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The United Nations Human Rights Committee (the Committee) issued concluding observations on the Macao SAR's implementation of the relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) today (March 28, 2013). The Macao SAR Government will continue to implement all the measures that protect human rights as always, devote to the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Covenant and carry out the spirit advocated by the Covenant. The Macao SAR delegation attended the meetings of the United Nations Human Rights Committee on March 18 and 19 and provided detailed replies to the questions raised by the Committee concerning the situation of the Macao SAR's implementation of the Covenant. The Committee expressed in its concluding observations that it was satisfied to have conducted a constructive exchange with the Macao SAR Government delegation. The Committee gave the Macao SAR Government credit for the measures adopted for and the efforts put into safeguarding human rights, including the accession to multiple international conventions related to the protection of human rights, for instance, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee also complimented the Macao SAR Government on laying down laws in major scopes such as the protection of refugees, the combat against trafficking in persons, the assistance of youth offenders in correction and social integration, and so forth, including the formulation of Law no. 1/2004, the Regime of Recognition and Loss of Refugee Status, Law no. 2/2007, the Educational Supervision Regime for Young Offenders and Law no. 6/2008, the Combat against the Crime of Trafficking in Persons. The Macao SAR Government appreciates and respects the Committee's suggestions but has differences in the points of view on certain issues with the Committee. The Macao SAR Government will gradually implement the suggestions, which are practical and feasible and which conform to the Basic Law, the local law and the actual situation of the society. As regards the mention of the interpretation of the Basic Law in the concluding observations, the Macao SAR Government emphasizes that the Basic Law is the national law formulated by the National People's Congress; pursuant to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the provision of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, the power of interpretation of the Basic Law belongs to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. What shall be emphasized is that the exercise of the relevant authority does not have any impact upon the Macao SAR's judicial independence, law or high degree of autonomy. Since the establishment of the Macao SAR, the Court of Final Appeal has never sought an interpretation of the provisions of the Basic Law from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in light of Article 143. The Macao SAR Government does not agree with the Committee's suggestion on withdrawing the reservation to Article 25(b) of the Covenant. In fact, the Covenant does not prohibit reservations. Pursuant to the provision of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, if a treaty does not prohibit reservations, a State may formulate a reservation, provided that it does not contravene the object and the purpose of the treaty. When the Central Government of the People's Republic of China delivered a note to the depositary of the Covenant regarding the continuous application of the Covenant in the Macao SAR in 1999, four declarations which conformed to the rules of international law were made pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Basic Law and the legal status and actual situation of the Macao SAR. The election system of the Macao SAR shall be formulated in accordance with the Basic law and the Decision made by the Standing Committee of National People's Congress in 2012. The current election system accords to the actual situation of the Macao SAR without any contravention to the provisions of the Covenant which are applicable to the Macao SAR. As for the Committee's suggestion to the Macao SAR Government concerning the establishment of a brand new and independent human rights monitoring institution, the Macao SAR Government deems it unnecessary. Human rights are already fully protected by the independent judicial power enjoyed by the Macao SAR and by the current specific institutions, such as the Commission Against Corruption, the Office for Personal Data Protection, the relevant committees or organisations established in different areas, including the combat against trafficking in persons, police affairs, the rights and interests of women, and so forth as well as the Legal Aid Regime, which will enter into force on April 1. After the revision of the Organisational Law of the Commission Against Corruption in 2012, apart from maintaining its functions of the "Ombudsman", the competence of the Commission in relation