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Review of the submitted works for the Macao Annual Visual Arts Exhibition 2016 – Western Media Category, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), completed between 10 and 11 October, at the exhibition room of the Old Court Building. A total of 361 works by 176 local artists were submitted. Following a thorough evaluation, the jury selected 83 works to be included in the exhibition as well as the 10 best works among them. The Macao Annual Visual Arts Exhibition aims to promote the city’s visual arts works, encourage innovation and seek for local talents in artistic fields. This edition of the Exhibition is dedicated to western media and Awards of Distinction are: “Tree．Person Series” by Lee On Yee; “Coloane Shipyard” by Sam Pak Fai; “Wool Sweater” by Wu Hin Long; “All Living Things Series 1 and 2” by Cheong Hang Fong; “Refuge for All” by Leong Wai Lap; “Screen” by Chan Un Man; “Changing City” by Chan Hin Io; “Ruins of St. Paul No. 1” by Mak Kuong Weng; “Shushan 02” by Ieong Man Pan; and “Crossing” by Cai Yi Lang. The 83 selected works include 28 paintings, 22 photographs, 14 prints, 7 ceramic pieces, 3 sculptures, 7 mixed works and 2 videos. The guest jury panel included the President of the Beijing Shangyuanren Artists’ Association and national first level artist, Li Xiang Ming; Guangzhou’s Fine Arts Academy Associate Professor and Masters Advisor, Yang Xiao Hua; multimedia and digital arts creator and Assistant Professor at the Department of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic Institute, Hung Keung; the Director of Taipei Artist Village, Wu Ta-Kun; and Malaysian artist Kuik Ching Chieh. Selected works will be shown during the 27th Macao Arts Festival. The list of selected works is available at the Old Court Building and Tap Seac Gallery, and can also be accessed through IC’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo. For the non-selected works, artists can retrieve them between 27 and 30 November, from 10am to 7pm, at the Old Court Building. Respective artists must present the original submission receipt and their identification document. Should the work(s) be collected by a representative, he/she must also present an authorization letter signed by the artist as well as an identification document copy of both artist and the representative. The organizer reserves the right to dispose non-collected works out of the collection period if needed. For more information, please attend in person to the Old Court Building during the collection period or contact Mr. Sio through the telephone number 8399 6628, during office hours.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers increased by 9.5% quarter-to-quarter to MOP771 in the third quarter of 2015, due to increase in demand for workers engaging in interior finishing works of large-scale entertainment facilities in progress in Cotai. The average daily wage of non-resident construction workers (MOP661) rose by 8.5% quarter-to-quarter, while that of local construction workers (MOP980) went up by 3.7%. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers was MOP776, up by 9.8% quarter-to-quarter. Among the principal occupations, the average daily wages of carpenters (MOP931), concrete formwork carpenters (MOP897) and electricians & electrical workers (MOP818) increased by 5.8%, 4.3% and 3.9% quarter-to-quarter respectively. However, the average daily wage of plumbers (MOP711) fell by 8.4%. Meanwhile, the average daily wage of unskilled workers was MOP398, down by 1.7%. After discounting the effect of inflation, the wage index of construction workers (101.9) increased by 3.8% quarter-to-quarter in real terms, while that of local construction workers (126.4) rose by 1.2%. As regards construction materials, the average price of concrete increased by 3.0% quarter-to-quarter, at MOP784 per cubic metre in the third quarter of 2015; the average price of spiral & round reinforcing steel bars decreased by 0.8% to MOP4,533 per tonne. Meanwhile, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings (132.2) in the third quarter of 2015 edged up by 0.5% quarter-to-quarter.
