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Ground and preparatory foundation works for the Islands District Medical Complex have already begun; meanwhile, the Government was finalising revisions regarding the blueprints and tenders for the different parts of the complex. The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo do Rosário, made the comments on Wednesday (29 June) after a meeting – at the Legislative Assembly – with the Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concession Affairs. Mr Rosário said it had been proposed that the Islands District Medical Complex would comprise seven buildings: there were two development phases – each featuring a different design project – for each individual building, and these would require the scrutiny of more than 10 bodies, including public departments and other parties involved in the Islands District Medical Complex project. As of the present time, some of the design proposals had twice been subject to revisions. It was difficult to estimate how many revisions in total each design proposal would need, as the Islands District Medical Complex was a relatively complicated facility, he added. So far, preparatory foundation works had been completed for two of the seven structures, Mr Rosário stated. The Government expected that the Islands District Medical Complex would not be completed by 2019, as there was a large number of issues to consider, including: revisions to design proposals; the defining of the various construction works that would be required for each structure; and the respective construction tendering processes.
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To actualize the Macao SAR government’s ‘people-oriented’ policy, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) has been proactively considering different measures to facilitate the public. The PSP has evaluated the operation at the Centro de Serviços and decides to improve the current services there. Starting from 4 July 2016, non-resident workers whose application for a Non-resident Worker’s Identification Card is approved may choose to collect the Card at either the Non-resident Workers Subdivision at the Immigration Department Office Building at Pac On, Taipa or Zone K, 1st Floor, Centro de Serviços, Rua Nova da Areia Preta. This supersedes the past restriction of collecting the document at only the same location where the application is submitted. The PSP will continue to review and improve the services provided at the Centro de Serviços, as well as study the feasibility of introducing more service items. In addition, we will extend the cooperation with other government departments located there to simplify administrative procedures. We hope to provide more comprehensive one-stop services at the Centro de Serviços.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in June on 29 June 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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The Macao Museum of Art (MAM) under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, in collaboration with the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macao and the Alliance Française de Macao, hold the exhibition “Auguste Borget: A Painter-Traveller on the South China Coast”, as part of Le French May 2016, which was inaugurated on 29 June, at 6:30pm, at the Gallery of Special Exhibitions located on the 2nd floor of the Museum. The exhibition features French painter Auguste Borget’s documentary works, made during his travels in the Far East, presenting a glimpse of the folk customs and cultures of Macao and its surrounding areas in the 19th century. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao S.A.R. Government, Ung Vai Meng; the Consul-General of the of France in Hong Kong and Macao, Eric Berti; the Representative and Assistant of the Chief of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Shao Bin; the Head of the Section of Public Diplomacy and Information of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Li Nan; the Chairman of the Board of Le French May, Andrew Yuen; the Curator of the Châteauroux Libraries of France, Carole Gasnier; the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Eve Tam; and the Vice-President of the Alliance Française de Macao, Éric Sautedé. The guests later toured the exhibition accompanied by the Director of Macao Museum of Art, Chan Hou Seng. The exhibition showcases over 120 exhibits on loan from nine cultural entities from Macao, Hong Kong, France and the United Kingdom as well as seven private organisations and collectors, including sketches, watercolours, oil paintings, prints and antique books. Over 40 paintings are themed on Macao in the 19th Century, while the rest depict areas like Hong Kong and Guangzhou during the same period. In particular, the oil painting “A-Ma Temple, Macao” which was acquired by the King of France, Louis Philippe I, is also shown in this exhibition. Born in the French town of Issoudun, the French painter and traveller Auguste Borget (1808 - 1877) was the son of a banker. Having a passion for art since his childhood, Borget studied with Jean-Antoine Gudin in his early years in Paris and where he made acquaintance with prominent French writer Honoré de Balzac who would have a deep impact on Borget. Although Borget has never been regarded as a great French artist, his talent in both writing and painting were in fact considered very rare in that time in France. In October 1836, the adventurous Borget embarked on a four-year-long voyage around the world. In 1838, Borget arrived in China, visiting Macao, Hong Kong, and Guangdong and Fujian provinces. During his stay in China, Borget spent over eight months in Macao, the “City in the Name of God”, where he stationed the longest in China; the icon of the city – the A-Ma Temple, was described by Borget as the “best architecture ever seen” and his art series on the temple is the most famous among his various series. Upon his return to France, Borget published the book Sketches of China and the Chinese in Paris in 1842, an illustrated volume with renderings of scenes and landscapes he had captured in China, which helped to enrich the French’ knowledge about the other side of the world. In an age before photography, Borget’s paintings captured the landscapes of the South China coast and his work serves as an important historical record of the folk customs and precious legacy of Sino-Western cultural exchange. The exhibition “Auguste Borget: A Painter-Traveller on the South China Coast” lastsuntil 9 October, including thematic exhibition guided tours in Cantonese available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between 3pm and 4pm, starting from 16 July. Furthermore, guided tour services are available in Cantonese, Mandarin and English for groups and schools by advance booking and the event “Go on an Adventure with Borget – Children Group Visit Exhibition” will open on 19 July. For details, please visit www.icm.gov.mo or www.MAM.gov.mo. For enquiries, please call MAM through tel. no. 8791 9814, during office hours. The Macao Museum of Art, located at Av. 