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The University of Macau (UM) awarded a total of 970,000 patacas in scholarships to outstanding students at the convocation held today (16 August). In addition to the above scholarships, the university will give out another 2.5 million patacas in more than 40 scholarships and academic prizes at its congregation and high table dinners at the various residential colleges to be held later this year. 98 outstanding students with excellent academic performance and active participation in extracurricular activities and community services received scholarships or academic prizes at the convocation. The university hopes the examples of these students will inspire other students to study hard, actively participate in extracurricular activities, and give back to society. UM also presented prizes to students on the Rector’s Honour List, who are the top scorers in their respective faculties for this academic year. They are Fong Lai I of Portuguese studies from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, U Si Man of global business management from the Faculty of Business Administration, Wong Ka Wai of English education from the Faculty of Education and Moon Chun Memorial College (MCMC), Bai Yuchen of biomedical sciences from the Faculty of Health Sciences and MCMC, Tong Ieng Fong from the Faculty of Law and Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College, He Cheng of history studies from the Faculty of Social Sciences and MCMC, and Zhang Hao of electromechanical engineering from the Faculty of Science and Technology and MCMC. The scholarships and academic prizes awarded this year include Sands China Ltd Scholarship, Nam Kwong Education Scholarship, Galaxy Entertainment Group Scholarship, Macau Foundation Academic Prize, Henry Fok Foundation Academic Prize, Bank of China Academic Prize, ICBC Macau Academic Prize, Wu’s Group Academic Prize, Choi Kai Yau Academic Prize, Lou Tou Vo Mathematics, Jorge Alvares Foundation Academic Prize, CEM Academic Prize, BNU Academic Prize, Synopsys Academic Prize, EasyTone Academic Prize, LECM Academic Prize, and ERS Academic Prize.
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The University of Macau (UM) today (16 August) held the convocation for the 2016/2017 academic year to welcome 1,500 new students. During the ceremony, Rector Wei Zhao delivered a speech, in which he expressed hope that the new students would make the most of their four years at UM. He also advised the students to make good use of UM’s great facilities and great professors and strive to meet high standards in academic pursuits and personal development. Rector Zhao said that the convocation was a very special event because it witnessed the moment when the new students started a new chapter in their lives. He encouraged the students to live a moral life, be considerate of others, give back to society, and observe the five virtues listed in the university motto (Humanity, Integrity, Propriety, Wisdom, and Sincerity). Rector Zhao encouraged the students to take advantage of UM’s great facilities and great professors and strive to meet high standards in academic pursuits and personal development. During the ceremony, new students each received a brooch inscribed with the number ‘2020’. The year 2020 will be the graduation year of the new cohort and 20/20 can also mean perfect vision. The gift symbolises the university’s expectations for the new students that they will have a clear vision for their future when they graduate from UM. Ho Weng Fong, a freshman of Portuguese studies, thinks the university is a vibrant community with many new things for her to discover. She believes she will have a very fulfilling life on campus. Ho On In, another freshman of civil engineering, is excited about her four years at UM, and plans to study hard, actively participate in extracurricular activities, and make more friends. Classes for the new academic year will begin on Monday 22 August. To help students adjust to their life on campus, UM is holding a series of orientation activities, including general briefing sessions, orientation sessions organised by the various faculties and residential colleges, and information sessions and parties. UM has also held information seminars for parents to help them learn more about the university’s educational philosophy and latest developments, so that they can help their children adapt to college life.
