News

A student team from the University of Macau (UM) recently won the championship at the Fourth Macau Model European Union (EU). This is the second consecutive year that UM students have won a championship at Macao’s Model EU. Co-organised by the European Union Academic Programme in Macao (EUAP-M) and UM’s Youth Association of International Affairs (YAIA), this year’s event attracted 56 students of nine nationalities from six higher education institutions in Macao. The topic of this year’s Model EU was the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU. Participants discussed current issues in Europe from the perspective of heads of states and governments in a simulated European Council meeting. Participants demonstrated a deep understanding of the functions of the EU and the positions of the countries they represented. At the end of the two-day discussion, students reached a consensus on many topics, including the necessity of the free movement of goods, services, persons, and capital as preconditions for the European Single Market, and a proposal for the establishment of a transition period of a minimum of three years after the conclusion of the negotiations between the EU and the United Kingdom. The team formed by UM students He Wenting and Fu Qiuming won a Best Team Award, while Evelin Rizzo, an exchange student from Italy, won the Best Individual Participant Award. Next summer, they will be awarded free study trips to Europe funded by EUAP-M. The team formed by UM students Lin Sijie and Xiao Shiling, and the team formed by UM students Esther Li and Li Xinwei, received a second prize and a third prize, respectively, in the group category. UM students Dorji Wangchuk and Yao Fangyuan won a second prize and a third prize, respectively, in the individual category. The team formed by UM students Hoi Keng Ieong and Haiyu Wang won the Best Position Paper Award. The 56 participants in this year’s Macau Model EU were selected from 120 applicants from UM, Macao Polytechnic Institute, the Macau University of Science and Technology, the Institute for Tourism Studies, the University of Saint Joseph, and the City University of Macau. Established in 2012, the EUAP-M is a partnership between UM and the Institute of European Studies of Macau and is co-financed by the EU. It aims to help Macao's general public, particularly students, better understand the EU.
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The SAR Government is proposing to implement from 20 December a measure supported by the Central Government that enables Macao-registered vehicles to enter Hengqin Island in Zhuhai Prefecture. The new measure has been an ongoing topic of discussion between, respectively, the SAR Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Zhuhai Municipal Government, via the established cooperation mechanisms for those authorities. The Office of the Secretary for Security represents the SAR Government in talks with the Zhuhai Municipal Government regarding matters related to the measure. They include: the formation of a plan for management of the scheme; implementation details; and eligibility criteria. At present, those two authorities are focusing on final discussions regarding the initiative. They concern: detailed planning for managing entry of Macao-registered vehicles to Hengqin; and arrangements for the launch ceremony of the initiative. The Macao authorities are additionally planning for the optimisation of facilities near the Lotus Flower Bridge Checkpoint, a structure that links Macao to Hengqin. That optimisation will occur following the implementation of the new measure. Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Government has passed a set of detailed measures for managing Macao-registered vehicles entering Hengqin Island. Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang, has announced a total of 19 measures to boost further the development of Macao’s economy, including implementing – before year-end – the initiative to enable Macao-registered vehicles to enter Hengqin Island. Premier Li mentioned the measures while in Macao in October for the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao). The SAR Government is sincerely grateful for the support it has received from the Central Government, Guangdong Provincial Government and the Zhuhai Municipal Government regarding the promotion of Macao’s development.
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The ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ in celebration of the 17th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will be held soon. In order to publicise activities along the Parade’s route, the organizer arranged staff members to visit the local neighbourhoods and distribute pamphlets on 29 November. The public is eager to participate in the event. Small groups of staff from IC headed to the streets along the Parade route and distributed pamphlets to local residents, providing information about the event, a map with the Parade’s route as well as information about traffic arrangements during the event. The groups also distributed promotional materials to students and the elderly, promoting the Parade close by members of the population in different levels; while some tourists were interested in the Parade, hoping to participate in the event. The ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’, a grand annual event of the city, marks its sixth edition. Dedicated to the celebration of the 17th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China, VIVA will cross a time gate and depart to the mysterious land of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing), enthusiastically celebrating the Handover with the public. In addition, in order to allow residents to experience the Parade’s joyful atmosphere before the event, some of the Parade’s participating groups will perform in several locations in Taipa and Macao on Thursday and Friday (1 and 2 December) from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free and all are welcome to participate. On the day of the Parade, 4 December, TDM – Teledifusão de Macau S.A. will broadcast the entire event live and will install outdoor screens at several locations - Senado Square, Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, Areia