News

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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The concert “Journey into the World of Music - Peter and the Wolf”, presented by the Macao Orchestra, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, has been enthusiastically sought-after by the public. The tickets for the concert almost sold after going on sale. Considering the high public demand, the Macao Orchestra offers an additional concert on 18 December, at 5pm. Tickets for this additional concert are now available through the Macau Ticketing Network. In this concert, the Macao Orchestra presents the classical music fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev, in collaboration with Platypus Theatre from Canada. Since 1989, Platypus Theatre has introduced classical music to almost one million youngsters. After more than 500 performances with over 60 orchestras worldwide, Platypus Theatre has established itself as one of North America’s premier music education theatre companies. Original and engaging storylines are presented in an intelligent and interactive way, with music always taking the lead role. Children laugh, sing and empathize with the characters while learning musical concepts, styles, and much more. This concert jointly presented for the first time by Platypus Theatre and the Macao Orchestra, will surely bring musical inspiration to local children. Tickets for the concert “Journey into the world of Music - Peter and the Wolf” are priced at MOP 120, and the performance will be conducted in Cantonese and English. Ticketing hotline: (853) 2855 5555. For details about OM’s concert season programme, please visit Macao Orchestra’s official webpage www.icm.gov.mo/om or follow its official WeChat account “Macao Orchestra”.
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A Government-proposed revision of Macao’s Legislative Assembly Election Law has been amended to include a provision that candidates declare to uphold the Basic Law of Macao and pledge loyalty to the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). Such a proposed amendment was in line with a recent interpretation by the National People's Congress (NPC) regarding swearing allegiance to the country, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, said today (Monday). The proposed amendment was a step toward optimising the legal system for electing members of the Legislative Assembly and ought to be taken in order to prevent any misunderstandings in the future. The proposed amendment was initiated by the Government, rather than being a requirement from the Central Government, she added. Ms Chan made the comments this morning after a meeting of a Legislative Assembly committee tasked with analysing the Government-proposed revision to the Legislative Assembly Election Law. The bill was initially submitted to the Legislative Assembly in August; the latest amendment took place earlier this month. Candidates for Legislative Assembly Elections would be considered ineligible should they: refuse to uphold the Basic Law of Macao; refuse to pledge loyalty to the Macao SAR; or there were evidence against them demonstrating a refusal to uphold the Basic Law of Macao and/or show loyalty to the Macao SAR. How sincere candidates were when making the declarations anticipated under the proposed revision of the election law would be judged by the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election, said Ms Chan. She added the proposal did not cover the concept of “legal memory”; whereby a candidate seeking election as a member of the Legislative Assembly might somehow be scrutinised to see if his or her previous public statements appeared to contradict the proposed revised requirements. The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election might however take steps in order to confirm whether any candidates that had previously made statements appearing to question loyalty to the Basic Law of Macao or the Macao SAR had sincerely abandoned those questioning beliefs. If there were any objections to Commission decisions, candidates would have the opportunity to file an appeal to a Macao court, said the Secretary. The proposed revision to the Legislative Assembly Election Law also included optimisation of procedures to handle issues arising from any attempt by a Legislative Assembly member or Legislative Assembly candidate, to run for election as a public representative outside China. When the current law was formulated – and at the time of previous revisions –, the issue of dual allegiance had not arisen. The Government planned to remove from the proposed revised bill some provisions it had suggested in relation to permissible forms of electioneering. Some comments from legislators had suggested the proposed changes might be hard to enforce, said Ms Chan. After several rounds of discussion with members of the Legislative Assembly, the Government proposed to remove these provisions, but to leave in place those relating to the monitoring of election expenses. Regarding swearing allegiance to the country, the Standing Committee of the NPC issued earlier this month an interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, giving detailed requirements for swearing allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR and the country by candidates seeking a seat in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Article 101 of the Basic Law of Macao is basically the same as Article 104 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, said Ms Chan. The NPC’s interpretation, issued on 7 November, at a time the Macao SAR Government had already embarked on revising the city’s Legislative Assembly Election Law, was an important reference point to implement successfully the Basic Law of Macao.