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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Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has introduced a new service for the Collection of Notification of Approval of Temporary Residency Renewal (the notification) at the social welfare service area of IACM´s (Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau) in the Centro de Serviços da RAEM in Areia Preta, located in Bairro da Areia Preta. This demonstrates the Macao SAR Government´s concept of a “One-Stop Service” and, at the same time, achieves the objective of assisting residents by improving public sector efficiency. Additional collection points for the picking up of the Notification of Approval of Temporary Residency Renewal Aiming to assist residents, IPIM launched in conjunction with several government departments under the same Secretariat in August 2015 the “Document Submission Service for Bureaus under the Secretariat for Economy and Finance”, in response to the appeal of the Secretary for Economy and Finance. , IPIM has now introduced a new “cross-departmental” service with IACM to provide greater support to local residents in the collection of the Notification of Approval of Temporary Residency Renewal. Applicants or their authorised persons who have received notice of the results of their renewal applications by SMS may select in advance collect the notification at the IACM social welfare service area in the Centro de Serviços da RAEM in Areia Preta. Furthermore, the Immigration Department and Macao Identification Services Bureau now provide the services for the application of the "Receipt of Residence Authorization Renewal" and the renewal of the Macao Resident Identity Card. Services currently provided at the Immigration Department's Building in Pac-On, Taipa, and Macao Identification Services Bureau in China Plaza, Avenida da Praia Grande, remain unchanged. For further details, please visit IPIM´s official website at www.ipim.gov.mo. IPIM Provide Online and Offline Application Enquiry Service Regarding “Temporary Residency Application for Management and/or Technical Personnel” and “Temporary Residency for Major Investment/Investment Plan” applications, with the aim of assisting applicants with their enquiries about the status of their application and related details, apart from the official IPIM website, applicants may also make enquire by e-mail (gjfr@ipim.gov.mo), or phone 28712055, fax 28713950 or in person at IPIM’s office, on 1st Floor 918 Avenida da Amizade World Trade Centre.
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IFT’s new Taipa campus will be in operation from 1 August, while its former campus, located at Estrada Coronel Nicolau de Mesquita No. 14, Edif. César Fortune AC/V1-V3, Taipa, Macao, will be suspended from 1 July. For any public queries, please feel welcome to contact IFT at 2856-1252. Last year, Macao SAR Government has granted IFT the former University of Macau Library, the Staff Quarter building, two laboratories, in addition to the East Asia Hall being granted earlier. The new premises enable IFT to offer a better and more spacious and interactive teaching and learning environment. More programmes and professional courses can be planned to respond to the needs of the industry and the changing industry environment. More local and international students and scholars can also be welcome to further enhance the Institute’s multi-cultural teaching, research and learning environment. New training facilities including a training hotel will be incorporated in the new campus for training and practice. All these serve the ultimate goal of enhancing tourism education and training in Macao, so as to develop competent industry professionals and leaders who will help realise Macao’s vision to become a World Centre for Tourism and Leisure. The former library building is located on a small hill, it is now named as “Forward Building”, meaning to look forward to a new prospect and fruitful future for IFT. Forward Building will be in operation from 1 August as a teaching building complex of IFT. Besides classrooms, there will be facilities like library, conference venues, training center, administrative and teaching staff offices, food and beverage venue and car park. In the new Taipa campus, the East Asia Hall, where the students had moved in at the year-end of 2015, will mainly serve the purpose as student hostel. For the former Staff Quarter building, it will be modelled after serviced apartments and act as a training hotel for students so as to provide more practical training opportunities to them. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 97 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 7 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
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The Government has launched – with effect from today – a new tool that allows citizens to check online any financial obligation to be paid. Under the new online tool, members of the public can check information regarding any payments they might owe, such as tax, fines, and fees to public departments. The new tool can be accessed by citizens that have set up a personal account with the Electronic Service of the Financial Services Bureau. It can also be accessed at relevant self-service kiosks, by the Macao resident submitting his or her identity card for scanning. Any balances owed can be paid via the Financial Services Bureau’s Coercive Collection Bureau, located at Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues n.os 614A-640, Edifício Long Cheng.