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A memorial service for the Director General of the Macao Customs Service, Ms Lai Man Wa, will be held tomorrow at Kiang Wu Hospital Funeral Home, Government Spokesperson Mr Chan Chi Ping announced today. The ceremony will be followed by a funeral at St Michael’s Cemetery on Thursday, said Mr Chan at a press conference held this afternoon at the headquarters of the Judiciary Police. The press conference was called in order to reveal more information on the case and clarify any doubts. It was attended by the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak; the Commissioner General of the Unitary Police Service, Mr Ma Io Kun; the Director of the Judiciary Police, Mr Chau Wai Kuong; and a forensic expert of the Conde S. Januário Hospital, Mr O Heng Wa. Mr Wong reiterated that there was no evidence found so far to invalidate the initial findings of the investigation – that Ms Lai had committed suicide on 30 October. The handling of the case had been in line with legislation and with internal police guidelines, he added. He said the Government would continue to investigate the case in depth and will announce any further findings in due course, noting that there was a great deal of interest in information about the case. To fulfil the public’s right to know, the Secretary revealed details of the case based on the information gathered by the authorities, and after approval from the Public Prosecutions Office. The information gathered indicates the following: Ms Lai returned to her apartment in Ocean Gardens at 1.24pm on 30 October and left the building at 2.35pm on the same day. Ms Lai was then seen at 2.37pm walking to the location where her body was later found. The police received a call reporting the case at 3:30pm. An emergency medical team arrived at the scene at 3:38pm and on-site treatment was tendered at 3:40pm. Ms Lai was transported to Conde S. Januário Hospital at 4.03pm and certified dead at 4.41pm. Mr Wong denied allegations from some sources that the police had somehow concealed the truth and hindered media coverage, saying such claims were unfair on his team. Mr O Heng Wa, who examined the body at the hospital emergency room on 30 October, said forensic investigations indicated Ms Lai committed suicide and the cause of her death was suffocation. He added her urine samples were found positive for Benzodiazepine, a drug used to treat anxiety and insomnia. Mr Ma Io Kun additionally recalled that there was nothing strange about Ms Lai’s demeanour when he spoke to her by telephone on the morning of the day of her death.
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On 3rd November 2015, the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, acting in full accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, held a signing ceremony at the Macao Government Headquarters for the return of the illicit assets confiscated in the case of Ao Man Long from the United Kingdom to the Macao Special Administrative Region. Chan Hoi Fan, Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Caroline Wilson, Consul General to Hong Kong and Macao of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, representing respective governments, met and signed the certificate. Under this arrangement, the government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will return a sum of £28,718,752.63, equivalent to about 350 million Patacas, to the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region. Until today, most of Ao’s proceeds of corruption abroad that the Macao Court ordered to confiscate have already been successfully recovered. Secretary Chan Hoi Fan indicated that the UNCAC, as an international anti-corruption instrument, has established a very important legal system for fighting corruption at international level. The mechanisms for recovery of property and return of assets, in particular, provided the legal basis on which we are able to establish close cooperation with and to recover the illicit assets from the British Government. In 2010, with the strong support and assistance from the Central Government, the Macao SAR Government conveyed the request to the British Government via diplomatic channels for returning the corruption proceeds in Ao’s case. It is commonly known that executing a court’s order of confiscation of corruption proceeds abroad is a difficult part in law enforcement. It involves complicated procedures including the request for legal assistance sent to the foreign State Party in which the illicit assets are located, the requested State Party’s recognition of the court judgement made by the requesting State Party and the seizure of the illicit assets. During the course of cooperation, the law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom demonstrated a high level of professionalism, commitment and cooperative spirit, for which the government of the Macao SAR owes much gratitude and appreciation. In the process of enforcing the court’s order, the Commission Against Corruption and the Public Prosecutions Office of the Macao SAR had also made enormous efforts over the years to recover the assets. The British Government returning the confiscated assets is indeed an exemplary case of the successful implementation of the UNCAC. It has significant implications for fighting crimes, upholding justice and combating money laundering abroad.