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Consumer Council conducted its ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 28 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets in São Lázaro and São Lourenço Parishes. 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. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. 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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Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) launched the “Macao Tourism News plus” (beta version) today (28 November), an online database of news materials for members of the press. In a brand-new format, the platform is innovatively designed for news dissemination and goes in parallel with the Special Administrative Region Government’s direction to computerize public administration. The service is dedicated to compiling an extensive collection of Macao tourism news coming from different news providers. The inclusive service platform enables members of the press in Macao and from around the world to easily browse and use the information archived in the database, thereby upgrading the efficiency and quality of dissemination of Macao tourism news. The platform also serves to provide reference materials and useful records that may facilitate Macao’s development into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. Information transparency and resource sharing Upholding the principles of information transparency and resource sharing, MGTO actively promotes computerization of public administration. Since launching the “Macao Tourism Data plus” – an online platform of tourism statistical data in the end of 2015, the Office now presents the “Macao Tourism News plus” (beta version), an online database of tourism news materials. The database keeps over 7,300 data records which comprise more than 1,200 press releases, over 1,700 features of various events and up to 4,000 photos, etc. The platform will steadily update its news data, expand the sources of news and upload more past records of data. As a result, the archives will grow in diversity. Launch of news database across fields One of the key functions of the platform is to compile tourism news materials of Macao from different sources. At this stage, the providers of news are MGTO and its representatives in different parts of the world, who publish news in their own language based on their market demand. This segment of news data involves nearly 20 visitor source markets and over 10 different languages. For the next stage of the service, MGTO plans to invite members of the local tourism industry to provide news materials in order to create a convenient and reliable database of news across different fields. Steady upgrade of service Displaying a simple and handy design, the Macao Tourism News plus is equipped with the function of full-text search across different categories of data, allowing media users to find all the matching results from different categories such as press releases, events, images and attachments by running just one full-text query. In the days ahead, MGTO will take gradual steps to equip the platform with more useful functions, so that media users can promptly browse, collect and use a mass volume of data. The Macao Tourism News plus currently offers Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese and English interfaces. The collection of data includes press releases of MGTO and its various market representatives, images, video links, Macao Travel Talk (monthly publication for members of the industry), What’s On (monthly publication for visitors), promotional events organized by MGTO around the world as well as links to news pages of other government entities with which MGTO works in collaboration, etc. In the days ahead, MGTO will collect and summarize suggestions from first-stage users to refine and optimize the service steadily. In the next stage, MGTO will invite members of the local tourism industry to provide news materials for the public. Media are welcome to register for user account At present, journalists and editors working for local media agencies and overseas members of the press recommended by MGTO representatives (http://en.macaotourism.gov.mo/main/contactus.php) are welcome to register for a user account at the Macao Tourism News plus (http://newsplus.macaotourism.gov.mo). Based upon the status of operation, the Office will open up the platform to more media users, in hope that more members of the press can access the database of Macao tourism news and enjoy the service for free.
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The publication “Thirty-three years in Radio - Interview with the broadcaster Leong Song Fong” included in the “Macao Oral History” book series, and the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Thirty-three years in Radio - the broadcaster Leong Song Fong”, organised by the Macao Archives (AM), under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, was held on Saturday, 26 November, at 4:30pm, at the Jao Tsung-I Academy. The opening ceremony was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; the broadcaster Leong Song Fong; the media professional Tang Io Weng; and the Editor-in-Chief of the Macao Oral History book series, Cheong Cheok Fu, among others. In conjunction with the publication, two lectures, entitled “The broadcasting career of Leong Song Fong” and “The voice of a generation”, were held on the following day, at 3pm, in the lobby of the Cultural Affairs Bureau building at Tap Siac Square. The lectures were well-received by the public. The versatile voice of Leong Song Fong is a voice of the times. When he worked on radio broadcasting from 1952 to 1985, it was the golden age of the radio broadcasting industry in Hong Kong and Macao. At that time, radio dramas were a means of cultural dissemination and a favourite pastime of all ages. Over the years, they have become the collective memory of many Macao people. Leong Song Fong’s humorous radio dramas were highly popular and some characters that he portrayed therein left a deep impression on the audience. By playing multiple roles, he was enthusiastically welcomed, and his works and performances have been a significant inspiration and reference to many cultural and arts practitioners. The “Macao Oral History” book series is a collaborative effort of the Macao Archives, of social organizations and individuals. Through video and audio recordings and collections of objects, the “Macao Oral History book” series integrates personal and past experiences of people of different social levels and of leaders in different sectors, compiling the oral history associated with Macao’s growth in documents, and ultimately conveying these significant information to the public and researchers as reference. The publication “Thirty-three years in Radio - Interview with the broadcaster Leong Song Fong” included in the “Macao Oral History” book series, gives an insight into the life of Leong Song Fong from 1932 to 1985, his life experience, broadcasting skills, broadcasting career in radio stations “Emission Vila Verde” and “Radio Macau”, as well as his recollections of Macao’s historic events such as the “Wu vs. Chan fight” in 1954. The exhibition “Thirty-three years in Radio - the broadcaster Leong Song Fong” is divided in three sections, focusing on Leong’s biography, his radio broadcasting career and his colleagues and friends. The valuable photographs, objects and multimedia materials presented by courtesy of Mr. Leong enable the public to know more about his 33-year career and achievements in his profession, as well as his creativity and innovation in radio drama. The exhibition will be held from 27 November 2016 to 5 February 2017, at the Jao Tsung-I Academy located at No. 95 C-D, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Macao. The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 6pm including on public holidays (closed on Mondays). For enquiries, please call AM through tel. no. 28592919 during office hours.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for August-October 2016 held stable as in the previous period (July-September 2016), at 1.9%; the underemployment rate was 0.7%, up by 0.2 percentage points. Total labour force was 397,000 and the labour force participation rate stood at 72.3%. Total employment decreased by 4,700 from July-September, at 389,500. Analysed by industry, employment in Gaming & Junket Activities and Construction registered a decrease, while that in Hotels & Similar Activities saw an increase. Number of the unemployed was 7,500, down by 100; fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 19.2% of the total unemployed, down by 4.5 percentage points. In comparison with August-October 2015, the labour force participation rate dropped by 0.9 percentage points; the unemployment rate held steady, while the underemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points.