to the promotion of the protection of human rights, freedoms, guarantees and legitimate interests has also been reinforced. As the head of the Macao SAR, the Chief Executive represents the Macao SAR, therefore the independence of the Commission Against Corruption will not be affected by the nomination of the Commissioner Against Corruption by the Chief Executive. The Macao SAR has a sound and independent judicial system. Should a resident hold that his/her fundamental rights are violated, he/she can directly invoke the provisions of the Covenant and institute legal proceedings in the courts. In case he/she is under financial distress, he/she may apply for legal aid so as to guarantee that he/she can obtain or uphold his/her lawful rights and interests via legal proceedings. In relation to the cases of refusal of entry of journalists mentioned by the Committee, the Macao SAR Government reiterates that journalists fully enjoy press freedom and interview freedom in Macao and are free to enter and leave Macao and interview locally, without the need to notify or register at any official department. The refusal of entry to Macao of the persons concerned had nothing to do with their identities as journalists but due to the fact that the security authority considered that the visitors, who were ready to enter Macao, might disturb the internal security of the Macao SAR, thus the authority could refuse their entry according to laws. Under the protection of the Basic Law and the Press Law, the media of the Macao SAR fully enjoys freedom of press, freedom of speech and autonomy in editing and interviewing. In fact, the media industry of the Macao SAR continues to thrive after the handover. The number of media units or the discussion of issues in the areas of politics, economy, society, people's livelihood and so forth of the Macao SAR are constantly increasing. As regards the Committee's recommendation that the Macao SAR Government should consider decriminalising defamation, the Macao SAR Government holds that the law should protect different rights. As the right to reputation is a major personal right, it is necessary to prevent the infringement of reputation through criminal law and punish the offender accordingly. Regarding the Committee's concern about the freedom of assembly, it should be pointed out that, Article 27 of the Basic law stipulates that Macao residents are entitled to the freedom of assembly, and the right to public assembly and that to demonstration are protected under Law no. 2/93/M. All Macao residents have the right to assemble under peaceful circumstances and in the absence of weapons, without the need for any pre-authorisation. In relation to the Committee's concern about the practice of employing non-resident workers in the absence of formal contracts, the Macao SAR Government reiterates that, pursuant to Article 23 of Law no. 21/2009, the Law for the Employment of Non-Resident Workers, the employment contracts with non-resident workers shall be concluded in writing.
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Mr. Grant R. Bowie, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited was invited to deliver a talk about "A Preferred Future for Macao – with so many opportunities available, which ones should we pick to create our desired Macao of the future?" at IFT on 27 March. More than 100 IFT students and staff attended the talk and had a lively discussion and interaction with the speaker. Mr. Grant Bowie shared his ideas on the topic during the talk and encouraged the youth to have deep thinking on how their own choices and contribution can create a desired Macao, not only for the local community, but also for the tourists visiting Macao. He indicated that nowadays, there are many opportunities ahead for local young people. But still, they need to be really cautious when making decision to grab the opportunities because the opportunities can determine success or failure of their life and career, while their success or failure connect to the future of Macao. He encouraged the students to invest in education and to continue their studies whenever there is a chance, learning applied skills in addition to professional knowledge during their studies; to have a clear picture of what they want to be; to be brave to voice out what they prefer Macao to be and actively engaged in the progress of the Macao's transformation to a desired city. To let students to be aware of the up-to-date requirement and development of the industry, IFT often invites prominent guest speakers from the industry to deliver talks to the students. Lao, a student majors in Culinary Arts Management, said he enjoyed the talks delivered by those successful figures. The valuable experience and the elements paving their path to success shared by the speakers help him to make a clear aim for his future and the plan to achieve the aim; and surely give him inspirations and motivation for his studies.
