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Fujian’s advantages in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and its establishment of a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) would bring in more vitality to Fujian-Macao co-operation, the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today. Macao and Fujian governments will make best use of the emerging development opportunities, pressing ahead on the multi-destination travel model and the promotion of A-Ma culture, as the contribution to the country’s development strategy of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (“Belt and Road”). Mr Chui said this at a meeting with the Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mr You Quan, and the Governor, Mr Su Shulin, before attending the Fujian-Macao high-level meeting in the evening. Leading a delegation to Fujian for a two-day visit, Mr Chui said they were there to learn from the province’s experience in building the FTZ and get better grasps on the “Belt and Road”. Mr Chui said the promotion of A-Ma culture, one of the cultural connections between the two places, would help Macao build closer relations with Taiwan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It was also in line with the Central Government’s advice on strengthening regional ties during the period of consolidation. He said the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, would represent the Government on the Fujian-Macao co-operation affairs. In the meeting, he thanked the Fujian government for its long-term concern and support, saying the two places had achieved great results in tourism since the establishment of the Special Administrative Region 15 years ago. The Secretary, Mr You, said there would be meetings held on a regular basis as a contact mechanism had been established by Fujian’s Vice-Governor, Mr Zheng Xiaoqong, and the Secretary Mr Leong Vai Tac. The profoundness in culture and history, and the increasing bi-lateral co-operation in trade, investment and culture, had provided more opportunities for further co-operation, he said. The Governor Mr Su said as Macao entered a new phase of development, the Fujian government would strongly support Macao’s strategy in economic diversification, in particular in tourism and culture. Fujian would make best use of Macao’s special position in the Portuguese-speaking countries, while it could be Macao’s platform with Taiwan, said Mr Su. Fujian is the core area of the Road and a province of FTZ, with the strategy to strengthen developments in investment, trade, border-crossing, shipping and finance. Members of the Macao delegation included Secretary for Economy and Finance Mr Leong Vai Tac, Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office Ms O Lam, Chief of Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance Ms Lok Kit Sim, Director of the Government Information Bureau Mr Chan Chi Ping, and Director of Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Mr Fung Sio Weng, and the Chief Executive’s consultant Mr Kou Chin Hong. The Deputy-Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mr Yu Weiguo, and Vice-Governor, Mr Zheng Xiaosong, were also at the meeting.
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Consumer Council conducted a quality test on 10 household rubber gloves, all samples passed the leaking test but only 1 sample passed the tensile strength test. The test results are available in the latest issue no. 259 Consumer Report. Selling prices of rubber gloves vary, among the 10 rubber gloves samples tested by the Council, the price of the most expensive one amounts to double of the price of the cheapest one. The test results show that all 10 rubber gloves samples passed the leaking test, and the selling prices of the gloves do not necessarily reflect corresponding durability and efficiency of the gloves. Among all tested sample, only 1 sample that is relatively cheaper passes both tensile strength and elongation tests, however, other 9 samples (including the expensive ones) all fail the tensile strength test. Details of the test can be found in the latest issue no.259 Consumer Report. Consumers buying beauty treatment packages from beauty centres is a form of prepayment consumption. Consumer Council sent out questionnaires to beauty centres to inquire about whether they are willing or not to transact with consumers by setting up contract. Most beauty centres agree to set up contracts with consumers and believe that this will help safeguard consumer rights and boost consumers’ confidence. Consumer are therefore advised to request a contract to be set up with the concerned beauty centre when buying beauty treatment packages and request for a ‘cool down period’ to safeguard their own rights. Results of the questionnaire can be found in this issue of Consumer Report. Consumer Council has consolidated the 321 comments collected during the consultation period of ‘Review on Consumer Protection Law’ and put them into 5 groups, namely the prohibition of unfair trade practice, the protection of consumer rights to information, a sturdy mechanism to solve consumer dispute, and new legislation to regulate new types of consumption, etc.. All the details can be found in this issue of Consumer Report. The latest issue of Consumer Report also covers the annual theme released by China Consumers’ Association and Consumers International. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Consumer Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 24-A, Edf. Cheung Heng, R/C), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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After a visit by an expert team to the Macao Giant Panda Pavilion, the Government has decided the two selected pandas would arrive on 30 April. The expert team, comprising members from the State Forestry Administration and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, said the Pavilion’s environment was satisfactory, including its medical facilities, management and staffing. Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, who led the co-ordinating group for the selection, visited Chengdu last month to choose the eight-year-old female “Shurong” and its seven-year-old male partner “Yalin”. But the new arrivals would continue to use the name “Hoi Hoi” and “Sam Sam”, as the names were chosen by the people of Macao. The names literally mean “happiness”, which also represent the people’s joy with the gift from the Central Government. As for Hoi Hoi, or nicknamed “Shuxiang”, the male panda has been in Macao since 2010 and will be returned to the mainland for a national breeding programme due to its potent fertility. Its female partner, Sam Sam, died last year due to kidney failure. The offer of a new pair was announced by President Xi Jinping when he was here for the inauguration ceremony of the new government team last December.