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Two extremely important professional conferences relative to their fields were hosted in Macao in mid-October and late October respectively. These two conferences were the “28th East Asian Insurance Congress” hosted by the Macau Insurers' Association, and the “Nano-medicine Conference” (IEEE- NanoMed 2016) hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The organizers of these two conferences had declared that they chose Macao to be the host city of the conferences for this year, due in part to Macao’s attractiveness stemming from the interflow between Chinese and Western cultures in addition to Macao’s distinguished cultural outlook. Additionally, the adequacy of the conference facilities allowed the participants to enjoy themselves in a comfortable conference environment permitting many opportunities for exploration. The organizers of these two conferences also praised Macao for its rapid development, indicating Macao’s future possibilities of being chosen as place where more international large-scale conferences will be hosted. A professional conference which was established more than half a century ago Hitherto, the East Asian Insurance Congress has had a history of more than 50 years. It is hosted once every two years, and in each instance one of the 12 member cities in the Asian region is selected to be the Host City upon the assessment conducted by the Executive Committee of the East Asian Insurance Congress. This year the East Asian Insurance Congress has attracted 41 countries and regions, and more than 1,600 executives and elites in the field have participated. In this way, the related field in Macao has benefited greatly. Mr. Chris Ma, Vice President of the Macau Insurers’ Association, and Chairman of the 28th East Asian Insurance Congress Organizing Committee, states that from the successful bid which took place in 2014 to the full conclusion in 2016, the businesses in the field have become more united by jointly organizing the conference, and this unity provides a solid foundation for reciprocal collaboration in the future. Mr. Chris Ma mentions that the first time the East Asian Insurance Congress was hosted in Macao was in 1998, and this year the same event was hosted in Macao again.. The organizing committee has been amazed by Macao’s improvement of infrastructure including conference facilities, hotel facilities, services, and so on. He claims that when the “19th East Asian Insurance Congress” was held in Macao in 1998, the scale of the event was limited by the venue facilities and reception capacity of hotels to a certain degree. Having developed for almost 20 years, Macao’s reception capacity and the scale of venues have extended so drastically that all the participants could have meetings and be accomodated under one roof.. In this way, the cost of transportation and human resources was lowered by a large amount, and thus the participants could spend more time on experiencing leisure and entertainment in Macao. Both Mr. Chris Ma and Zhidong Wang, Chairman of the“IEEE-NanoMed 2016”Organizing Committee, point out that the economic benefits brought up by large-scale conferences can be felt beyond the event itself. Not only have the participants been attracted to spend money in Macao, more importantly the participants will also play a role similarly to that of Macao’s promotional representatives, as they may promote Macao’s distinguished culture and attractions. This will contribute to the progression of Macao’s international image which in turn may improve tourism and economic opportunities within the community. Solid foundation for hosting large-scale conferences in Macao The successful hosting of the two conferences mentioned above is not only contingent upon the venues and facilities provided by international class hotels, but also the professionalism of the exhibition services providers in Macao. Meridian Concepts Ltd., serving as the primary provider of the “28th East Asian Insurance Congress”, has been responsible for jobs such as event planning, advertising, and reception. Edmund Wong, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, states that this professional conference has brought about remarkable effects, and Macao’s hard and soft capacities of hosting large-scale conferences are well proven. He claims that as the SAR government has been making efforts over the years, Macao’s conference facilities and reception capacity have been among the best in the world. Additionally, Macao’s cultural inclusiveness is very strong. The totality of these characteristics are Macao’s distinct advantages which can stimulate further interest in hosting international large-scale conferences. Additionally, he is satisfied with the fruitful results of this East Asian Insurance Congress, as it has not only allowed for the exchange between businesses in the field, but also many participants have even signed contracts after negotiations right in the venue. In this way, the functions of the platform of this event are fully illustrated, and the objectives of the professional conferences have been fulfilled. Large-scale exhibition events coming soon From December this year to January 2017, exhibition events will take place in Macao consecutively as usual. Those events include the “15th Hong Kong Jeunesse University and Greater China Fifth Anniversary Conference”, of which the expected scale covers more than 12,000 people, and several international professional conferences which have decided to host their events in Macao, including the “3rd Cross-strait and Hong Kong and Macao Regional Nursing Summit and Symposium”, “CMS 2016 Annual Business Summary Conference”, and the “10th International Conference on Computational Physics”, etc. For details, please visit the official website of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute: http://www.ipim.gov.mo.
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