Preta Garden and Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro. The popular Hong Kong TVB programme ‘Scoop’ will feature a foretaste of the event on 2 and 15 December, as well as a Parade Special Programme dedicated to the event’s highlights, to be broadcasted on 17 December, thereby spreading the celebration of Macao’s Handover to China even further. For more information about the Parade, please visit the event’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the third quarter of 2016. Survey coverage for this quarter comprises Manufacturing; Hotels; Restaurants; Insurance; Financial Intermediation Activities; Electricity, Gas & Water Supply; Child-care and Elderly Care. This survey excludes the self-employed, as well as insurance agents and brokers not directly employed by insurance companies. At the end of the third quarter of 2016, Hotels had 54,600 full-time employees, up by 8.9% year-on-year; average earnings (excluding bonuses) of full-time employees in September rose by 2.1% to MOP16,810. Restaurants had 25,181 full-time employees, down by 9.1% year-on-year, with the average earnings rising by 1.2% to MOP9,310. Manufacturing had 9,922 full-time employees, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year; average earnings in September rose by 5.0% to MOP10,270. Electricity, Gas & Water Supply had 1,101 full-time employees, an increase of 2.3% from a year earlier; average earnings increased by 4.3% to MOP30,260. Insurance had 544 full-time employees, up by 7.5% year-on-year; average earnings in September rose by 4.1% to MOP25,400. Financial Intermediation Activities had 399 full-time employees, an increase of 2.6% year-on-year, with the average earnings falling by 1.5% to MOP13,970. Child-care and Elderly Care had 1,266 and 674 full-time employees, up by 10.0% and 1.8% respectively year-on-year; average earnings in September increased by 10.0% and 12.4% respectively to MOP13,910 and MOP13,850. At the end of the third quarter, job vacancies in Hotels (1,869) rose by 245 year-on-year, while those in Manufacturing (879) and Restaurants (2,141) fell by 142 and 51 respectively. About 70.5% of the vacancies in Hotels and 68.3% of those in Manufacturing merely required junior secondary education or lower. All of the vacancies in Financial Intermediation Activities required knowledge of Mandarin; meanwhile, 58.7% and 23.9% of the vacancies in Restaurants required knowledge of Mandarin and English respectively. In the third quarter, the employee recruitment rate (7.2%) and the employee turnover rate (5.1%) in Hotels fell by 1.1 and 0.1 percentage points respectively year-on-year, while the job vacancy rate (3.3%) rose slightly by 0.2 percentage points, indicating that the manpower situation in the industry was relatively stable. In Restaurants, the employee recruitment rate (10.1%) increased by 3.1 percentage points year-on-year, while both the job vacancy rate (7.8%) and employee turnover rate (7.1%) increased by 0.5 percentage points, implying that there were still vacancies available in Restaurants. In the third quarter, a total of 143,222 employee participants from the surveyed industries attended training courses provided by the establishment (including courses organized by the establishment or in conjunction with other institutions, and those sponsored by the employer), up by 49.6% year-on-year. Hotels had 139,155 participants in vocational training, with the majority attending courses in Services (54.1%) and Business & Administration (34.9%); besides, 99.8% of the participants attended courses during office hours. Meanwhile, over 60% of the participants from most of the industries attended courses paid by the establishment, while the corresponding rate in Child-care was 37.9%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for October 2016 amounted to MOP759 million, down by 0.7% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP618 million) slid by 1.6%, but that of domestic exports (MOP141 million) rose by 3.3%. Total merchandise import decreased by 19.3% year-on-year to MOP6.09 billion, of which imports of Motor cars and Mobile phones declined by 54.6% and 35.0% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.33 billion. From January to October 2016, total value of merchandise export dropped by 4.8% year-on-year to MOP8.50 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP6.87 billion) decreased by 7.6%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.63 billion) increased by 9.0%. Total value of merchandise import fell by 18.2% to MOP58.12 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP49.62 billion for the first ten months of 2016. Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China decreased by 2.8% year-on-year to MOP1.47 billion in the first ten months of 2016, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.38 billion) fell by 5.5%, and exports to Hong Kong (MOP4.73 billion) dropped by 11.5%. Meanwhile, exports to the EU (MOP148 million) and the USA (MOP126 million) reduced by 19.8% and 24.0% respectively, and exports to Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP6 million) jumped by 1,089.0%. Exports of Non-textiles declined by 4.2% year-on-year to MOP7.90 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP833 million) dropped by 24.5%, but that of Tobacco & wine (MOP676 million) grew by 44.0%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP600 million, down by 12.5%. By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP21.18 billion) and the EU (MOP14.00 billion) in the first ten months of 2016 decreased by 19.8% and 12.0% respectively year-on-year. However, imports from Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP545 million) increased by 11.2%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China declined by 6.7% to MOP9.96 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP9.38 billion) fell by 7.6%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 14.5% to MOP36.33 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP3.70 billion) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP1.03 billion) decreasing by 32.3% and 55.4% respectively. Moreover, value of imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP5.14 billion), Mobile phones (MOP3.68 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.67 billion) declined by 12.8%, 43.4% and 37.0% respectively. External merchandise trade totalled MOP66.61 billion in the first ten months of 2016, down by 16.7% compared with MOP79.98 billion a year earlier.