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Consumer Council conducted its second ‘Supermarket price survey’ in August on 16 August for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. 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. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Co-organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, the Hong Kong Film Development Council and the Guangdong Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the "2016 Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Film Production Investment and Trade Fair" (hereinafter referred to as "the Investment Fair") is held on 16 and 17 August at the Regency Hotel Macau. The Investment Fair assembles film producers and investors from the three regions in order to facilitate investment opportunities, pairing services and the development of film projects. The opening ceremony of the Investment Fair was held on 16 August (Tuesday) at 10am, and was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Ung Vai Meng; the Vice-Director of the Guangdong Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Liu Xiaoyi; the Assistant Head of Create Hong Kong, Wellington Fung; the Assistant of the Director of the Department of Culture and Education of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao S.A.R., Shao Bin; the Vice-president of the Committee of Cultural Industries of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Hsu Hsiu-Chu; the member of the Administrative Council of the Cultural Industries Fund of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Chu Miu Lai; the Chief of Film Management Office of the Guangdong Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Chen Song; and the Secretary-General of the Guangdong Motion Picture Industry Association, Zheng Dawei. This edition of the Investment Fair includes 25 film projects and counts with the participation of over 50 investors from the three regions. The film producers will meet the investors during the Investment Fair and present their projects individually so as to explore pairing services, investment and development opportunities for the film projects. In order to recognize projects with potential, three awards will be presented at the end of the Investment Fair, namely the "Film Project—Grand Award", the "Film Project—Award of Excellence" and the "Film Project—Award of Merit", which will be awarded to the three projects with most votes, cast individually by each investor after the interview. To perfect Macao film producers’ performances in the Investment Fair, the Cultural Affairs Bureau conducted a meeting in early August with local film producers in preparation for the event, in which the schedule and content of the Investment Fair have been introduced in detail so that the producers could structure the project presentation and their approach to negotiation in advance. The Cultural Affairs Bureau also received the producers’ advice on this Investment Fair in order to improve the respective programme. Though the two-day Fair is exclusively held for industry members, the seminar themed "Film Financing" held concurrently with the meeting will be open to the public. The Seminar will be held on Wednesday, 17 August at 2:30pm at the venue. Hong Kong veteran film producers Patrick Tong and Mathew Tang, as well as independent investor from Mainland China and securities industry director of the Finance and Investment Committee of the Tsinghua University Alumni Association in Guangzhou, Liu Xiaofeng, will share their views on the latest trend of film financing in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The Seminar will be conducted in Cantonese and Mandarin, and Chinese-Portuguese interpretation will be provided. Admission is free and there are thirty seats available on a first come, first served basis. The public is welcome to register online via the "Activity Registration System" of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event). The "Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Film Production Investment and Trade Fair" has been held since 2014 in Macao, aimed at offering a quality platform for convenient exchange and pairing services between film producers and investors from the three regions, creating a film investment and cooperation channel among the regions, focusing on supporting small and medium budget film production and on training professionals, as well as promoting the development of the film industry in the three regions. For details of the Investment Fair or the Seminar, please contact Mr. Chong, staff member of IC, through (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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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 and vegetables from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. The mentioned data collected during 10 August to 16 August are used for comparing the selling prices of the same products from Zhuhai and Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. The comparison report is 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. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will lead a delegation on a visit to the Portuguese Republic, following an invitation by the Portuguese President, Mr Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The trip will take place from 10 to 15 September. During the visit, the Chief Executive is also to meet Portugal’s Prime Minister, Mr António Costa. Mr Chui will additionally co-chair – with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Mr Augusto Santos Silva – the latest meeting of the Macao-Portugal Joint Committee. The latter will explore further opportunities for cooperation between the two places. The Macao-Portugal Joint Committee was established under the Framework Agreement of Cooperation between the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Portuguese Republic, with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two sides in a number of areas. The first meeting of the Macao-Portugal Joint Committee was held in Lisbon, in April 2011. Regarding the continuation of the Framework Agreement, and expansion of the longstanding cooperation between Portugal and Macao, the Chief Executive’s upcoming visit aims to focus on areas including: Portuguese language teaching; education; culture; environmental protection; and youth affairs. The Government is confident that Macao will further strengthen and expand its links with Portugal, so that Macao can further expand its role as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.