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Due to technical problems during the uploading of data, the number of gaming tables for the first quarter end of 2015 should be 5,704. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has amended the data on the website immediately. This amendment has no impact on other gaming data (e.g. gross gaming revenue) that was published earlier. We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. The DICJ will continue to review the gaming data uploading procedures to prevent reccurence of similar cases in the future.
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Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, had held a meeting with trade and union representatives to explore more measures to strengthening workplace safety, stressing that the Government attached great importance in industrial safety. Opinions from the industry would help better protect workers, Mr Leong told the association representatives at the 15 April meeting called by Mr Leong in view of several recent fatalities on construction sites. Opinions were shared on issues such as more training for specific and high-risk positions, requirement of holding an occupational safety card to work, increase penalty, and the setting up of an incentive scheme for safety supervisors on the sites. Other issues discussed included strengthening inspections and enforcement, optimise regulations on workplace safety and enhance promotion channels. Mr Leong has asked the Labour Affairs Bureau, Human Resources Office, and Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre to study the opinions and formulate a short-, medium- and long-term plan on such issues. Representatives from Macao Construction Industry General Union, Macao Association of Building Contractors and Developers, Macau Construction Association, Macau Construction Machinery Engineering Association, Macau Institution of Engineers, Macau Engineering Superintendent Association, Macau Construction Safety Association, Macau Occupational Health and Safety Association, and Association of Macau Occupational Safety and Health Professionals, together with consultants from Mr Leong’s office attended the meeting.
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To commemorate the “Wisdom from the Miniatures – Exhibition of Sun Jiangtao’s Stamp Collection of the Liberated Zone”, Macao Post announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at Temporary Exhibition Gallery of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Senado Square, at 10:00 to 17:00 on 24th April 2015 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “Wisdom from the Miniatures”. A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that about 159,900 households had used the Internet in 2014, accounting for 84.3% of the total, up by 1.7 percentage points year-on-year. With the popularity of smartphones, the households using mobile broadband to access the Internet increased by 7.2 percentage points year-on-year to 87.1%. Meanwhile, households using fibre optical broadband connection almost doubled, at 17,700. For population aged 3 and above, the rate of Internet usage was 69.8%, up by 4.0 percentage points year-on-year. The rate of Internet usage for population aged 15-24 topped at 95.9%. Moreover, 93.4% of the Internet users had accessed the Internet daily, up by 2.4 percentage points year-on-year. Regarding the purpose of using the Internet, 86.9% of the Internet users used the Internet for communication, 75.6% for web entertainment and 13.8% for Internet shopping, up by 6.6, 2.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively year-on-year. Median Internet shopping spending amounted to MOP 1,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014, up by 33.3% year-on-year. Mobile phone users accounted for 92.3% of the total; the proportion of population who accessed the Internet using a mobile phone increased by 10.0 percentage points year-on-year to 79.5%. In addition, 153,700 households possessed computer equipment, sharing 81.1% of the total, down by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. The rate of computer usage for population aged 3 and above also dropped by 1.1 percentage points year-on-year to 60.6% owing to the greater variety of functions available on mobile phone and other devices. Survey on Information Technology Usage in the Household Sector 2014 was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2014 through a supplementary questionnaire of the Employment Survey, which collected data on information technology usage among population aged 3 and above.
