News

In order to optimize one of the main tourist attractions Taipa Houses-Museum, the Cultural Affairs Bureau carried out renovation and conservation works since the end of this August, including painting the exterior walls, repairing windows and door frame, and installation of lighting in the surrounding areas of the buildings. The works have been completed and three of the houses are open to the public starting from this Saturday, 1 October, with free admission. Five Portuguese buildings of Taipa Houses-Museum were built in 1921, which had been the residences for high superior civil servants and Macanese families. In 1992, the five buildings were recognized as buildings with architectural value. After restoration, the Government transformed them into museums, under the name of “Taipa Houses-Museum”, which were opened to the public in 1999. In order to optimize the surrounding environment of the Taipa Houses-Museum, in the preservation of the original characteristics of the buildings, the Government proceeded further integration of five buildings, creating a multicultural leisure area and building a platform for showcasing the culture of Portuguese-speaking countries and international cultural exchange. The Taipa Houses-Museum are open to the public from 10am to 7pm (no admission after 6:30pm; closed on Mondays). For more information, please contact IC through tel. no. 8988 4000, during office hours.
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Consumer Council establishes the ‘Code of Practice’ for food and beverage services to further enhance the sense of food safety of ‘Certified Shops’, and the prerequisite to label price further safeguard consumers’ rights to information and choose when making consumption. Consumer Council establishes ‘Codes of Practice’ for different industries to safeguard consumers’ access to safe and high-quality products and services. ‘Code of Practice’ for F&B services takes effect on 1 October Macao is now an international tourism city, local food and beverage businesses should make themselves up-to-date and satisfy both local citizens’ and international tourists’ requests regarding food services. Consumer Council, therefore, consulted Food Safety Centre of IACM, consultants of Consumer Arbitration Centre, and ‘Certified Shops’ from the relevant businesses and established the ‘Code of Practice’ for food and beverage services, and the Code will take effect on 1 October. Strict regulations on many aspects The ‘Code of Practice’ for food & beverage services requires ‘Certified Shops’ of the concerned industry to comply with the local regulation to strictly following the execution of food safety and measurements. Other requirements include: ‘Certified Shops’ must let consumers know about the measured weights or volume, retail prices of food or beverage products and other charges must be listed explicitly, description of ingredients should match the food sold to consumers, and ‘Certified Shops’ should support the sustainable development of the environment in terms of operations. Different Codes to be set for various industries The Council states that the ‘Code of Practice’ for F&B services safeguards consumers in areas such as food safety and information transparency, the said Code is currently the seventeenth Code set for industries under the ‘Certified Shop’ mechanism. The Council will continue to establish different Codes to raise the overall standard of ‘Certified Shops’. ‘Code of Practice’ regulates rights and obligations of both consumers and traders There are currently about 120 shops under the ‘Certified Shop’ mechanism, all shops are called on to abide by the Code, and the Council welcomes other shops to adopt the new Code for the improvement of local food and beverage service industry. The ‘Code of Practice’ for food and beverage services is now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and will be available at different public locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for August 2016 amounted to MOP973 million, up by 8.4% year-on-year; value of domestic exports (MOP224 million) soared by 94.7%, with that of Tobacco rising by 89.4%; meanwhile, value of re-exports (MOP749 million) dropped by 4.3%. Total merchandise import registered an increase for the first time since August 2015, up by 1.8% year-on-year to MOP6.92 billion, as imports of Large passenger cars surged by 722.9% and imports of Watches and Gold jewellery rose by 40.7% and 16.5% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.94 billion. In the first eight months of 2016, total value of merchandise export dropped by 5.4% year-on-year to MOP6.91 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP5.66 billion) decreased by 7.1%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.25 billion) increased by 2.6%. Total value of merchandise import fell by 18.7% to MOP46.05 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP39.13 billion for the first eight months of 2016. Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP3.91 billion) decreased by 12.5% year-on-year in the first eight months of 2016. Despite a 1.8% drop in exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.13 billion), exports to Hubei Province (MOP20 million) and Beijing (MOP13 million) surged by 1,260.8% and 60.2% respectively, resulting in a 0.8% rise in exports to Mainland China (MOP1.20 billion). Meanwhile, exports to the EU (MOP122 million) and the USA (MOP97 million) reduced by 23.8% and 28.2% respectively. Exports of Non-textiles declined by 4.8% year-on-year to MOP6.42 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP674 million) dropped by 29.5% but that of Tobacco & wine (MOP559 million) grew by 51.5%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP492 million, down by 13.0%. By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP16.54 billion) and the EU (MOP11.35 billion) in the first eight months of 2016 decreased by 21.1% and 11.0% respectively year-on-year. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China declined by 7.3% to MOP7.85 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP7.45 billion) fell by 7.6%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 14.3% to MOP28.90 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP2.88 billion) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP814 million) decreasing by 34.3% and 55.3% respectively. Moreover, imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP4.08 billion), Mobile phones (MOP2.68 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.36 billion) declined by 13.5%, 48.0% and 35.9% respectively. External merchandise trade totalled MOP52.96 billion in the first eight months of 2016, down by 17.1% compared with MOP63.91 billion a year earlier.
