News

The Identification Services Bureau (hereinafter referred as DSI) introduces an online ticketing service which provides a convenient way for citizens to obtain the "tag number of the day" to lodge their application. Without the need to get the tag number in person at DSI, citizens can make their bookings through DSI's website (www.dsi.gov.mo) after 7 o'clock in the morning of working day. Citizens who have obtained the tag number of the day online will receive a SMS from DSI for confirmation. Afterwards, they only need to arrive at DSI 15 minutes earlier than their selected time, and proceed to the designated counter as instructed on the screen at DSI to lodge their application. As usual, if citizens want to make an advance appointment, they can make their bookings through DSI's website, appointment hotline, Ticketing and Service Counter or the self-service kiosks at DSI. Citizens who have made an appointment will receive a SMS reminder from DSI one day before the scheduled date. Besides, citizens can cancel or change their appointment on DSI's website or appointment hotline if they cannot show up at the time they reserved, so as to release the reserved time for the use of other citizens. DSI will continue to conduct studies on the provision of more convenient electronic services to Macao citizens.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao released today the credit card statistics for the fourth quarter of 2014. The total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 830,791 at the end of December 2014, equivalent to an increase of 1.3% over a quarter earlier. The numbers of Pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) cards and Renminbi (RMB) cards were 599,052, 77,779 and 153,960 respectively. MOP cards and RMB cards witnessed respective growth of 2.6% and 2.3% quarter-to-quarter, whereas HKD cards registered a drop of 9.1% due to adjustments of credit card business by individual banks. Compared with a year ago, MOP cards and RMB cards (the majority of which are MOP/RMB dual-currency cards) rose 12.0% and 9.9% respectively whereas HKD cards dropped 2.4%.
As at end-December 2014, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP17.3 billion, up 5.0% from end-September 2014. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.2 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP590.4 million, accounting for 27.1% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, edged down to 0.84%.
For the fourth quarter of 2014, the credit card turnover increased 12.9% quarter-to-quarter to MOP4.6 billion. The cash advance turnover was MOP214.8 million, accounting for 4.7% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, went up 4.9% from the previous quarter to MOP4.4 billion.
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The Government will set up a committee to carry out criminal and legal system studies, according to a Chief Executive's despatch published today in the Official Gazette. The committee, which runs on a project team basis, will be supervised by the Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutions Office. It will be led by a co-ordinator who is appointed by the Chief Executive, from the suggestion by the Prosecutor General. The committee's general term is for three years, but can be renewed. The committee's major responsibilities include: monitor the development of legal and judicial reforms on criminal matters and propose related suggestions and revisions; conduct research projects on social and legal aspects and continuously improve the criminal law system; conduct research projects on criminal procedural policies that can assist the stipulation of related policies by other entities; and submit an annual report to the Prosecutor General on work implementation. The remuneration of the co-ordinator is set by the Chief Executive: the Public Prosecutions Office will bear the cost of the committee.
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The Government Information Bureau today launched a new set of photos themed "glittering Lunar New Year lighting decorations", which can be viewed at the government news mobile application "MSAR News". The Bureau's photographer Mr Lou Kam Lit captured the glittering and celebratory hand-made lanterns, palace lanterns and flower-shaped decorative lightings, after they were launched by the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, on 6 January. As part of this year's Lunar New Year celebrations, the lighting decorations are on display at 79 venues across the city. "MSAR News", was launched by the Bureau last year, offering various real-time news, government information, pictures and local weather reports. One of its five sections – "Gallery" – has already collected 122 different photo albums, showing Macao's picturesque scenery and unforgettable moments ranging from new and historic buildings, social characteristics and features, seasonal and festive activities. Other sections include "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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The Government would introduce effective measures to monitor the price of fuel products to better protect the rights of the people, said the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac. In the short term, the Government would re-introduce the licensing system for imported petroleum products, compare it to the current declaration system, giving the public better and timely grasps on the price fluctuations. In the long run, the Government would introduce legislation on the protection of consumers' rights and interests, empowering the Consumer Council to get more details on the pricing system and to act against any irregular behaviour, he said. Mr Leong made these comments after a meeting with the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, and representatives of the Macao Economic Services and the Consumer Council on 7 February. The Government had established a monitoring system on fuel prices, which came into effect since the current government team took office, and made continuous efforts to follow price changes on the international market. Mr Leong said the Government attached great importance on the changes in prices as fuel cost is related to people's everyday lives and the business. Local fuel retailers had announced on 5 February that the price of fuel would go up. The following day, the Government learned that the increase was a business decision, and that the increase in retail price had nothing to with the cost of fuel in stock. In a meeting with Mr Leong, representatives of retailers said they agreed to more transparent on the pricing of fuel products, and supported a licensing system for imported fuel products.