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Taking advantage of the recent fine weather and optimising the latest in technology, the Government Information Bureau used a drone to take a series of aerial photograph of Macao. Photographer Lou Kam Lit’s collection of “A bird’s-eye view of Macao’s new developments in Inner Harbour” is now available at the government news application “MSAR News”. Lou maneuvered the drone and captured rare aerial views of the old Macao’s crowded residential districts to new projects and developments, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge progress. This collection of ten photographs, along with other 140 collections, are on display at the “MSAR News” app, showing the city’s picturesque scenery and unforgettable moments ranging from new and historic buildings, social characteristics and features, seasonal and festive activities. Launched by the Bureau last year, the app offers various real-time news, government information, pictures and information on the local weather. Besides the “Gallery” section, it also includes “News”, “News Features”, “Hot News”, and “Hot News Photos”. Under the “News” section, 13 categories are available for users to subscribe to. It is available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese and English. The built-in bookmarking and sharing functions allow users to spread the information from the app to email or social media such as Weibo, WeChat, Facebook and Twitter. In addition, the app’s push notification feature gives instant access to news and information released by the Government. This app is available for both iOS (Version 5.1 or above) and Android (Version 4.0 or above) systems. It can be searched and downloaded with the keyword “MSAR News” in App Store and Google Play.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the first quarter of 2015 increased by 1.51% year-on-year to 146.19, attributable to rising charges for restaurant services, as well as dearer prices of handbags and local food products. Notable increase was observed in the price index of Restaurant Services (+7.86%); Clothing & Footwear (+5.49%); and Entertainment & Cultural Activities (+5.18%). On the contrary, price index of Hotel Accommodation decreased by 4.33% year-on-year due to lower room rates for three- and four-star hotels. In comparison with the fourth quarter of 2014, TPI for the first quarter of 2015 increased by 0.33%. Price index of Accommodation and Entertainment & Cultural Activities rose by 3.77% and 2.88% respectively quarter-to-quarter; meanwhile, seasonal sale of handbags and women’s winter clothing pushed down the price index of Clothing & Footwear by 7.81%. The average TPI for the last four quarters ended the first quarter of 2015 increased by 3.63% from the previous period, with marked increase being observed in the price index of Restaurant Services (+7.42%); Clothing & Footwear (+6.41%); Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco (+4.78%); and Entertainment & Cultural Activities (+4.65%). TPI reflects the price change of goods and services purchased by visitors. Sections of TPI goods and services are selected according to the consumption pattern of visitors, namely Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods.
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The Government has asked Macao’s electricity provider to submit a report on the power outage earlier today, examining its cause to ensure stability of service. In a joint press conference held after the incident, Coordinator of the Office for the Development of the Energy Sector, Mr Arnaldo Ernesto dos Santos, said the incident happened at 10:55 am, caused by the malfunction of 110kV high-voltage equipment in Canal dos Patos substation, which subsequently led to the breakdown of equipment in four other substations in different locations, causing an extensive power outage across the Macao peninsula. Supply was fully restored by 12:20 pm. The Government is requiring Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM) to submit a preliminary report in one week and an extensive report in one month. In the press conference, representative of the Public Security Police Force said boundary-crossing remained normal during the incident and the Government had despatched more police officers on the streets to ensure public order was maintained. The Fire Services Bureau had activated the emergency mechanism, including mobilising 150 officers and more vehicles to help in rescue work. It handled 75 cases of people trapped in elevator and helped 440 affected by the lift incidents. The Health Bureau said the incident had only a minor effect on services of the emergence ward, and the operation of surgery wards and intensive care unit, as the hospital had an emergency power supply. CEM has apologised for the incident and said the company would learn from it to further optimise the stability of power supply. It also disclosed that the last regular inspection of the Canal dos Patos substation was carried out last month.
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