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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and delegates of local travel trade are joining the China International Travel Mart (CITM) inaugurated in Kunming today (13 November) to build stronger connections with members of travel trade from the Mainland and overseas. The Office also takes the opportunity to promote Macau’s attractions and positioning as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. CITM 2015 is held in Kunming, Yunnan Province from 13 – 15 November. Vice-Chairman of CPPCC National Committee, Luo Fuhe, Secretary of Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, Li Jiheng, Governor of Yunnan Province, Chen Hao and Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), Li Jinzao officiated at the opening ceremony together with other personages. MGTO Deputy Director Cecilia Tse, Head of Destination Marketing Department, Betty Fok and Macau trade delegates are taking part in the event as well. Chairman of CNTA, Li Jinzao and other leaders visited the booth run by MGTO in the Travel Mart. By operating the 100-square-meter booth themed as “Touching Moments, Experience Macau”, MGTO aims to familiarize travel trade delegates from different places and Mainland residents with the destination’s latest development, as well as exhibit the city’s glamour and aspiration to become a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. Macau trade delegates also have a chance to discuss business opportunities with their counterparts from the Mainland and around the world. On the day before the opening, CNTA Vice Chairman Du Jiang met with Hong Kong and Macau delegates including MGTO Deputy Director Cecilia Tse and the Commissioner for Tourism, Cathy Chu, from the Tourism Commission of the Hong Kong SAR Government, President of the Alliance of Macau Tourism Industry, David Chow, Chairman and Member of Board of Directors of the Association of Macau Tourist Agents, Li Zhizhong and Guan Dehui, President of Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu among others. During the meeting, all parties presented the latest tourism trends from their destinations and exchanged their points of view on tourism prospect and new possibilities for cooperation. China International Travel Mart is jointly organized by China National Tourism Administration, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the People's Government of Yunnan Province. The event is known as one of the largest and most far-reaching professional travel trade shows in Asia-Pacific nowadays. This year, CITM is staged around the theme “Silk Road Tourism Year” to bring out new products, means and strategies, launching related activities via the platform. As a key platform for the tourism industry, CITM enables Macau travel trade to sell and promote their products to potential industry partners from the Mainland and abroad. It has been an annual event held in Shanghai and Kunming alternately since 2001. Covering a total floor area of around 70,000 square meters, CITM 2015 features more than 3,000 booths managed by exhibitors from over 100 countries and regions, according to the statistics provided.
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Lei Ka-Meng, a PhD student from the University of Macau (UM) State-Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI and Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), recently received a Distinguished Design Award for his research paper at the IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference 2015 (IEEE A-SSCC 2015). Lei’s research paper, titled ‘A µNMR CMOS Transceiver Using a Butterfly-Coil Input for Integration with a Digital Microfluidic Device Inside a Portable Magnet’, concerns a handheld nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) transceiver for chemical/biological diagnostics using the CMOS integrated circuit (IC) technology, which can serve as a low-cost, light-weight, high-sensitivity tool, suitable for a wide range of chemical/biological diagnostic applications. As an annual international event aimed to provide a platform for participants to present the latest and most advanced chips and circuit designs in solid-state and semiconductor fields, this year’s conference attracted many students from prestigious universities in Europe and Asia. Candidates were required to perform onsite hardware demonstration, and only three of the 13 shortlisted candidates received the award. The other two award-winning students are from Aalto University in Finland and KU Leuven University in Belgium. ‘It is very important recognition of the student’s work, and with this award, Lei can be considered a young “star student” in this area,’ says Prof Mak Pui In, who supervised Lei’s research project with Dr. Man-Kay Law and Prof. Rui Martins. After completing his undergraduate studies at UM, Lei went straight to PhD studies at his alma mater. Lei was also among the first group of students to graduate from UM’s Honour College.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will deliver the Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2016 on Tuesday (17 November) at the Legislative Assembly. The session will be held at 3pm. It will be followed by a press conference at the Government Headquarters at 5pm, when Mr Chui will answer questions from the media. The following day (18 November), from 3pm to 6pm, Mr Chui will attend a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly to explain his policy programme to legislators and to answer their questions. The five policy secretaries and their subordinates will present their 2016 policy guidelines to the Legislative Assembly between the hours of 3pm and 8pm, on the following dates: Secretary for Administration and Justice: 23-24 November; Secretary for Economy and Finance: 26-27 November; Secretary for Security: 30 November and 1 December; Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture: 3-4 December, and; Secretary for Transport and Public Works: 9-10 December. Teledifusão de Macau (TDM) will transmit all of the above events live on its television and radio services. Live broadcasts can also be viewed online via the following routes: the Government Portal website of the Macao SAR (http://www.gov.mo); the website of the Chief Executive’s Office (http://www.gce.gov.mo); the website of the Legislative Assembly (http://www.al.gov.mo); the website of the Government Information Bureau (http://www.gcs.gov.mo); and the official channel for Macao Government news on YouTube (www.youtube.com/macaogcs). Users of portable devices may watch the live sessions via GCE Macao, a mobile application issued by the Chief Executive’s Office, or through MSAR News, the mobile app of the Government Information Office. Highlights of the Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2016 will also be available on the official WeChat account of the Government Information Bureau. WeChat users can link to the WeChat account via the bureau’s website at http://www.gcs.gov.mo. When the Chief Executive starts his presentation on Tuesday, hard copies of the full Policy Address, and pamphlets in Chinese and Portuguese summarising it, will be available at the following locations: the Government Head Office Auxiliary Bureau; the Government Information Bureau; the Government Printing Bureau; the Public Information Centre; the headquarters of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau; the Macao Central Library; and at the Macao Post. The materials are also available for download on the websites of these public bodies. To ensure a better understanding of the policies, the Macao Post service will deliver a copy of a pamphlet in Chinese and Portuguese, with highlights of the Policy Address, to every household in Macao. The pamphlets will also be available to the public at other locations. They are: libraries and Eco-Centres managed by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau; citizen service centres; centres of the Social Welfare Bureau; social affairs centres; centres of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau; via associations, non-governmental organisations and schools.