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Consumer Council collected prices of 11 festive foods from 24 retail outlets on 6th February for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12th June. The collected data has been uploaded to the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. The Council conducted the said survey on 6th February. Surveyed products included: 'Planters Premium Collection/849g', 'Kraft Ritz Sandwich Cracker/316g', 'Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies/681g', 'Kjeldsens Butter Cookies/908g', 'Ferrero Rocher/24pcs', 'Brown & Haley Almond Roca/340g', 'Sugus Assorted Fruited Flavour Chews/350g', 'Lindt Lindor (Red)/14pcs', 'Bourbon Chocochip Cookies/312g', 'Garden Assorted Biscuit/500g', and 'Sau Tao Abalone Noodle/684g'. The price survey on these 11 festive foods from 24 retail outlets revealed price differences from 9% percent ('Kraft Ritz Sandwich Cracker/316g') to 41.8 percent ('Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies/681g'). Consumers are advised to check the 'Specific Price Information Platform' to make price comparisons. The survey has also been uploaded to the Council's website and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android appsfor consumers' reference. For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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The new Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) "Academic Research Grant Regulations" came into effect on 1 February. All interested academics can submit their applications from 1 March to 31 May 2015. In order to accompany the new social and academic trends as well as to improve and regulate the system, IC, after reviewing the experience of the previously launched "Academic Research Grant Regulations", carried out a revision of its provisions, and is now launching the new "Academic Research Grant Regulations", approved by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture's Order No. 13/2015 to come into effect on 1 February. The goal of the new "Academic Research Grant Regulations" is to encourage original academic research on the culture of Macao, and on the exchange between Macao, Mainland China and other countries. In order to best correspond to the current situation and academic standards, several norms were revised regarding applicants' eligibility, frequency of award, amounts, application documents, selection and selection criteria, applicants' obligations and prohibitions, research period, awards suspension and cancellation and copyrights, among others. Highlights are: 1. Applicants' eligibility: a) local or overseas doctorate degree holders, with proven academic research experience; and b) local or overseas individuals, with sufficient research experience and recognized academic production;
2. Frequency of grant and application period: IC accepts applications every year between 1 March and 31 May, and applications submitted out of this period will not be considered;
3. Amounts: there will be two amounts of MOP 280,000.00 and MOP 250,000.00, to be decided by IC under proposal of the Selection Panel, based on the applicant's academic background and the content of the project;
4. Application documents: a) application form provided by IC, duly completed and signed; and b) applicant's Curriculum vitae, research project plan and certified copies of the applicant's educational qualification certificates; incomplete applications or that fail to comply with the above will not be accepted;
5. Language and number of words: monographs can be written in Chinese, Portuguese or English, containing no less than 150,000 words, excluding notes, bibliographies, appendixes, illustrations, captions, maps and tables. The awarding of research grants is an important measure in IC's support to academic research. The Academic Research Grant promote Macao's culture and history within academic circles as well as the research of Macao's role in the exchange between East and West, strengthening the citizen's knowledge and understanding about the territory, positively contributing for Macao's cultural development and earning recognition from the academic world. In order to improve the grant allocation system, IC has been revising related regulations since 2006, and has launched, up to now, sixteen grant programmes, which have supported fifty six research projects. These new revisions to the regulations are the result of one year of consultation from academics in related fields from Macao and abroad. The new "Academic Research Grant Regulations" and application form are available in IC's webpage at www.icm.gov.mo. For more information, please contact Ms. Silvia Kuan through tel. no. 8399 6381 during office hours, or by email at silviak@icm.gov.mo.
