News

Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from its Portuguese acronym), the 31^st Macao Arts Festival (MAF) sets off in May. Tickets are available at the Macau Ticketing Network from 10am on 28 March (Sunday). In order to cooperate with the epidemic prevention and control measures, and to safeguard the public health, ticketing service at the outlets, telephone and online booking will be available simultaneously from 10am on the first day of ticket sales. In order to reduce crowd gathering onsite, an online reservation system has been set up for the first day of ticket sales. Members of the public are required to reserve their ticketing slot from 25 March (Thursday) at 10am through the online reservation system of the Macau Ticketing Network.
…

Cultural Centre Post Office will use the New Label with Franking Impression and Publicity Slogan Impression of Postal Label Printer as below with effect from 1 April 2021. This label is applicable only to mail correspondences, including small packets and printed matters, and it is not for individual sale.
…

The Government will optimise its proposals regarding issuance of vouchers via locally-recognised electronic payment platforms. This is in order to achieve the policy goals of supporting employment, the local economy, and people’s livelihoods.
…

The meeting for fostering implementation of the “Culture and Tourism Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” (referred to as the “Plan”) was held in Guangzhou on 18 March 2021. Convened in a hybrid online and offline format, the meeting gathered representatives of pertinent entities as follows: the National Development and Reform Commission; the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council; related governmental departments of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions; LiaisonOffice of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; LiaisonOffice of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region; cultural and tourism authorities of the nine Pearl River Delta cities, as well as experts and media representatives.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for February 2021 (102.58) dropped by 0.95% year-on-year, smaller than the 1.18% decline in January.
…

Concerning the joint and sole operations against illegal workers launched by the Public Security Police Force, the Labour Affairs Bureau and other authorities in February 2021 at construction sites, private flats, commercial and industrial establishments, etc., the figures are set out below.
…

The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election issues a reminder that each registered voter is only entitled to endorse the nomination committee of a single election team.
…

The applications for the 39^th Macao Young Musicians Competition, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) are now open until 24 March, at 4pm. All interested eligible parties can first register online through the Macao Young Musicians Competition website or make an appointment for on-site registration by phone. After an appointment is made, they can go to the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building, located at Tap Siac Square, at the designated time, for on-site registration. Successful applicants who receive the confirmation message can submit the required documents and an application fee of MOP100 per category in person at the Cultural Bureau Building located at Tap Siac Square, from 12pm to 7pm (open during lunch hour), between 25 and 28 March. If applicants are unable to submit the documents and registration fee in person, they may also prepare all required documents and appoint a representative (holding a proxy) to complete the registration.
…

Upon completion of expansion construction, the Macao Grand Prix Museum partially comes into trial operation starting this month. Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) successively invites the travel trade and pertinent personages to pay inspection visits to the Museum and contribute feedback for refinement of the Museum’s environment and service quality. The Museum will open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in April, as well as throughout the entire month of May. The public can schedule visits and purchase admission tickets in advance within designated quotas to experience the Museum’s trial operation and facilities, so that the Museum can collect wide feedback from local and travelling visitors in preparation for its official launch. Interested parties can book visits and purchase tickets online from 9:00 next Monday morning (22 March).
…

The CCAC has released the “Investigation Report on the Fire Shutters of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde”, where it points out that the it did not find any evidence in the comprehensive investigation that any departments or authorities had committed any illegal acts in the additional works to replace the fire shutters of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde or that violation of the principle of legality in the procedures of award of the relevant works existed. The prices also conformed to the market standards at that time. Therefore, there was no obvious sign of administrative illegality or impropriety. However, the CCAC questioned the necessity of replacing the fire shutters as the relevant departments or authorities were not found to have endeavoured to look for solutions through other channels. As a result, the newly installed fire shutters worth over MOP4 million were wasted. The CCAC also criticised that this issue significantly reflected the problem of coordination and cooperation among public departments. The Housing Bureau (IH) failed to strictly perform its role of coordination as vested by the Economic Housing Law. Also, the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) and the Fire Services Bureau (CB) had all along failed to inform the Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) or the IH concerning their practice on the standard of fire resistance class of fire shutters. Moreover, the DSSOPT and the CB never notified the GDI that a replacement proposal could be adopted to meet the legal requirements of fire safety. It seemed that the construction project of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde was completed in an unorganised manner in such phases as vetting and approval, construction and rectification. Relevant departments or entities had a lack of knowledge of the law concerning their own competences. Moreover, they adopted different attitudes at work and lacked communication among the departments, resulting in situations of “information islands”. Such circumstance is worth attention of the relevant departments and the SAR Government.
…