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Over ten media agencies of Mainland China have formed a delegation to visit and cover Macau on a familiarization trip known as “Beautiful China – Media Coverage of Macau”. The delegation adopts a combination of media channels to let their audience see Macau’s extraordinary glamour and get updated on the destination’s tourism trends and prospects. The media coverage will enable Mainland residents to appreciate Macau from a brand new perspective, and motivate them to visit the city for a profound experience. The activation ceremony of the media tour “Beautiful China – Media Coverage of Macau 2015” was held at Grand Prix Museum in Macau on 10 November. Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, and Executive Assistant to the President of China Tourism News, Wu Xiaomei, officiated at the activation ceremony together with other personages. During her speech in the ceremony, Director Senna Fernandes expressed hope that the media would uncover more fantastic and beautiful dimensions of the destination through the trip, and make them more widely known via multimedia. As a result, more Mainland visitors will opt for a longer stay to experience the destination glamour revealed by their featured articles and camera angles. The delegation arrived at Macau on 10 November for a four-day itinerary. They explored different local districts in depth to cover the city’s cultural gems and historic attractions. Some 30 cultural and historic attractions were toured including the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Travessa da Paixão (“Love Lane”), Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple), Woodcraft Works of Master Lu Ban Exhibition Room, Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, Mandarin’s House, Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (“Old Ladies House”), Taipa Houses-Museum, Coloane Pier as well as several other museums. During their stay, the media delegates also paid a visit to the Macau x LEGO® Exhibition and various newly-opened leisure and tourism facilities, besides marking their presence at the Macau International Travel (Industry) Expo held concurrently in the city. Director Senna Fernandes gave a presentation herself to familiarize the delegates with local tourism development, so that they can produce more multi-faceted coverage of Macau’s tourism situation. The media delegates will open the audience’s eyes to Macau’s unique charm and diversified tourism development through their professional angle and various forms of mass communication such as photos, articles and videos for a boost in the promotional effect. In turn, more Mainland residents will be inspired to embark upon a profound journey to Macau. Led by Executive Assistant to the President of China Tourism News, Wu Xiaomei, the delegation comprises over ten representatives of the Mainland media agencies as follow: China Tourism News, People’s Daily – Overseas Edition, Economic Daily, China Culture Daily, China National Radio, Xinhua News Agency – Beijing Branch, as well as media websites including CCTV.com, TopTour.cn, China Photographers Association on tv.sohu.com/ugc, TianYa.cn, Youth.cn, China.com.cn, Lotour.com and TouTiao.com. The delegates include editors, reporters, photographers and bloggers. This press release is available at: http://industry.macautourism.gov.mo/en/index.php
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Mr. Jackson Chang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has been invited as Advisor to the Asian Federation of Exhibition & Convention Associations (AFECA) in 2013 and attended AFECA´s Advisory Council Meeting on November 10-12, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the invitation of the said organization. Mr. Chang also took the opportunity to attend the “AEC+ Expo”. AFECA was founded in 2005 at the initiative of the convention and exhibition associations of some of the Asian cities, regions and countries, namely, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, among others, being a non-government organization aiming to build a cooperation and exchange platform for the convention and exhibition industry in Asia, focusing on education and training, promotion of exchanges and cooperation among its members and to push for the sustainable development of Asia´s MICE Industry. Macao Convention & Exhibition Association (MCEA) is a member of AFECA. The MICE industry has already become one of the key industries in many Asian cities. Jointly with the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (MACEOS), AFECA organized the first edition of “AEC+ Expo”, with the theme “Innovations in MICE – The Way Forward”. Through the exhibition platform, “AEC+ Expo” aims to share current innovation technologies and development, and provide a platform for cooperation for the members of “AFECA”, through the sharing of experience and innovative theme, in a bid to encourage the overall development of the MICE industry. A series of activities were held in connection with “AEC+ Expo”, including “AFECA Forum”, “AFECA Awards” and “AFECA Asia MICE Youth Challenge”, to promote Asia as the world´s best destination for MICE activities. Mr. Jackson Chang, President of IPIM, participated in the above-mentioned activities to exchange opinion with the leaders and elites of the convention and exhibition industry in Asia, and also took the opportunity to introduce the advantages of Macao as a convention and exhibition destination, so as to articulate with the new role of IPIM, of coordinating and following-up on the development of the convention and exhibition industry of Macao as from next year, in order to provide a more effective “one-stop service” for MICE Bidding and Support in Macao, provided by IPIM, by offering better services to those convention and exhibition organizers planning to host their events in Macao. In this connection, all participants are warmly welcome to select Macao as the destination for their convention and exhibition activities, he said. In the opinion of Mr. Jackson Chang, the above-mentioned events, which congregated the operators of the convention and exhibition industry in Asia, were useful in reinforcing contacts and communication, and thus helped promote the advantages of Macao´s MICE industry. Dignitaries participating in the above-mentioned events included the CEO of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Zulkefli Haji Sharif, the President of MACEOS Dato´ Vincent Lim, the Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Walter Yeh, and the Director of Exhibition and Conference (Business Development Group) of Singapore Tourism Board, Andrew Phua.
