News

Plácido Domingo, the world’s most renowned operatic virtuoso, came with his hand-picked artists to present his first concert in Macao where co-operated with the Macao Orchestra under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. The concert took place at Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium on 29 August and was co-organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Macau Government Tourist Office and supported by MGM MACAU. In the concert, Domingo presented numerous beloved classics and Spanish folk opera from his virtuoso’s origins. Domingo’s powerful and highly flexible voice has deeply impressed by audiences. With his perfect collaboration with the Macao Orchestra, it amazed the audience and attracted a full house in the evening. The enchanting two-hour performance aroused an enthusiastic response from the audience. For the encore section, Lu Jia, the music director of Macao Orchestra, led the Macao Orchestra to perform the most symbolic songs in Macao "Song of the Seven Sons" with Domingo. Music aficionados were impressed by angelic songs from the performers in this brilliant evening. Plácido Domingo is a highly renowned tenor for his outstanding skills and artistic achievements, and he is reputed as one of the ‘Three Tenors’. He has held numerous highly acclaimed concerts around the world, across United States, China and several European countries.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) is paying close attention to the Yangmingshan bus crash that occurred today in Yangmingshan, Taipei, and maintaining close contact with the Macao Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan for further developments. From information gathered through news, a Macao resident suffered injuries and will need an operation. The said resident is already in contact with his family. GGCT is in close contact with the Macao Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan to verify his identity. Until the present moment, GGCT has not received any request for information or assistance. If necessary, Macao residents can call the 24-hour Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000.
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The Taipa Library, under the Macao Central Library, in turn under the áuspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be officially inaugurated on 1 September, Tuesday, at 3pm, introducing the public about the latest library facilities and service, as well as concluding the actual operation during the experimental period from April. The establishment of the Taipa Library helps to increase more cultural facilities in Taipa. Its collections of books and promotion campaigns contribute to developing reading habits in the community. The Library has been operated on an experimental basis since April and received an increasing number of visitors. Meanwhile, the Taipa Library has also organized several activities for parents and children, which were highly appreciated by the public. The Cultural Affairs Bureau keeps on promoting reading habits in the city by establishing libraries in each district for the public to access the reading facilities. The Taipa Library is the first library under the Cultural Affairs Bureau running a self-check system, allowing the public to have self-service on book loan and return. Also, it offers a public reading platform to the residents in Taipa, which helps to improve its cultural facilities and promote the reading habits in the society. The Taipa Library opens from 9.30am to 8.30pm, from Tuesday to Sunday, and from 2pm to 8.30pm on Mondays, and closes on public holidays. For more information, please contact Mr. Lam, during office hours, through the telefone numbers 2884 3105 or 2884 3172, or browse the Macao Central Library’s webpage at www.library.gov.mo.
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The Macao Orchestra (OM) 2015-16 Season Opening Concert – Zhang Haochen and the Macao Orchestra - under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), will be hold on 4 September at 8:00pm at the Macao Tower Auditorium. Outstanding pianist Zhang Haochen comes back to Macao to collaborate with the Macao Orchestra in this utmost musical event. Zhang Haochen will amaze the audience with his virtuosity by playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The concert’s programme is followed by Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6, a representative piece of German and Austrian symphonic literature of the romantic period. These two masterpieces comprehensively showcase the atmosphere of European music culture from the mid to the late 19th century. Since winning the gold medal at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, 23-year-old Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. In 2012, he made his debut at the Piano Festival La Roque d’Antheron for which he received a rave review from Diapason. In April 2013, Mr. Zhang made his Munich Philharmonic debut under the baton of Maestro Lorin Maazel followed by a sold out tour in four cities in China. His performance was lauded by the Dallas Morning News as ‘the kind of programme you’d expect from a seasoned master, served up with dazzling virtuosity where wanted and astonishing sophistication elsewhere’ and hailed among the top 10 performances of 2010 by both the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Boston Globe critic Matthew Guerrieri remarked that Zhao Haochen displayed ‘poetic temperament as much as technical power… [he is] a pianist with ample reserves of power whose imagination seems nonetheless most kindled by subtle delicacy.’ Tickets for this concert are now available at the Macao Ticketing Network at MOP350, 300, 200, 100. The new concert season booklet of the Macao Orchestra is now available at the Macao Ticketing Network. Ticketing hotline: (853) 2855 5555. For details, please visit the Macao Orchestra website: www.icm.gov.mo/om.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 224 MICE events were held in the second quarter of 2015, up by 54 year-on-year. Yet, total number of participants and attendees dropped by 21.7% to 404,982 attributable to a decrease in large-scale exhibitions. Total floor area used for the events was 153,167 m2, and the average duration of events was 2.3 days. There were 208 meetings and conferences held in the second quarter, up by 56 year-on-year; number of participants rose by 25.5% to 21,215. Meetings and conferences with 200 participants or more increased by 3 year-on-year to 23, and number of participants (56.2% of total) rose by 14.5%. Floor area used for the meetings and conferences totalled 86,144 m2, and the average duration of events was 2.2 days. Concurrently, 16 exhibitions were held, down by 2 year-on-year, and all of them were organized by non-government organizations. Number of attendees decreased by 23.3% year-on-year to 383,767. Exhibitions with 20,000 attendees or more declined by 4 year-on-year to 8, and total number of attendees (320,836) dropped by 27.6%. Floor area used for the exhibitions totalled 67,023 m2, and the average duration of exhibitions was 3.2 days. In accordance with information collected from organizers of 15 exhibitions in the second quarter, 2 exhibitions were held for the first time in Macao. The interviewed organizers had a total of 150 full-time staff engaged in the organization of these exhibitions. Receipts of the 15 exhibitions amounted to MOP 63.96 million, coming primarily from rental of exhibition booths (67.2%) and financial support from government or other organizations (32.1%). Expenditure of the exhibitions amounted to MOP 47.06 million, which was mainly spent on publicity & public relations (26.9%), production, construction & decoration services (20.6%) and accommodation, food & beverages (18.6%). A total of 791 exhibitors attended the exhibitions, and most of them came from Macao (36.8%) and Hong Kong (26.5%); meanwhile, there were 30,457 professional visitors, coming mainly from Macao (56.3%) and Hong Kong (18.1%). Information from 374 interviewed exhibitors indicated that sales of products took up a predominant share (96.5%) of the Receipts, while rental paid for exhibition booth and booth decoration accounted for 61.3% and 21.8% respectively of the Expenditure. Regarding interviewed exhibitors’ comments about the MICE venue and services, 74.9% and 73.3% were satisfied with the language skills and attitude & efficiency of the venue staff, down by 1.4 and 1.0 percentage points respectively quarter-to-quarter; on the other hand, 17.1% considered that the promotion of the exhibition should be improved, down by 2.0 percentage points. As regards planning and organization of the exhibition, 10.2% considered that the arrangements of the exhibition required improvements, up by 3.9 percentage points quarter-to-quarter. In the first half year of 2015, a total of 424 MICE events were held, up by 45 year-on-year; total number of participants and attendees decreased by 19.6% to 654,162. There were 398 meetings and conferences, up by 50 year-on-year, but number of participants (40,367) decreased by 17.4%. Meetings and conferences with 200 participants or more (44) dropped by 4 year-on-year. Moreover, there were 26 exhibitions, down by 5 year-on-year, and number of attendees decreased by 19.7% to 613,795. Exhibitions with 20,000 attendees or more dropped by 4 year-on-year to 12. Information was collected from organizers of 25 exhibitions in the first half year. Receipts of the exhibitions amounted to MOP 78.11 million, with 64.9% coming from rental of exhibition booths and 34.5% from financial support from government or other organizations. Expenditure of the exhibitions amounted to MOP 86.64 million, which was mainly spent on publicity & public relations (25.9%), production, construction & decoration services (21.0%) and accommodation, food & beverages (17.8%). A total of 1,749 exhibitors and 35,597 professional visitors were attracted to these exhibitions. Furthermore, 24 exhibitions were organized by non-government organizations, with Receipts (MOP 77.04 million) and Expenditure (MOP 60.06 million) accounting for 98.6% and 69.3% of the respective total; besides, exhibitors and professional visitors of these exhibitions constituted 73.6% and 88.3% of the total respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for July 2015 amounted to MOP947 million, up by 25.0% year-on-year; value of re-exports grew by 38.4% to MOP781 million, of which value of Clocks & watches and Diamond & diamond jewellery soared by 168.5% and 154.4% respectively, while that of Motor cars & motorcycles surged by 1,701.0%; however, value of domestic exports dropped by 14.2% to MOP166 million. Total merchandise import grew by 3.0% year-on-year to MOP7.27 billion. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP6.32 billion. In the first seven months of 2015, total value of merchandise export grew by 10.8% year-on-year to MOP6.40 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP5.31 billion) increased by 15.3%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.09 billion) declined by 6.6%. Total value of merchandise import (MOP49.86 billion) held stable as in the same period of 2014. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP43.46 billion for the first seven months of 2015. Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP3.91 billion) and Mainland China (MOP1.02 billion) in the first seven months of 2015 increased by 13.9% and 20.2% year-on-year, while export to the EU (MOP151 million) and the USA (MOP127 million) decreased by 22.7% and 35.1% respectively. Exports of Non-textiles increased by 11.2% year-on-year to MOP5.94 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP885 million) and Electronic components (MOP492 million) rose by 42.6% and 24.8% respectively, but that of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP710 million) dropped by 31.5%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP460 million, up by 6.6%. By country of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP18.48 billion) in the first seven months of 2015 increased by 13.6% year-on-year, while import from the EU (MOP11.16 billion) fell by 11.7%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 7.2% to MOP29.56 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP4.11 billion) decreasing by 27.8%, but that of Food & beverages (MOP6.81 billion) increasing by 3.6%. Moreover, imports of Mobile phones (MOP4.86 billion) expanded by 41.3%, while imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP4.08 billion) declined by 10.9%. External merchandise trade reached MOP56.26 billion in the first seven months of 2015, up by 1.1% compared with MOP55.65 billion a year earlier.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the unemployment rate (1.8%) and the underemployment rate (0.4%) for May-July 2015 remained stable as in April-June 2015. Total labour force was 405,200 and the labour force participation rate stood at 73.7%. Total employment decreased slightly by 400 from April-June 2015, at 397,900. Analysed by industry, employment in Construction registered decrease, while that in Education and Wholesale & Retail Trade saw increase. Number of the unemployed was 7,400, up by 200 from April-June 2015. With fresh graduates joining the labour market, the proportion of fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job increased by 4.9 percentage points to 14.4% of the total unemployed. In comparison with May-July 2014, the labour force participation rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point, while both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the second quarter of 2015. Survey coverage comprises Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications; Security Activities and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities; however, own-account workers are excluded. At the end of the second quarter of 2015, Wholesale & Retail Trade had 53,743 persons engaged, up by 10.3% year-on-year, with 34,257 working in Retail Trade. In June, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees rose by 4.4% year-on-year to MOP12,320. Transport, Storage & Communications had 10,177 persons engaged, up by 7.3% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June rose by 3.6% year-on-year to MOP19,900. Security Activities had 10,078 persons engaged, up by 52.9% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June rose by 21.5% year-on-year to MOP11,870. Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had 762 persons engaged, up by 5.4% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June increased by 14.7% year-on-year to MOP16,950. At the end of the second quarter of 2015, Wholesale & Retail Trade had 5,063 vacancies (66.3% in Retail Trade), down by 699 year-on-year. Vacancies in Transport, Storage & Communications (1,068) and Security Activities (990) rose by 284 and 44 respectively year-on-year. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, about 80.5% of the vacancies in Security Activities required junior secondary education or lower, while 48.4% of those in Transport, Storage & Communications required senior secondary education or higher; besides, 70.9% of the vacant posts in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had no preference in educational attainment. As for language skills, 81.7% and 56.2% of the vacancies in Retail Trade required knowledge of Mandarin and English; the respective rate in Security Activities was 76.1% and 33.4%. In the second quarter of 2015, the vacancy rate (10.4%) and recruitment rate (4.7%) in Transport, Storage & Communications rose by 2.0 and 0.2 percentage points respectively year-on-year, while the turnover rate (4.0%) fell by 2.2 percentage points, indicating an increase in demand for human resources. In addition, the turnover rate (3.8%) and vacancy rate (9.3%) in Security Activities dropped by 3.2 and 3.7 percentage points respectively, suggesting that staff turnover of the industry improved. As regards vocational training in the surveyed industries, a total of 13,235 participants attended 844 training courses provided by the establishment in the second quarter of 2015 (including courses organized by the establishment or in conjunction with other institutions, and those sponsored by the employer); 53.7% of the establishments in Security Activities provided vocational training to their employees. Wholesale & Retail Trade had the largest number of participants (9,004), attending a total of 604 training courses. Analyzed by course type, 71.6% of the participants from Wholesale & Retail Trade and 48.4% from Transport, Storage & Communications attended courses in “Business & Administration”. Most of the industries had over 70% of their participants attending courses paid by the establishment, while the corresponding rate in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities was just 21.9%.