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On 12th May this year, the Macao Youth Dynamics submitted a complaint letter to the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC), stating that the funding of RMB100 million by the Macao Foundation to Jinan University is in violation of the law and is suspected of transfer of benefits, thus requesting the CCAC to commence investigation. After a preliminary analysis of the complaint letter mentioned above, the CCAC commenced the case and adopted the relevant investigative measures in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law of the CCAC, including the request of documents and information from competent authorities and listened to the statement of the persons concerned, so as to analyse the legitimacy of the funding in this case. I. The development of the Macao Foundation funding Jinan University In April this year, the Macao Foundation received the application of Jinan University, hoping that funding would be granted to fund the construction of the school building on the south campus and the media studies centre. After analysing the information submitted by Jinan University, the Administrative Committee of the Macao Foundation considers that the application for funding is reasonable and feasible, but since the amount applied exceeds the authority of the Administrative Committee, therefore, it was decided to submit the application to the Board of Trustees for discussion and consideration. The Board of Trustees of the Macao Foundation discussed the application for funding at its meeting on 13th April this year and agreed to fund the construction of a media studies centre of Jinan University in 2016 and the funding amount would be RMB50 million; and funding Jinan University in the construction of other development projects in the campus, with the upper limit not exceeding RMB50 million in 2017. According to the statement of the person-in-charge of the Macao Foundation, although the Board of Trustees accepted the application for funding, and Jinan University has submitted all documents related to the funding, such as tendering, bid evaluation, land-use rights, etc., since the details of implementation relating to the funding are still under discussing, therefore, the amount will only be paid after reaching an agreement. II. Whether or not Macao Foundation’s provision of funding to Jinan University contravened the law According to the complaint letter from Macao Youth Dynamics, Jinan University’s seeking funding from Macao Foundation could be regarded as a blatant attempt of the Chinese mainland officials to demand money from the SAR government, which is a violation of the provision under Article 104 of the Basic Law – “The Macao Special Administrative Region shall have independent finances. All financial revenues of the Macao Special Administrative Region shall be managed and controlled by the Region itself and shall not be handed over the Central People’s Government.” The CCAC believed that “hand over” as referred to in Article 104 of the Basic Law is seen as a compulsory act of a local government to pay, as required by the law, financial revenues generated within a particular period of time to the Central People’s Government, including tax revenues and other revenues obtained by legal means. The decision to approve Jinan University’s application for the funding in question was made by Macao Foundation after it conducted an assessment according to the statutory procedures. The bodies of Macao Foundation have the decision-making power regarding whether or not to approve the funding. “Providing funding”, as a matter of fact, is of a completely different nature from that of “handing over revenues”. Therefore, it did not violate the provision under Article 104 of the Basic Law. As Article 2 of the Statute of the Macao Foundation reads, “the Foundation's purpose is to promote the development and the study of cultural, social, economic, educational, scientific, academic and philanthropic activities”, and “the activity of the Foundation is developed predominantly in Macao. The Foundation may develop exchanges and cooperation with institutions or entities whose activities are compatible with its purpose, and support them financially, if necessary, in accordance with this Statute and other applicable instruments”. It can be understood that although the activity carried out by the Macao Foundation must be mainly based in Macao, it may develop exchanges and cooperation with institutions outside the Region and support them financially in accordance with the Statute and other applicable instruments. As the provision of financial support for Jinan University to build educational facilities was compatible with the Macao Foundation’s purpose, the approval of funding according to the statutory procedures did not contravene the law. III. Whether or not the members of Board of Trustees have violated the regulations of recusal The complaint letter from the Macau Youth Dynamics indicated that the Chief Executive and some other individualities were not only the president and the members of the Board of Trustees of Macao Foundation but also the deputy president and the members of the board of directors of Jinan University. Therefore, they were the main interested parties of the case. Since they were the ones who allocated the resource and finally gained the benefits, such obvious conflict of roles has violated the provisions which require recusal of the official himself, or that arise from his relation with his family member or representative under the Code of Administrative Procedure. According to the stipulations about necessary recusal and self-recusal provided by Articles 46 and 50 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, officeholder of the Public Administration shall recuse himself/herself when the person, as himself/herself or as a representative, or his/her relative has an interest in the procedure, activity or contract. The CCAC considered that to clarify whether or not the Chief Executive and some of the members of the Board of Trustees, who were also the vice president and the members of the board of directors of Jinan University, could be considered as the “representatives” of the university and thus should recuse themselves is the key to judge whether the funding is illegal or not. Article 251 of the Civil Code, which