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Consumer Council and Macao Customs work together before 1 October holiday to distribute leaflets to ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ to enhance shops’ awareness of copyrighted goods and to show them the correct way of price labeling. 1 October holiday is a high season for shopping in Macao, the Council and Macao Customs visited ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ from telecommunications supplies, jewellery, and Chinese medicines industries in the northern district and near Rotunda de Carlos da Maia. ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ are reminded to purchase goods from reliable sources, refrain from selling counterfeit products, label prices of products and services in MOP, and to guarantee that the goods sold to consumers are legal and safe. Consumer Council states that multiple on-site visits have been carried out by both departments in preparation for various shopping high seasons to enhance the awareness of ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’, and to ensure the operations and services of shops meet the standard of the ‘Certified Shops’ mechanism. Measures will be taken timely if problems are found to ensure the standard and quality of ‘Adherents’ and ‘Certified Shops’ are secured, and to encourage local citizens’ and tourists’ confidence in shopping in Macao. There are currently over 1,000 shops under the ‘Certified Shops’ mechanism.
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Dr Brian Hall from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau (UM), will receive the Chaim and Bela Danieli Young Professional Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) in November. The ISTSS is an international organisation dedicated to research on psychological trauma and adversity. The Chaim and Bela Danieli Young Professional Award recognises excellence in science or research in the field of traumatic stress by an individual who has completed his or her training within the last five years. Dr Hall has been elected to serve on the ISTSS’s Board of Directors for a three-year term. Past award recipients are all leaders in the field of traumatic stress and public health, including Dr Cherie Armour from the University of Ulster; Dr Erika Wolf from Boston University and the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Dr Katie A McLaughlin from the University of Washington; Dr Robert H Pietrzak from Yale University; Dr Wietse A Tol from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Dr Ananda Amstadter from Virginia Commonwealth University; Dr Karestan Koenen from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; and Dr Mark van Ommeren from the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr Hall will attend the annual ISTSS conference to be held in Dallas, Texas, in November, and will give a speech on the use of technology in delivering mental health services to migrant populations, a project he is working on in collaboration with the WHO. As a clinical psychologist, an epidemiologist, and an expert on global public health, Dr Hall is currently involved in a collaborative multidisciplinary research project aimed to improve the health of the populace in the Greater China region, with an emphasis on the population in Macao, and the migrant communities in the Pearl River Delta region. To learn more about Dr. Hall’s research, please visit http://www.umac.mo/fss/psychology/staff_Brian.html.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 28 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Taipa and Coloane area. 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. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided over 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that Receipts of travel agencies amounted to MOP 6.50 billion in 2015, down by 10.6% year-on-year. Receipts from Package Tours (MOP 1.96 billion) increased by 7.6%, while receipts from Passenger Transport Ticketing (MOP 1.90 billion) and Room Reservations (MOP 1.09 billion) decreased by 17.9% and 31.6% respectively owing to the growing popularity of online booking for hotel rooms, air tickets, etc., thus resulting in a year-on-year decline in Receipts of the industry. A total of 250 travel agencies were operating in 2015, an increase of 13 year-on-year. Number of persons engaged rose by 343 year-on-year to 4,545, of which drivers (1,404) accounted for 30.9%. Analysed by number of persons engaged, receipts of large travel agencies with 50 or more persons came mainly from Package Tours (MOP 723 million) and Rental of Coaches with Driver (MOP 645 million), up by 20.1% and 8.6% respectively year-on-year; however, as receipts from Room Reservations (MOP 425 million) and Passenger Transport Ticketing (MOP 211 million) dropped significantly by 30.2% and 21.7%, receipts of this type of travel agencies (MOP 2.42 billion) shrank by 4.9% year-on-year. Meanwhile, receipts of small travel agencies with less than 10 persons were generated primarily from Passenger Transport Ticketing (MOP 692 million), up by 26.5% year-on-year; yet, receipts of these travel agencies dropped slightly by 0.9% to MOP 1.25 billion due to the declines in receipts from Package Tours (MOP 242 million) and Room Reservations (MOP 208 million). Expenditure of travel agencies amounted to MOP 6.21 billion, down by 9.5% year-on-year. Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid decreased by 13.9% to MOP 4.76 billion (76.7% of total), while Operating Expenses (MOP 749 million) and Compensation of Employees (MOP 699 million) increased by 7.1% and 10.8% respectively. Expenditure of the large travel agencies (with 50 or more persons engaged) dropped by 6.2% year-on-year to MOP 2.13 billion, of which Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid (62.1% of total) shrank by 14.9% to MOP 1.32 billion. Expenditure of the small travel agencies (with less than 10 persons engaged) grew by 2.5% year-on-year to MOP 1.27 billion, with Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid (88.8% of total) rising by 2.7% to MOP 1.13 billion. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy amounted to MOP 1.00 billion, down by 4.8% year-on-year. Gross Surplus of travel agencies decreased by 28.5% year-on-year to MOP 297 million, while Gross Surplus Ratio dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 4.6%. Meanwhile, Gross Fixed Capital Formation decreased by 35.1% to MOP 157 million owing to a decrease in acquisition of shops.
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Consumer Council published a test on adult milk powder in its latest issue no. 276 Consumer Report and all 15 samples examined contain no melamine. A detailed analysis of the number of cases received by the Council is also included in the magazine. The Council and Food Safety Centre of IACM continue to work together to safeguard consumers’ safety, this year, the two departments spot checked adult milk powder for their melamine content. The Council and Food Safety Centre examined 15 batches from 13 brands of adult milk powder and conducted the test based on China’s national standard. All samples examined are found to have no melamine that affects human’s health. Prolonged or heavy consumption of melamine result in kidney stones, which affect the bladder and excretory system, therefore, examination of dairy products is one of the measures to ensure consumers’ health safety. The test result is now published in issue no. 276 Consumer Report and a feature on how to choose adult milk powder, and on reading the ingredients list is included. The Council received 832 complaints, 2,464 enquiries, and 26 suggestions in the first half of 2016. A detailed analysis is included in the latest issue of Consumer Report. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 24-A, Edf. Cheung Heng, R/C), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo) and WeChat official account. For enquiry, please call 8988-9315.