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council collects prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference on 29 November. The mentioned data collected during 23 November to 29 November are used for comparing the average selling price of the same products from Zhuhai and Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. The specific price surveys on fresh pork and vegetables are now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), iPhone & Android ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ app, and the Council’s WeChat Account page. The relevant surveys include the average selling prices of local fresh pork and vegetables, and comparison on the respective the average selling prices rom Zhuhai, HK, and Macao. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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In order to encourage philatelic collection and promote appreciation for the stamps of Macao, the Communications Museum is organizing a stamp poll – “My Favourite Stamps of Macao, 2016”. All stamp lovers are invited to vote for their favourite stamps and souvenir sheets issued by Macao Post of the year 2016. All Macao SAR residents who have become 6 or above on/before 1st January 2016 are welcomed to participate. From 5th December 2016 to 5th February 2017 (22:00), you are welcomed to vote for a maximum of 3 items from your favourite philatelic products in each category at http://macao.communications.museum . The products with the highest number of votes will be ranked as the most favourite issues of the year. Every participant with a valid vote will enter the lucky draw automatically. Prizes include: (annex) 2016 STAMP FESTIVAL In the early days, red cylindrical pillar boxes that were heavy and made of metal could be seen on the streets of Hong Kong and Macao. However, after Hong Kong and Macao have become Special Administrative Regions following their return to the Motherland, their pillar boxes have changed in both shapes and colours. The deadline of application the “Tour of Special Pillar Boxes in Hong Kong” on February 3 & 4, 2017 will be on January 5. You are welcomed to join us to discover the changes of pillar boxes in Hong Kong. In addition, all participation works of the “Draw My Story of Stamps Contest” and “Creative Savings Box Construction Contest” will be exhibited at the Temporary Exhibition Gallery on the ground floor of Communications Museum from December 11. All are welcomed to visit! EXHIBITION-IN-SCHOOL - APPRECIATING CREATIVE STAMPS Modern stamps are not only fabricated with paper! In addition to the two series of telecom portable exhibitions - “Music with Electromagnetism” and “Evolution of Telecommunications Technology”, a new philatelic portal exhibition “Appreciating Creative Stamps” is recently launched by the Museum to show stamps made with different materials and/or fabricated by special techniques. Visitors not only can see with their eyes, but they can also touch and feel the stamps made of special materials and learn their interesting facts. These portable exhibits are especially created for exhibiting in schools so that students can conveniently view them during their lesson time or after school. Schools are welcomed to book and bring the exhibition into their school campuses. For details of the activities above mentioned, please refer to the Museum website (http://macao.communications.museum)
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To facilitate the public and philatelists for ordering new philatelic products, please note the followings: (annex)
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Macao Post will issue a Christmas card with the image of “Saint Anthony”. This card will be available for sale at the Macao Post Headquarters, all post offices and postal kiosks on the 2nd December, 2016. This greeting card priced at MOP12.00 each, can be sent to every corner of the world without stamp. It’s saving your time and money.
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The Macao Museum of Art (MAM, from the Portuguese acronym), under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, has been holding the “Macao Arts Window” since 2012, which aims to encourage creativity and develop contemporary art in Macao. The theme of this edition of the “Macao Arts Window” is the exhibition “Solitude - Photography by Hong Vong Hoi” and the vernissage will be held on Thursday, 1 December, at 6:30pm, on the third floor of MAM. All are welcome. The “Macao Arts Window” aims to provide an open and diverse exhibition space and exchange platform, and encourage local artists to explore and express concepts and forms of contemporary art. Born in Macao in 1977, artist Hong Vong Hoi is passionate about photography and literary creation. He enjoys travelling alone and considers life as a voyage. In 2011, he held his photography exhibition “Encounter”. He also received an Excellence Award in the Fiction Category and was the second runner up in the Modern Poetry Category in the Macau Literary Awards. A selection of Hong’s poems was included in the book An Anthology of Macao Modern Poetry. The author hopes to explore and reflect on the deeper meaning of “solitude” through his works, and at the same time, observe the inner and emotional state of people around the world within this context. Many people fear solitude, but solitude does not necessarily bear a negative connotation and in fact it offers hidden possibilities. Everyone will inevitably face solitude, and thus, the ability to enjoy and appreciate its beauty and freedom elevates one’s quality of living and style. The exhibition “Solitude - Photography by Hong Vong Hoi” is open from 2 December 2016 to 15 January 2017. The MAM, located at Avenida Xian Xing Hai, is open daily from 10am to 7pm (no admittance after 6:30pm; closed on Mondays). Admission fee is MOP5 and is free on Sundays and public holidays.
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