serves as the legal definition of “representative”, provides a clear meaning of the concept. Article 1 of the Internal Regulation of Recusal Mechanism Applied to the Collegiate Bodies of Macao Foundation stipulates that for the purpose of Sub-paragraph a) of Article 46 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, the “representative” of an entity involved in the resolutions made by a collegiate body of Macao Foundation refers to: a) The person or body entitled to represent the entity before a third party or inside and outside the court under relevant regulation; or b) The person who is empowered or authorized by the applicant to be its representative regarding the issues involved in the resolution made by the collegiate body of Macao Foundation. According to the Regulation of Board of Directors of Jinan University, the board’s duty is to assist the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council in Jinan University’s development. It is the board members’ duty to supervise and give opinions on the operation of the university, but it is not their duty to act as representatives of the university on external matters. Moreover, they were not authorized to represent the university when making the application to the Macao Foundation. Therefore, the Chief Executive and those members of the Board of Trustees cannot be considered as “representatives” of Jinan University. Therefore, in the process of assessment and approval of the funding application, there was no situation in which recusal was necessary for avoiding conflict of roles and interests as stipulated by the Code of Administrative Procedure and the Internal Regulation of Recusal Mechanism Applied to the Collegiate Bodies of Macao Foundation and those requiring the personnel of Public Administration to self-recuse due to reasonable suspicion over their impartiality and the righteousness of their behavior as mentioned in the said code and internal regulation. IV. Whether the members of Board of Trustees have involved in transfer of interests The CCAC believed that Jinan University, being a public institution engaging in higher education activities launched by the Mainland government department, possesses the quality of public legal person whose financial resources should be allocated on public education works according to law. The grant given to Jinan University by the Macao Foundation conformed to the objects and statutory procedures of the Foundation and has not violated the legal stipulation of recusal. Thus, there was no sign showing the involvement of “transfer of interests” claimed in the letter. Concerning the claim in the letter that the Board of Trustees and the Administrative Council of Macao Foundation were mostly comprised of traditional association representatives and businesspersons, with some of them also being the members of the Election Committee of the Chief Executive, thus “they were from the same interest group and were suspicious of involving in collusion with each other”. The CCAC believed that such conclusion was just a guess made by the complainants. After investigation, given that there was no evidence showing that the procedures and decisions concerning the funding given to Jinan University by Macao Foundation were against the above legal stipulation or showed the signs of criminal offences, the allegations made in the letter were groundless. The CCAC archived the case in accordance with the law.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitors on package tours totalled 541,000 in May 2016, down by 34.2% year-on-year and 8.5% month-to-month. Package tour visitors from Mainland China (420,000) decreased by 36.0% year-on-year, and those from the Republic of Korea (26,000) and Taiwan (29,000) dropped by 29.6% and 40.9% respectively. In the first five months of 2016, visitors on package tours totalled 2,833,000, down by 33.6% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 98,000 in May 2016, down by 21.5% year-on-year and yet up by 5.6% month-to-month. Residents travelling on package tours decreased by 28.0% year-on-year to 37,000; those travelling to Mainland China and the Republic of Korea dropped by 36.0% and 21.2% respectively, while those to Hong Kong and Taiwan rose by 44.7% and 19.1%. In the first five months of 2016, outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 503,000, down by 17.1% year-on-year. There were 105 hotels & guesthouses operating at the end of May 2016, an increase of 3 year-on-year. Number of guest rooms totalled 32,000, up by 2,600 (+8.6%) year-on-year; 4-star hotel rooms (7,700) had the largest growth of 28.4% and 5-star hotel rooms (21,000) increased by 5.1%. A total of 932,000 guests checked into hotels & guesthouses in May 2016, up by 9.2% year-on-year. Guests from Mainland China (592,000) increased by 8.3%, while those from Hong Kong (129,000) and Taiwan (36,000) registered double-digit growth, at 14.3% and 34.0% respectively. The average length of stay of guests held stable at 1.4 nights as in May 2015. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses was 79.3%, down by 0.6 percentage point year-on-year; the occupancy rate of 4-star hotels (84.5%) and 3-star hotels (82.7%) increased by 4.5 and 3.7 percentage points respectively. In the first five months of 2016, guests of hotels & guesthouses totalled 4,510,000, up by 12.1% year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 78.0% and the average length of stay of guests was 1.4 nights, down by 1.4 percentage points and 0.1 night respectively. Visitor-guests accounted for 71.6% of the total overnight visitors, up notably by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) is closely monitoring the developments of the situation following the explosions in the airport in Turkey. From the information gathered through the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the Macao SAR, there is no indication that any Macao resident has been affected. Until the present moment, GGCT has not received any request for information or assistance. If necessary, Macao residents can call:24-hour Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000 The Chinese Embassy and consulates or the Global Emergency Call Center for Consular Protection and Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 24-hour hotline: +86 10 12308 for assistance.
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