different experiences. Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan City Government, the first annual Seoul Tourism Awards is a new awards event to celebrate the best of city tourism promotion in Seoul and cities around the Asia-Pacific region. MGTO was awarded with the ‘Best City Tourism Promotion Campaign in the Asia-pacific Region’, included in the category of ‘Best Tourism Policy and Promotion’. There are award categories for ‘Best Travel Business Promotion’ and ‘Best On-line Tourism Promotion,’ among others. The prize giving ceremony for the Seoul Tourism Awards will take place on June 27 at the Republic of Korea capital. South Korean visitor arrivals to Macau have witnessed a strong two-digit increase since 2004, directly influenced by the launch of air connections between the two destinations. At present, Air Macau and Viva Macau provide direct flight services between Macau and Korea. Last year Macau welcomed 225,417 visitors from Republic of Korea, a 38.5 per cent year-on-year growth, with the country positioned as Macau’s seventh largest visitor source market. For the first quarter of this year, Korean visitors arrival figures showed rapid growth recording 92,048 visitors to Macau with an outstanding increase of 62.2 percent, ranking the fifth among the top ten visitor-generating markets for Macau. For more details on the Seoul Tourism Awards go to: http://www.stawards.com This press release is available at: www.macautourism.gov.mo
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‘Experience Macau’ campaign for the Korean market
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The Government will introduce more measures to relieve inflationary pressure borne by working class whenever necessary, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Addrssing a reception hosted by the Macao Federation of Trade Unions to tomorrow’s Labour Day, Mr Ho said the Government had introduced a host of measures last March and April, including subsidies for different sectors, to help enhance people’s livelihood. Mr Ho said the Government was well aware of the difficulties faced by the working class as prices climbed, and that it would guarantee residents a basic living and let them share Macao’s economic gains. It would continue to facilitate training courses for the working class, and employment matching and placement services. He vowed to continue to fight illegal employment of worker and to protect the rights of local workers. The Government would continue to diversify its economy and create more opportunities and a brighter future to residents, he said.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that number of licensed vehicles in Macao totalled 177,532 at the end of March 2008, an increase of 6% over the same period of 2007, of which 52% (93,166) were motorcycles and 41% (72,014) were light private cars. New registration of vehicles decreased by 7% year-on-year to 5,356 in the first quarter, with motorcycles and light vehicles accounted for 62% and 36% respectively. In the first quarter of 2008, the number of traffic accidents dropped by 5% over the same period of 2007 to 3,108 cases, which resulted in 961 casualties, including 1 death. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China rose by 11% to 977,511 vehicle trips. The Border Gate was the major passage that took up 82% of the total, while the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 170,559 vehicle trips. Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport totalled 12,717, up by 7% over the first quarter of 2007. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 40% and 29% of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong decreased by 5% year-on-year to 4,103 while 668 helicopter flights were recorded between Macao and Mainland China. Passenger transport by sea between Hong Kong and Macao rose by 4% to 22,455 ferry trips compared with the first quarter of 2007, while passenger ferry trips between Macao and Mainland China were 5,176, surge by 28%. As for containerized cargo, total seaborne container throughput in the first quarter of 2008 were 28,917 TEUs (-4% year-on-year) or 20,517 containers handled (-3%). Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo down by 3% to 76,120 tonnes, of which 6,684 tonnes were transshipment goods. Meanwhile, gross weight of containerized cargo by land jumped by 55% to 23,888 tonnes, including 6,625 tonnes of transit goods. Total weight of outward cargo handled at the Macao International Airport fell by 40% year-on-year to 9,940 tonnes in the first quarter of 2008. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major destinations that accounted for 68% and 14% of the total respectively. Concurrently, inward air cargo increased by 2% to 4,715 tonnes, of which cargos from Taiwan, China took a predominate share of 86%. In addition, transit air cargos handled dropped by 31% over the same quarter of 2007 to 14,929 tonnes. Number of mobile telephone and stored value GSM card users reached 829,440 at the end of March 2008, up by 23% over the same period of last year. Number of fixed telephone lines totalled 177,717 was similar to that of March 2007. Regarding internet services, number of subscribers increased to 123,117 and the cumulative hour of usage reached 54.7 million hours, up by 14% and 46% respectively over the first quarter of 2007.
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To facilitate users in obtaining consolidated statistics on construction costs, the Statistics and Census Service has combined the reports of Wages of Construction Workers and Prices of Construction Materials starting from the first quarter of 2008. In addition, to better reflect the movements of wage rates of construction workers, the wage indices of construction workers have been rebased to the period of the third quarter of 2005 to the second quarter of 2006. In the first quarter of 2008, the average daily wage of the overall construction workers was MOP570, down by 4.2% over the previous quarter. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers was MOP605, down by 3.2%, and that of unskilled workers rose by 8.5% to MOP395. Among the skilled & semi-skilled workers, truck drivers had the highest average daily wage of MOP731, up by 2.5% over the previous quarter, which was followed by air-conditioning mechanics, structural iron erectors and fire service mechanics, with MOP699, MOP631 and MOP628 respectively. After discounting the effects of inflation, the rebased real wage index of the overall construction workers for the first quarter of 2008 was 106.7, down by 5.9% from the preceding quarter, of which the wage index of skilled & semi-skilled workers decreased by 7.3% to 106.0 and that of unskilled workers increased by 4.9% to 111.9. In the first quarter of 2008, prices of most of the construction materials registered quarter-to-quarter growth, in which the average price of spiral and round reinforcing steel bars followed the rising trend of 2007, up by 20.3% over the previous quarter to MOP6,266 per tonne; the price of cement increased by 4.5% to MOP630 per tonne, and that of clamping plate (Plywood) stood at MOP63 per square metre, up slightly by 0.5%.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government will organize an Academic Research Lecture in the Cultural Affairs Bureau Auditorium (Edifício do Instituto Cultural, Tap Seac Square, Macao) at 6:30pm on May 9 (Friday). Dr. Zhao Lifeng, Associate Professor of the Research Centre for the History of Hong Kong and Macao, Jinan University, will give a lecture on “Struggling to Survive Adversity – The Development and Popularization of the Gaming Industry in Macao (1847-1911)”. Dr. Zhao will present in the lecture his in-depth analysis of the relationship between Macao’s gambling industry established after the Opium War and the licensing system; the three key periods in the development of Macao’s gambling industry and its interaction and competition with Guangdong and Hong Kong during the late Qing Dynasty. Zhao Lifeng obtained a PhD in History from Jinan University and a Post-PhD in History from Fudan University. He is now an associate professor at Jinan University's Research Centre for the History of Hong Kong and Macao under the Research Institute of the Chinese History and Culture, where he supervises M.A. students. Zhao has published extensively on Macao, including Chinese Documents on Macao Problems during Ming and Qing Dynasties, Life in Macao after the Opium War – Extract on Macao Data from Modern Newspapers and Chinese Data in Macao Gazette. His PhD thesis, Research on Guangdong and Macao’s Surname Lottery of the Late Qing Dynasty, was granted the second prize in Macao’s 1st Excellence in Social Sciences Research Award. Zhao is currently the Chair of Macao History and Culture Research Association, and one of the editors of The China Grand Encyclopaedia, a significant publishing project in China’s 11th Five-year Development Plan, and editor of the New Macao Chronicle. His academic research covers late Qing history, Hong Kong and Macao history and Chinese cultural history. This research topic was awarded a grant in the Academic Research Grant programme of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government. The lecture will be given in Mandarin with Cantonese, Portuguese and English simultaneous interpretation. Entrance is free. For further details, please contact Ms. Chu of the Macao Historical Archives of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at 5986542.
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