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Consumer Council conducted its first ‘Supermarket price survey’ in November on 3 November for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. 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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The Macao Orchestra under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau will stage the chamber music concert All About Strings at 8:00pm on Saturday 7th November 2015. The concert will present two iconic string ensemble works, just like having a touched conversation with audience by music. Macao Orchestra will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, and Felix Mendelssohn’s String Octet in E-flat Major in this performance. The creation of the String Quartet ran throughout the entire musical career of Beethoven and the repertoire was an early work of the composer. With fresh and brisk rhythm, the piece is concise and intelligible, demonstrating the influences of Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other predecessors. Haydn once said the string quartet was a conversation between four individuals. The four string instruments are like four people with different personalities: one of them speaks softly, another echoes the others’ words, while the other one speaks eloquently. Mendelssohn was one of the important composers in the Romantic Period. He completed String Octet in E-flat Major at the age of 16. This outstanding piece of chamber music in the history of Western music was inspired by Faust, the tour de force of the literary giant Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, and was hailed ‘reaching perfection’ with magnificent symphony momentum by Robert Schumann. Tickets for the chamber music concert All About Strings are priced at MOP120 and MOP100. Ticketing hotline: 2855 5555. For details of programme, please visit Macao Orchestra website: www.icm.gov.mo/om.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total number of licensed motor vehicles reached 246,452 at the end of September 2015, up by 4.3% year-on-year; motorcycles and light private cars accounted for 52.0% and 41.3% respectively. New registration of motor vehicles in September increased slightly by 12 year-on-year to 1,635; new registration of motor vehicles in the first three quarters (14,757) decreased by 2.4% year-on-year due to a 12.6% decline in that of light private cars. Traffic accident casualties totalled 394 in September, with 1 being killed. In the first three quarters, number of traffic accidents (11,747 cases) edged up by 0.1% year-on-year, resulting in 4,010 casualties and 10 of them were killed. Cross-border vehicle traffic totalled 418,089 trips in September 2015, up by 4.7% year-on-year. In the first three quarters, cross-border vehicle traffic (3,819,356 trips) increased by 4.6% year-on-year, with 77.5% crossing the Border Gate. Passenger ferry movements between Macao and Hong Kong and between Macao and Mainland China in the first three quarters (109,618 trips) increased by 3.8% year-on-year, with the Ferry Terminal at the Outer Harbour sharing 66.4% of the total. The Macao International Airport had 4,131 commercial flight movements in September 2015, up by 5.6% year-on-year. In the first three quarters, commercial flight movements (38,702 trips) increased by 9.1% year-on-year, with movements to and from Mainland China, Taiwan and Thailand rising by 5.8%, 3.7% and 16.6% respectively. Meanwhile, helicopter flight movements between Macao and Hong Kong and between Macao and Mainland China totalled 1,204 in September, up significantly by 64.0% year-on-year; helicopter flight movements in the first three quarters (10,553 trips) decreased by 3.7% year-on-year. Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo increased by 35.8% year-on-year to 25,163 tonnes in September 2015. Seaborne container throughput totalled 12,241 TEU, equivalent to 8,249 containers handled, up by 17.4% and 16.3% respectively year-on-year. In the first three quarters, gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo (199,290 tonnes) increased by 11.0%, of which 58.7% passed through Ka Ho Harbour; seaborne container throughput (112,396 TEU) and containers handled (75,815) increased by 9.2% and 6.1% respectively. Gross weight of containerized cargo by land totalled 2,632 tonnes in September and 18,112 tonnes in the first three quarters, down by 18.7% and 15.8% respectively year-on-year. The Macao International Airport handled 2,646 tonnes of air cargo in September 2015, up by 4.2% year-on-year. In the first three quarters, inward air cargo (5,415 tonnes) and outward air cargo (11,376 tonnes) increased by 16.1% and 4.2% respectively year-on-year. Taiwan remained the major origin and destination of air cargo; inward air cargo from Taiwan (61.0% of total) and outward air cargo to Taiwan (42.1% of total) rose by 34.9% and 3.0% respectively year-on-year. Transit air cargo increased by 14.5% year-on-year to 4,614 tonnes. At the end of September 2015, number of fixed-line telephone subscribers decreased by 4.1% year-on-year to 148,307. Number of mobile telephone subscribers increased by 7.6% to 1,816,020, of which stored-value GSM card subscribers shared 62.8%. As regards internet services, number of subscribers totalled 325,920, up by 10.2% year-on-year. The cumulative duration of usage in the first three quarters (786 million hours) rose by 11.9% year-on-year.
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(Macao—31 October 2015) The exhibition of the "Precious Moments in Macao" 2015 Photography Competition opened today at Lou Lim Ieoc Garden Pavilion, showcasing 58 winning entries. Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Director of the Government Information Bureau (GCS), Mr Chan Chi Ping, said that from the “New Faces of Macao” during 2004 and 2009 to the current “Precious Moments in Macao”, the photography competition has stood testimony to the rapid growth of Macao. As the name of the competition implies, Macao people are still able to discover the beauty of the city and feel the harmony between Macao and its people from the winning photos even though the city has put on a new face, said Mr Chan. Response to this year’s competition was overwhelming: More than 220 contestants submitted a total of 952 entries of various themes. Mr Chan pointed out that the special feature prize of this year’s competition is titled “Creative Industries for Economic Diversification” since the Government has been actively promoting the creative sector in recent years, adding that the fledgling sector has been thriving under a series of supporting policies. A total of five entries that reflect the diversity and vitality of the creative and cultural sector were awarded the special feature prize by the Macao Yearbook Editorial Committee. This year’s competition is jointly organised by the GCS, eight photographic associations and five media organisations – Photographic Society of Macao, Photography Salon Society of Macao, Macao Association for the Promotion of