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Consumer Council conducted its fifth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 12 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets at Lam Mau, Patane and San Kio areas in Santo António 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. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six 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 – 12 November 2015) The English edition of Macao Yearbook 2015, published by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) of the Macao SAR, has been completed and will be launched on 13 November 2015. The Macao Yearbook has been published annually since 2002 in Chinese, Portuguese and English editions. This year the yearbook is divided into four sections: Administrative Priorities of the MSAR Government; Calendar of Events; Review of the MSAR; and Appendices. The English edition of the Macao Yearbook 2015 comprises 609 pages and is enriched by 196 photographs. Meticulous efforts has been made during the translation process of the English edition of the yearbook to ensure that local legislation, international treaties, names of organisations and geographical names are properly and faithfully translated. The Macao Yearbook 2015, together with a complimentary CD-ROM containing the PDF version of the yearbook, can be purchased at the following places at 120 patacas or 120 Hong Kong dollars per copy from 13 November: major local bookstores and Government’s Public Information Centre at Rua do Campo. The yearbook will be available for purchase at the Macao Post Office (Macao Post)’s Philatelic Division, Rua do Campo Branch, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal Branch, Macau International Airport Branch, and Nova Taipa Branch from 17 November. Taking into account the rising popularity of digital reading and for the sake of the environment, the Chinese, Portuguese and English editions of the Macao Yearbook will no longer be available in print starting from 2016. We will focus on improving the yearbook’s digital edition by adding more pictures and even video contents to meet changing needs.
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The Government will introduce flexible working hours in all public departments for the first time, in an effort to ease traffic pressure during the 62nd Macau Grand Prix next week. The announcement on flexible working hours for public servants was made by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, when he made an on-site inspection of the race circuit on 11 November. Mr Tam is also the Chairman of the Macau Grand Prix Committee. Public servants would be allowed to start work at any time between 8am and 10am on Thursday and Friday next week, he said. As the Grand Prix is a street race, major traffic diversions are required during practice and race days. Mr Tam told reporters that the Grand Prix is one of the important elements in helping Macao to become a world centre of tourism and leisure. He noted that tourists from neighbouring regions, Europe and the Americas gather in Macao for this annual event. Macao needed to expand its own tourism resources and develop more tourist products, Mr Tam stated. The Government would make more effort to popularise further the Grand Prix’s Guia Circuit and the whole event, he added. Mr Tam noted that there were similar races in neighbouring cities that were also aimed at boosting local tourism. The Secretary expressed his gratitude to local residents for their support of the event over the years. He said that without such support, the Grand Prix might not have achieved the success it has. Macao has completed preparations for the four-day race meeting from 19 to 22 November, said the Coordinator of the Grand Prix Committee, Mr João Manuel Costa Antunes, speaking at the on-site visit. Mr Costa Antunes said ticket sales this year were up 30 percent compared to the same time last year, having grossed 7 million patacas. Sponsorship for the event had risen 8 percent year-on-year, he added.
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Consumer Council conducted its fourth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 11 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Horte e Costa, Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga and Rua da Emenda areas in Santo António 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. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six 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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Consumer Council reminds consumers to purchase infant formula from secure sources. Consumers can get access to the latest information and services of infant formula providers on the Council’s website. The SAR Government took measures to ensure stable supply of infant formula by appointing the Council to keep close contact with the 7 infant formula retailers in Macao. The Council periodically updates the highest and lowest prices of the 7 brands to safeguard consumer rights. Consumer Council reminds parents who choose to purchase infant formula online that buying food from the internet is risky, for the safety and health of infants and toddlers, consumers are suggested to purchase from secure sources, including registered drugstores and ‘Certified Shops’. Infant formula brand retailers can be contacted through the hotlines listed on the ‘Milk Powder Suppliers Service Hotlines Details’ page (http://www.consumer.gov.mo/commodity/milk.aspx?lang=en) for urgent needs of infant formula. The ‘Hotline’ page has been running since 2013, the Council indicates that through the assistance of the 7 brand retailers, consumers are able to acquire prices of the market and purchase infant formulas that are safe at a reasonable price.
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