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To continually enhance the capacity of the relevant government bodies and the operators in handling emergencies of fuel farm fire in Macau International Airport, the "Fuel Farm Fire Exercise 2013" was carried out in the airport today (28 March 2013) simulating a fire incident taking place at the airport fuel farm and the fire fighting by the involved organizations in the emergency. The exercise lasted for half an hour and was deemed smooth. The fire drill started at 14:45. The scenario was of a fire incident taking place in the top of a tank in the airport fuel farm due to static electricity. Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals Co. Ltd., the fuel provider, immediately activated the safety systems according to their internal emergency plan and moved away the vehicles parked in the area. Simultaneously, they informed all concerned entities involved in the emergency in accordance with the Airport Emergency Plan. The airport fire fighting station delivered their trucks to the spot at once to stop the fire. Although there were no injuries, the commander-in-chief asked for additional support from the Fire Services Headquarters, considering the high critical degree of the incident area and ordered to evacuate the staff in the vicinity of the incident. In the fire drill, the communication between all involved personnel, the delivery of fire fighting facilities to the spot, and the evacuation of staff were all carried out in a smooth manner. With the assessment by all the involved entities that there were no more potential threats, the exercise was concluded. The whole process went through half an hour, with the participation of 50 personnel from the Unitary Police, the Public Security Police Force, the Fire Services, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR, the Administration of Airports Ltd., Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals Co. Ltd. and the Macau Security Company Ltd. The Facilitation and Security Committee holds meetings in the beginning of every year to discuss the exercise plan for Macau International Airport for the year. The objective of doing exercises is to test and assess the effectiveness of the Airport Emergency Plan and the capacity of the participating entities on command and control, coordination, communication, resource allocation and so on when facing emergencies. The other exercises which will be carried out this year include the full scale emergency exercise, the aviation security exercise and the heliport exercise.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for February 2013 amounted to MOP577 million, down by 12% year-on-year; value of domestic exports (MOP106 million) and re-exports (MOP471 million) decreased by 38% and 2% respectively. Total merchandise import reached MOP5.83 billion, up by 3% year-on-year. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.26 billion for February 2013. From January to February 2013, total value of merchandise export increased by 24% year-on-year to MOP1.58 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP1.30 billion) increased by 44%, but that of domestic exports (MOP286 million) decreased by 23%; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import increased by 17% to MOP13.02 billion. Merchandise trade deficit for the first two months of 2013 widened to MOP11.44 billion. In the first two months of 2013, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP977 million) and Mainland China (MOP200 million) increased by 48% and 23% respectively year-on-year, while export to the USA (MOP74 million) and the EU (MOP46 million) decreased by 9% and 18% respectively. Exports of Non-textiles (MOP1.44 billion) in the first two months of 2013 expanded by 32% year-on-year, of which exports of Diamond & diamond jewellery (MOP207 million) and Clocks & watches (MOP169 million) surged by 85% and 143% respectively; meanwhile, exports of Textiles & garments (MOP146 million) decreased by 19%, of which exports of Non-knitted or non-crocheted garments (MOP74 million) and Knitted or crocheted garments (MOP57 million) declined by 6% and 31% respectively. In the first two months of 2013, merchandise import originated in Mainland China (MOP4.15 billion) and the EU (MOP3.42 billion) increased by 22% and 25% respectively year-on-year. Imports of Consumer goods rose by 23% to MOP8.42 billion, with imports of Food & beverages (MOP1.66 billion), Gold jewellery (MOP1.54 billion), Watches (MOP972 million) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP554 million) increasing by 12%, 93%, 31% and 34% respectively. External merchandise trade reached MOP14.61 billion in the first two months of 2013, up by 17% compared with MOP12.43 billion a year earlier.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate (1.9%) and the underemployment rate (0.6%) for December 2012-February 2013 held stable as the previous period (November 2012-January 2013). Total labour force was 357,200 and the labour force participation rate stood at 72.0%. Total employment was 350,600, a decrease of 900 from the previous period. Analysed by industry, employment in Retail Trade and Hotels & Similar Activities saw increase, while that in Construction registered a decrease. Number of the unemployed was similar to the previous period, at 6,700; fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 7.0% of the total unemployed, down by 4.6 percentage points. In comparison with December 2011-February 2012, the labour force participation rate went down by 1.2 percentage points; both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points.