Photographic Art, Macao Association of Photographers, Macau Multi Media Photographic Association, Macao Association of Photographic Art, Macao Camera Lens Art Association, Macao Digital Photography Association, Macao Media Workers Association, Macao Journalists Club, Macao Journalists Association, Macao Media Club and Macao Association of Sports Journalists. From the 952 submissions, 53 winning entries were selected after five rounds of professional evaluation. The top three winners are: First Prize: Lam Sze Chun; Title: Colourful Life Second Prize: Wan Wai Sai; Title: Happy New Year Third Prize: Leong Son Io Antonio; Title: Marching to the Future The winning works of the "Precious Moments in Macao" 2015 Photography Competition will be displayed at the Lou Lim Ieoc Garden Pavilion from 1 to 6 November 2015, during the opening hours from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All visitors are welcome. The GCS will continue to host photography competitions to capture the amazing moments of people’s everyday lives in Macao.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, announced this evening the death of the Director General of the Macao Customs Service, Ms Lai Man Wa. It is suspected that Ms Lai, age 56, committed suicide, according to preliminary investigations. In a press conference held at the Government Headquarters, Mr Chui expressed his deep sadness at the death of Ms Lai and said he was shocked by the news. The Chief Executive offered his deepest condolences to her family. Mr Chui said he and Ms Lai, who had served the Macao community for more than 30 years, had developed a long friendship. He urged everyone to remember Ms Lai for her professional integrity, passion and dedication to her duties. The Chief Executive also said that he had confirmed with the Commission Against Corruption that Ms Lai was not the target of any investigation. Mr Chui additionally said he had reported the case to the Central Government, according to existing protocols. He added that the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, has been temporarily assigned to take on the position of Director General of the Macao Customs Service. The Chief Executive will in due time nominate a new Director General, whose appointment will have to be ratified by the Central Government. In the same occasion, Secretary Wong said Ms Lai’s body was found at a public toilet in Taipa at around 3:30pm. There was no suicide note, he added. A preliminary forensic investigation ruled out the possibility of murder, said Mr Wong, adding that the authorities need to further investigate the case before ruling on the cause of death. Mr Wong also said he was shocked by Ms Lai’s sudden death and expressed sadness over the news, adding that the Government would provide assistance to her family. He said there was nothing strange about Ms Lai’s recent behaviour, adding that she was scheduled to attend a meeting with him in Zhuhai this afternoon. Ms Lai took on the position of Director General of the Macao Customs Service on 20 December 2014. She joined the Public Security Force of Macao in April 1984, and one year later worked as a class-2 officer for the Marine Police Bureau. She was promoted to sub-chief in June 1986 and commissioner in October 1990. Later, she attended a training programme for police officials. In January 1995, Mr Lai became deputy commissioner and was gradually promoted until she reached the post of superintendent. From March 1999, she took up several leadership roles, including deputy director of the Marine Police Bureau and deputy director-general of the Macao Customs Service (director grade level) until December 2014.
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The University of Macau (UM) recently held the Principals’ Recommended Admission Talk 2016/2017, to provide information about the university’s latest developments, bachelor’s degree programmes, international exchange opportunities, and career prospects to graduating students from local high schools and their parents and teachers. 500 people attended the event, which featured a presentation by Rector Wei Zhao and a consultation session where representatives from all the faculties, residential colleges, the Honours College, and the Registry answered students’ questions about admission and academic programmes. Rector Wei Zhao said in his presentation that UM considers it its mission to educate youth for the 21st century and to help students discover themselves and develop personal competencies through university education so they can achieve their goals and make their dreams come true after graduation. To this end, UM has implemented a ‘4-in-1’ education model, in order to provide students with a multifaceted education both inside and outside the classroom. Rector Zhao believes that with the well-equipped new campus and the excellent learning environment, students will enjoy their university years at UM. Rector Zhao’s presentation was followed by a consultation session where representatives from all the faculties, residential colleges, the Honours College, and the Registry answered students’ questions about admission and academic programmes. Participating students also visited the classrooms, laboratories, and other teaching facilities in the various faculty buildings, including the Trading Room, the Creative Media Lab, the Moot Court, and the Black-Box Theatre. Guided tours of the facilities and presentations by UM professors and senior students along the way greatly increased the students’ understanding of and interest in UM’s academic programmes. The eight residential colleges also opened to participants in the admission talk, to help them learn more about the facilities of the colleges. Some of the visitors stayed for dinner in the college canteens. The Principals’ Recommended Admission Scheme aims to recruit outstanding local students who possess excellent academic performance and positive character traits, as well as students with special talents who are actively involved in community service. All students admitted through the Principals’ Recommended Admission Scheme will be awarded the University of Macau Lotus Scholarship.
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