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The Government continues to coordinate follow-up work in relation to the recent accident involving a tourist bus. Such work is in order to provide all necessary practical assistance to those affected by the incident. There was a total of 11 mainland tourists still being treated in Kiang Wu Hospital as of today. Of those hospitalised, a female patient – who had undergone head surgery – remained in a coma in intensive care, and in a stable condition. Her physical responses showed improvement yesterday. The other hospitalised patients were each in a stable condition. Among the 44 mainland tourists involved in the accident, a total of 24 have left Macao. Nine tourists – aside from those being treated in hospital – remain in Macao either to accompany family members injured in the accident, or for discussions with their respective travel agent regarding insurance matters. In addition a total of nine people not on board the bus at the time of the accident – but identified as relatives of hospitalised patients – were currently staying in Macao to assist their injured family members. One of those nine relatives is due to leave Macao later tonight. The nine have been staying in hotel accommodation arranged by a travel agent. The accident occurred on Monday, 8 August, when a tourist bus carrying 44 mainland visitors crashed into a building in Rua da Entena, near Kiang Wu Hospital. As well as causing injury to passengers of the bus, the crash seriously damaged one of the building’s supporting pillars. The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau concluded that – following stablisation work on the building following the accident – most apartments and shops in the affected building are safe to use. The exceptions to that are five apartments and one shop in the part of the building supported by the pillar that was struck by the tourist bus. The affected building has six storeys, accommodating a total of 21 residential units and six shops. The Government has taken measures to reinforce the structure of the building and has been monitoring its safety. Measurements taken showed that the building structure is in a generally stable condition. The Bureau said the fabric of the building – post full repair – would be stronger than prior to the accident. A total of seven people displaced following the damage to the building are currently staying at the Centre for Victims of Disaster, after emergency arrangements were made for them by the Social Welfare Bureau. An aggregate of 18 people from a total of four families are staying in temporary accommodation managed by the Social Welfare Bureau.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today said he had confidence the Government would be able to cover the city’s ‘land debt’ – i.e., the amount of land the Government owed to those developers that had given up land concession plots in order to help public-sector building projects. That ‘land debt’ would be met provided that all the city’s expired and undeveloped land concessions reverted to the Government, as was required. Such plots could then form part of the Government’s reserves of land, said Mr Chui. The Government’s policy on land resources had not changed. Any plots of land that reverted to the Government would be considered – on a priority basis – for the following uses: public housing units; facilities for the general public; and offices for Government departments, he added. Mr Chui said the Government had a total outstanding ‘land debt’ of 88,806 square metres. This 'land debt' would be paid off - by compensating in kind with new land -those developers previously required to relocate projects in order to enable development of Government initiatives. The Government had already taken steps, in line with the Land Law and the Basic Law, to ensure that ‘idle plots’ – i.e. cases where leaseholders failed to develop a land concession according to the timetable and terms attached to the concession – would revert to the authorities. The Government would announce – in a timely manner – more information about the topics of ‘idle lands’ and the ‘land debt’. It would take time to analyse all the cases involved, he said. The Chief Executive made the remarks this morning at Macau International Airport, before leaving Macao for a three-day visit to Beijing. While there, Mr Chui is scheduled to meet officials from several ministries and departments, in order to discuss Macao’s first Five-Year Development Plan. The latter focuses on the city’s socio-economic development spanning the period from 2016 to 2020. The Beijing meetings are designed to gather further opinion regarding how to incorporate Macao’s development into the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan and the nation’s Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as the “Belt and Road” initiative). The talks will also consider how to coordinate and communicate such matters, with reference to the Central Government’s own administrative role. The Chief Executive and officials in Beijing would also discuss how further to intensify Guangdong-Macao cooperation, in accordance with the principles and vision stated in the Framework Agreement on Cooperation Between Guangdong and Macao. How Macao could enhance transportation links with neighbouring cities, and how the places could improve services at boundary checkpoints, would also be included in the discussions. The Chief Executive gave comment on other matters. When asked by reporters, Mr Chui stated the Government adhered to two principles in relation to the city’s planned centre for infectious disease control. First, in order to prevent and control outbreaks of disease – as per the guidelines of the World Health Organization – any region or city capable of building further facilities for that purpose should do so. Second, protecting public health was always the most important issue, namely if ever there were outbreaks of disease in a community or a threat of such outbreaks. The construction of further facilities to control infectious disease was aimed not only at providing better health services, but also was aimed at securing further the health of Macao’s population and the health of the city’s medical personnel. Mr Chui also commented on the newly-constructed Pac On Ferry Terminal, located in Taipa. He said trial operations had begun recently at the new facilities, and followed several adjustments to the plans for the terminal. The Government aimed to utilise the passenger capacity of the ferry terminal – along with that of Macau International Airport – in order assist the transformation of Macao into a world centre of tourism and leisure, he stated.
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Consumer Council conducted its First ‘Supermarket price survey’ in August on 15 August for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta, Mong Há and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. 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. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP155.2 billion (USD19.43 billion) at the end of July 2016. The reserves increased by 2.6% from the revised value of MOP151.2 billion (USD18.92 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-July 2016 represented 12 times the currency in circulation or 106.2% of Pataca M2 at end-June 2016. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca rose 0.87 points month-to-month and 1.64 points year-on-year to 106.39 in July 2016, implying that overall speaking, the pataca appreciated against the currencies of Macao’s major trading partners.
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