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Consumer Council released its 'Supermarket Price Survey' of March. In comparison with data from last month, average prices of 33 percent of the surveyed products had been decreased, 25 percent of products recorded no change in price and prices of 41.5 percent of products had been increased. Most cooking oil brands surveyed recorded light decreases in price and rice prices remained stable. Consumer Council collected prices of about 350 products in its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' dated 18th March. Prices of 115 products had been decreased slightly and mostly included cooking oil, beverages and dairy products. Among the 25 surveyed cooking oil brands, half of them recorded minimal to about 4 percent of price decreases. Average prices of cheese products have also dropped slightly in the past two months. Price increases were mainly recorded in canned foods, infant products and tissue papers, etc. but increases were only minimal and prices of 86 products recorded no change in price in both last and current surveys. Survey result also showed that prices of rice remained stable as 12 out of the 20 surveyed rice brands in the current survey recorded no change in price and other brands recorded minimal price drops. The Council also analyzed the percentage of lowest price products available in the 11 fixed choices of supermarkets. Tai Fung supermarket in Taipa recorded the highest percentage of on-shelf lowest price items in which 58 percent of over 260 items sold at Taipa Tai Fung recorded the lowest price among all surveyed supermarkets in the current survey. Park'n Shop at R. Areia Preta came next, with 21 percent of its over 210 on-shelf items having the lowest price. 21 percent of the over 260 items sold at Lee Fong supermarket at Almirante Costa Cabral also recorded the lowest price. Consumer Council reminds consumers that among the various supermarket chain stores surveyed, selling prices were found to vary in different branches in different regions. In this month's survey, price discrepancies were observed mainly in branches of San Miu supermarket in which about half of the 200 products sold at its R. dos Mercadores branch and Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues Royal Center branch were found to have different selling prices, price differences ranged from 5 to 10 percent were observed and found mainly in canned food, seasonings and snacks. Prices of 'Tulip Pork Luncheon Meat /340g' differed for over 22 percent while price discrepancies ranged from 3 to 7 percent were observed in other canned food brands. A general price discrepancy of 5 percent was also observed in seasoning products. Prices of around 20 products were also found to differ up to 41 percent in different branches of both Royal Supermarket and Park'n Shop. Consumers are advised to check with the information available on the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform', especially the function of 'Top Ten Price Differences' for the surveyed products. Consumers can also download the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps to make price comparisons. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM's Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Organized by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), supported by the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Zhuhai, the Gongbei Customs, the Macao Customs Service and the Macao Economic Services, and co-ordinated by the Macao Convention & Exhibition Association, Macau Fair and Trade Association and the Association of Advertising Agents of Macau, a Seminar on Logistics, Customs Clearance, Inspection and Quarantine Policies in force in Zhuhai, regarding Merchandise Intended for Trade Fairs & Exhibitions (Edition 2013) was held at 11:00 a.m. on March 22, 2013, at the Sicily Room of Macao Venetian-Resort-Hotel. Those present at the seminar included the President of Macao Trade and Investment Institute, Mr. Jackson Chang, the Assistant Director of Economic Affairs Department of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macao SAR, Mr. Gao Shangde, the Deputy Director of the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Zhuhai, Mr. Wang Xianfu, the Deputy Chief of Customs Clearance and Supervision Division of Gongbei Customs, Mr. Jiang Qingwen, the Chief of Macao Peninsula Enforcement Division of Macao Customs Service, Mr. Vong Vai Man and the representative of Foreign Trade Management Department of Macau Economic Services, Mr. U Ion Tak, Louis. Representatives of Macao´s convention and exhibition sector, including members of trade associations, convention and exhibition companies, logistics companies and trade fair exhibitors were also present. In view of the booming convention and exhibition industry, both in Mainland China and Macau, there has been an ever increasing travelling by the Macao´s convention and exhibition entrepreneurs to Mainland China through the Gongbei and Hengqin checkpoints in Zhuhai. In view of the foregoing and in order to provide to Macao´s convention and exhibition sector a better understanding of the procedures adopted by the competent authorities in Mainland China with regards to customs clearance, inspection and quarantine, IPIM invited the Deputy Chief of Customs Clearance and Supervision Division of Gongbei Customs, Mr. Jiang Qingwen, and the Chief of Customs Clearance Division of Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Zhuhai, Mr. Le Haiyang, to introduce the "Inspection and Quarantine Policy in Respect of Articles Intended for Exhibition in Trade Fairs 2013" and "Customs Clearance (Entry and Exit) of Articles Intended for Exhibition in Trade Fairs", so that Macao´s convention and exhibition sector could more efficiently arrange for the transportation, customs clearance, inspection and quarantine of the items intended for exhibition in trade fairs in the Mainland, being encouraged and promoted, in this way, the development of local sectors, enabling them to grasp the business opportunities in the regional co-operation. During the seminar, the participants enquired the speakers regarding procedures and requirements for customs clearance, what should be done in the event that the items intended for exhibition in trade fairs could not be sent back as planned, and also about the different requirements of the two territories concerning the content of the labels written in Chinese, affixed on the food souvenir from Macao, intended for sale at the trade fairs in the Mainland, coming to have a better understanding between the MICE and logistics operators on both sides.