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The Government will host a string of event this September, including a commemorative ceremony and a photo exhibition, to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression. In addition, Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will leave for Beijing with a 100-member delegation to attend the official commemorative ceremony held at Tiananmen Square on 3 September. Government Spokesperson, Mr Chan Chi Ping, disclosed at a press conference today, along with President of Administrative Council of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau Mr Vong Iao Lek, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Mr Ung Vai Meng, Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau Ms Kuok Sio Lai, and representatives of other co-organising departments. Mr Chan said Mr Chui’s visit between 2 and 4 September was invited by the Central Government. During his three-day visit, Mr Chui would attend related commemorative activities organised by the Central Government. Members of the delegation include the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Li Gang, and representatives from all walks of life. While Mr Chui is away, the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, will be the Acting Chief Executive. To mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese aggression, the Government will host a commemorative ceremony at 8.30 am on 3 September at Tap Seac Square, and will be presided by Mr Wong Sio Chak and attended by government officials and community representatives. The ceremony will include flag raising, playing and singing of National Anthem, wreath laying and silence tribute ceremony, and will be broadcast live on television channels of the Teledifusão de Macau (TDM). The exhibition in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of victory of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese aggression and world anti-Fascist war will be unveiled on 10 am 1 September at the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao. The exhibition, which opens to the public until 4 October, showcases about 210 photos and about 80 showpieces of the war, displaying a closer look of the history, Macao people’s wartime life and anti-war sentiment in Macao at the time. The first part of the exhibition shows the concerted effort of Chinese people fighting against Japanese, while the second part exhibits how Macao people stood together to help save the country. There will be guided tours provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau from 5 to 30 September, with the aim to present more information of the exhibition and the war, to let known more heroic deeds of the army and to promote the message of peace. The series of events is in bids to look back at history, to further enhance the knowledge of the people, especially the younger generation, to promote peace and bear in minds the teaching of history. The exhibition is hosted by the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; is organised by the Government Information Bureau of Macao, Cultural Affairs Bureau, and the Macao Daily News; and is supported by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau.
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IFT Pastry and Bakery Diploma Programme graduate - Leong Un Pek and Culinary Arts Management degree programme student - Chou Kit represented The Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) and Macao to compete in the WorldSkills Competition at São Paulo, Brazil from 11-16 August and gained outstanding results. Accompanied by IFT’s experts, Professor Mark Gibson, Coordinator of Culinary Arts Management degree programme and Lecturer Jeffrey Lao, Leong Un Pek scored 516 out of 600 (equal to 86%), and ranked the 8th out of 21 competitors, earned a medal of excellence in the Pastry Skills final competition while Chou Kit scored 497 out of 600 (82.83%) in the Western Cuisine Skills finale, just missing the medal of excellence by a mere 0.5% but still a respectable achievement. Their performances reflected well on both IFT and Macao as a whole, and it was a great experience for them to compete with and learn from the best in the world in a world-class event. Also, both the competitors and team members got the valuable chance to learn about the most up-to-date skills and hopefully can introduce the skills to Macao and share with their peers. The WorldSkills Competition is the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world. The competition attracts thousands of competitors biennially. It showcases and inspires world-class excellence in skills and introduces youth to a variety of skilled careers. The scoring is out of a total of 600 points, with a gold, silver and bronze medal in each category, competitors achieving 500 (or 83.33%) points are rewarded with a medal of excellence. The WorldSkills Competition assesses candidates in all-rounded aspects in different categories. Leong Un Pek, participated in Pâtisserie and Confectionery categories where areas including work organisation and management, cakes, gateaux and entremets, hot and cold desserts, confectionery and chocolate, miniatures, small cakes, pastries and petit fours, presentation pieces, modelling in various media were being assessed. Meanwhile, Chou Kit, competed in the Cooking category in which areas including , food hygiene and health and safety, ingredients and menu knowledge, preparation of ingredients, application of cookery methods, preparation and presentation of dishes, food purchase, storage, costing and control, customer service and communication were being assessed. They both had gone through 500 hours of intensive training in 8 months and practice in preparation for this competition and achieved satisfactory results with their hard work. IFT is the only higher education institution in Macao exclusively devoted to tourism and hospitality education. The Institute offers the largest selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor programmes in Macao, plus executive development courses and professional training. IFT has strong links with leading hotel and hospitality businesses in Macao and globally. The students can perform their internship in over 500 companies and organisations worldwide. Links have been established with over 85 organisations in 27 countries and regions. The international environment and specialised facilities on campus have provided the students for the best environment to gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills in order to take up managerial roles in the industry.
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