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The initial review of the 2016 Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), has been completed. A total of 24 applications were received in this Programme, and the adjudicating panel selected 15 entrants for the second review. Each candidate eligible for the second review will be granted a subsidy up to a maximum amount of MOP160,000 to cover expenses of sample making and production of promotional materials. The IC has initiated the “Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making” since 2013, in order to promote the development of Macao’s fashion design industry. This year, a total of 24 applications were received, of which over 40% were from new applicants, and more than half have registered trademarks for their fashion brands. IC has organised a professional adjudicating panel to grade the entries based on the entries’ creativity and originality, market potential, quality, overall visual effects, feasibility and degree of perfection of the exhibition and business plan, as well as the rationale of budgeting. The adjudicating panel is comprised of Terry Sio Un I, Chairman of the Rainbow Group; Victoria Kuan Chi Ping, Senior Manager of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre; José Tang Kuan Meng, member of the Committee of Cultural Industries and Vice President of the Industrial Association of Macau; Walter Ma, Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association and Raymond Au, consultant of the Macao Fashion Gallery. Entrants selected to the second review are (in arbitrary order): on an individual basis, Tam Chi Kit, Cheang Chi Tat, Wai Chin Seong, Peng Yun, Lao Ka Weng, Oliveira Nuno Maximiano Lopes De, Tam Fu Man, Chiang Sau Yee, Wong Man Chon, Lai Choi Fan and Leong Man Teng; on a team basis, Wong Ha and Cheong Kuan Peng, Lo Ka Heng and Choi Wai Leng, Liu Ching Nam and Wong Ka Wa, Dias Cardoso Ana Claudia and Dias Cardoso Nair Alexandra. IC will notify the entrants by telephone and email. The date and venue for the second review will be announced at a later stage. Entrants shall produce a sample based on the selected work for second interview in their application, and present it to the adjudicating panel during the second review on a model of their choice (make-up and hair design must be compatible with the overall modeling). Entrants shall also introduce their works and answer questions raised by the adjudicating panel in person. Following the second review, entrants may apply for a subsidy in the maximum amount of MOP11,000 to reimburse the expenses incurred on sample making and presentation. The adjudicating panel will select a maximum of eight individuals or teams as the beneficiaries of the programme. Each of them may receive a subsidy up to a maximum amount of MOP160,000 for sample production and promotional materials of selected entries. Details of the programme are available on Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo/en/CCI-Subsidy) and the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). For enquiries, please call Ms. Lam, staff member of IC through tel. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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The opening ceremony of the exhibition “The Trumpet of the Times: Poet F. Hua-Lin”, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), was held on 27 September, at 6:30pm at the Jao Tsung-I Academy. The opening ceremony was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; the President of the Pen of Macau, Li Guanding; the President of the Macau Documentation and Information Society, Tang Chon Chit; the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Macao Daily News, Lio Chi Heng; and the representative of Hua-Lin’s family, Fung Ping Buck. This exhibition features manuscripts, poems, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, music scores, song lists and other related items pertaining to the Macao poet Hua-Lin, who rose as a new star in the Chinese literary circles in the 1930s and 1940s, and earned the title "the trumpet of the times" during the "isolated-island period" in Shanghai. All the objects have been generously donated by relatives of the poet. This is the first time an exhibition gives an overall and three-dimensional picture of the poet, his poems and his era. With this exhibition, IC hopes to attract people's attention to the literature of Macao. F. Hua-Lin is the adopted pseudonym of Fung Kam Chiu (1915-1992), born in Macao. In 1939, he graduated from the Foreign Language Department of Jinan National University in Shanghai and, in the following decade, roamed through several places such as Yunan, Guilin, Guizhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao, where, in spite of many difficulties, he kept on writing and publishing a lot of poems and translated works. In the early 1950s, he settled down in Macao where he kept on working and polishing his writings. In the late 1960s, he began his studies on classical Chinese poetry and couplet making. Among his published works are Mei Gui [Rose], Xiang Ri Kui [Sunflower], Man Tian Xing [Starry Sky], Qian Niu Hua [Morning Glory], Huo Hua Ji [Sparkling Flame], and Hua Ling Si Wen Ji [Poems and Writings Collection of F. Hua-Lin], in addition to a great number of unpublished translations, poems, couplets and monographs. In order to complement this exhibition and allow the population to understand more in depth the poet and his work, IC launches the collection The Trumpet of the Times: Poet F. Hua-Lin (priced at MOP100). In addition, IC has invited poet Song Zijiang to conduct a study of and compile Hua-Lin’s poems, including his English-language poems, translation and essays, and now publishes Ardent Appeals: Selected Poems and Essays by F. Hua-Lin (priced at MOP80). These editions feature a rich content, with part of the works included therein never having been published and including also rare new poems that were published in scattered fashion in newspapers of several places. The two books will be available at a discounted price on the day and venue of the opening ceremony, and will be available for sale at full price during the period of the exhibition. The exhibition “The Trumpet of the Times: Poet F. Hua-Lin” will run from 28 September to 13 November at Jao Tsung-I Academy, daily from 10am to 6pm, including on public holidays, closing on Mondays. Admission is free. For more information, please refer to IC’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo, or call IC through tel. no. 2852 2523, during office hours.
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