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Thomson Reuters recently released the preliminary list of Highly Cited Researchers. Two scholars from Macao made the list. They are Prof. Fan Xitao and Prof. Li Yangmin, both from the University of Macau (UM). According to the latest statistics from the ISI Web of Science (WOS), as of the cutoff date UM scholars had published 372 journal papers in 2012, with a total citation frequency of 2,338, showing UM's strategy to step up efforts in research and international recruitment has been successful. The list includes authors of the most influential publications in 21 broad subject categories in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences, engineering and social sciences based on citation metrics. Researchers on the list represent less than one-half of one per cent of all published researchers, and their citation frequency in their respective areas of expertise rank among the world's top 1 per cent. The finalised list, when released in April, will be provided to Shanghai Jiao Tong University for its 2013 Academic Rankings of World Universities. Prof. Fan Xitao is chair professor and dean of the Faculty of Education (FED) at UM. He enjoys renown in quantitative methods and educational/psychological measurement. He has published more than 100 journal papers and book chapters. He was the first scholar from mainland China to be appointed editor-in-chief for Educational and Psychological Measurement, a major US academic journal in education, where he served as the editor-in-chief for two terms. Prof. Fan disclosed that while ensuring quality teaching and service, he will focus efforts on strengthening research at FED and will carry out more joint research projects with colleagues to create a rich research atmosphere. Prof. Li Yangmin is the director of academic research in the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST). He is a well-known scholar in robot, automation and control systems. Many of his projects have received support from the Science and Technology Development Fund and UM's Research Grant. He is on the editorial board of numerous top-tier international journals, including the IEEE Transactions on Automation Science Engineering, and the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. He has published more than 280 academic papers. Prof. Li said scientific research requires hard work and it's not easy to be included in the list of Highly Cited Researchers. He thanked UM for its great support as well as administrative colleagues and students, saying that they are the true unsung heroes. According to statistics from WOS, numbers and citation frequency of published papers by UM academics are on steady increase and now rank No.1 in Macao. In 2012 UM academics published 372 papers, up 142, or 61 per cent, from 2011. The citation frequency of UM's published papers in 2012 was 2,338, a year-on-year increase of over 35 per cent. Citation frequency is an important measure of a university's research achievements and the academic level of its academics. In recent years UM is increasing funding in scientific research and is recruiting high-quality academic staff internationally, which has led to considerable improvement in the quality of teaching and research. The fact that two UM academics made Thomson Reuters's Highly Cited Researchers List and that the citation frequency of their published papers hits new highs shows the university's orientation and the policies it has been implementing has been successful.
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In order to get hold of information on the market supply of infant milk powder and to review the infant milk powder hotline services, Consumer Council met with Health Bureau (SSM), Economic Services Bureau (DSE), Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) and representatives of 7 milk powder brands (Mead Johnson, Abbott, Friso, Snow Brand, Nestle NAN, Wyeth, and Cow & Gate) earlier. Representatives of the milk powder brands agreed to keep in touch with milk powder manufactureres and ensure the supply of infant milk powder in Macao. Meanwhile, suppliers indicated that they would monitor their hotline services and resolve any questions of local parents, especially to provide emergency supply of infant milk powder when parents are unable to purchase any in the market. The number of complaint cases received by Consumer Council have been reduced obviously after the hotline information of the 7 milk powder brands has been listed on the Council's website. The Council will continue to work with other deparmetns and milk powder suppliers to make sure the hotlines work normally and suppliers can provide services to consumers in time. For more information about the milk powder hotline services, please visit the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo).
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Consumer Council's online quiz on the Regulations of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' has ended; over 3,000 correct entries have been received and are entitled to the lucky draw. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' and 'World Consumer Rights Day' on 15th March, Consumer Council organized an online quiz to promote the services and Regulations of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre'. Over 3,000 correct entries have been received and 40 winners will be drawn later. The list of winners will be announced on the Council's website and winners will be notified individually. A total number of 40 winners of the online quiz will be awarded with MOP500 cash voucher each. Consumer Council expresses its appreciation to the public for participating in the said event.
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