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The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, was in Beijing to meet with Mainland officials to strengthen ties in legal affairs and mutual judicial assistance. Ms Chan led a delegation to the Ministry of Public Security and exchanged views with officials there on 3 February on the transfer of suspects and to enhance judiciary assistance. During her three-day visit, she met with the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xu Ze; the Director of the Committee for the Basic Law of the Macao SAR under the NPC Standing Committee, Mr Li Fei; and the Vice Minister of Public Security, Mr Chen Zhimin. In her first visit in her current post, Ms Chan said the Macao Government would rule according to the aspirations pointed out by the President Xi Jinping, who was in Macao for the inauguration of new term government last December, and the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On. The Macao Government would follow its policy principles to strengthen legal ruling, enhance administrative effectiveness, streamline the government team, promote administrative reforms, advance legal awareness, and step up efforts to turn Macao into a world centre of tourism and leisure, and a commercial and trade co-operation service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, she said. Mr Xu Ze and Mr Li said they supported the Macao government in ruling in accordance with the law and recognised its policy direction to strengthen reforms in administration and laws. The delegation included members from Ms Chan's office, the Office of the President of the Court of Final Appeal, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutions Office, the Office of the Secretary for Security, the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, the Legal Affairs Bureau, and the Law Reform and International Law Bureau.
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The Health Bureau has urged the high-risk group of citizens to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza, as it would take two to three weeks before the vaccine becomes effective. The Bureau said the peak season for flu in Macao is between January and March, a spokesperson said in a press briefing on 5 February. The Bureau assured the public that it had enough medicine, facilitates and equipment to deal with flu and protect the people's health. It has a strict monitoring system in place to oversee the situation, adding that it had no serious case or a fatality in Macao this year. The Bureau had also initialled the process to buy an additional 10,000 doses of vaccine for high-risk individuals. Since last September, the Bureau had provided free vaccinations to infants, minors, senior citizens, residents with chronic illness, staff in nursing centres, kindergartens and schools. The Bureau urged people to maintain strict personnel hygiene and if flu-like symptoms developed, to seek medical treatment immediately, then stay home and have adequate rest.
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The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) hosted the "ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Air Cargo and Mail Security Course" this week and invited two experts in air cargo security and training to lecture on the knowledge of basic theories and operations, as well as the latest development in ICAO's standards and recommended practices. More than 20 participants from the member states and administrations of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific (CASP-AP) joined the course. "ICAO Air Cargo and Mail Security Course" was convened at the conference facilities of AACM's office from 02 to 06 February 2015. It aimed at both the oversight personnel and the operational personnel responsible for air cargo and mail security. The course objective was to allow the participants to understand the standards and recommended practices relating to air cargo transport as stated in Annex 17 of the Convention of International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), understand the importance of maintaining a strict and high security level of supply chain and the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the process of securing cargo and mail against acts of unlawful interference. In the five-day course, the participants have acquired the theoretical knowledge, taken part in discussions and understood the importance of implementing security measures including security controls on cargo consignments and the appropriate emergency response procedures in the event of a cargo security incident. The course was lectured by two experts who have enriching international experience in practical operations and training, the CASP-AP Training and Capacity Building Officer, Mr. Piengtep Yapan and the Training Officer of Aviation Security Service of New Zealand, Mr. Shane Reilly. They have also been invited to train personnel in other areas. More than 20 participants attended the course, who came from 8 member states and administrations of CASP-AP, including Bangledesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Hong Kong China, India, Macao China, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. All participants completed the course and were awarded with the certificate in today's afternoon. AACM has assumed the chairmanship of the CASP-AP Steering Committee since 06 June 2014, for a one-year term. The Authority wishes to organize training courses to allow member states and administrations to work together to enhance the professionalism of the security personnel in the Asia Pacific Region.
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