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Police departments should give more support and equipment to officers to give them better protection in the performance of their duties, the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, said when he visited the departments. Mr Wong urged for strengthened efforts to maintain security in large-scale and special events, and study matters of regional security. Meeting senior officers of the Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau on 12 January, Mr Wong said he understood they faced greater challenges and difficulties in maintaining better public security. He said his office would give them more support, such as in equipment and manpower, so that they could optimise their performance in maintaining a secure society. The Bureau should also put more efforts in publicising its image to present themselves as a modern law enforcement team, he said. Later in the day, Mr Wong also visited the Security Forces Co-ordination Office, where he had opportunities to hear more about its operation and work on civil defence, and the challenges faced by officers. He said their work on civil defence had won wide recognition but the Office had to strengthen efforts to co-ordinate departments for better security measures and promotion of safety messages. Accompanying Mr Wong on his visit were Director of the Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau, Mr Pun Su Peng and the Deputy Director Ms Kook Fong Mei; Co-ordinator of the Security Forces Co-ordination Office, Mr Cheang Seng Chio; and Chief of Office of Secretary for Security, Ms Cheong Ioc Ieng, together with consultants from Mr Wong's office.
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The Government attaches great importance to provide better welfare for civil servants as they are the valuable resource to ensure better public service, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, said. She said the Government had the responsibility to incessantly optimise public workers regulations to provide a better working environment and build a clean and efficient government team. Ms Chan was speaking to representatives from more than 20 civil servants associations in a meeting held in the Government Headquarters on 9 January. She said she highly recognised the crucial role they played between the Government and the workers to promote better mutual understanding. In the meeting, representatives of the associations expressed their concern on issues such as career planning, performance evaluation, training on legal knowledge, welfare for lower-class workers, centralised recruitment and streamlining the government team to enhance administration efficiency. The Government strived to advance public service regulations and would review it according to its order of priority. To transform the Chief Executive's policy vision into practice, the Government would put efforts to simplify administration processes, consolidate department resources, advance horizontal mobility and others that would enhance efficiency and quality of public service, she said. Ms Chan thanked the associations for supporting the Government's administration and giving their suggestions on administrative reform and management of civil servants. Officials who also attended the meeting were Chief of Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Iao Man Leng; Acting Director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, Mr Kou Peng Kuan; and advisors from Ms Chan's office.
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The Government would closely monitor the impacts of the slowdown in gaming revenue, especially its impact on small- and medium-sized enterprises and its effect on the job market, said Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac. He said without major changes in the external economic environment, he expected gaming revenue in the first half of this year to follow the downtrend of the past seven months. The Government would launch a scientific prediction model to gauge economic development and get better knowledge on the situations including changes in gaming revenue patterns. Mr Leong was speaking to journalists after he attended a plenary meeting of the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action on 9 January, where he stressed the Government had sufficient fiscal reserves to cope with changes that emerged in the current consolidation period. The Government would be cautious in studying changes on gaming revenue and the number of visitors after the completion of new tourism projects in the third or fourth quarter of this year. To be less dependent on the gaming, Mr Leong urged casino operators to put more resources into the development of non-gaming elements to further diversify the industry and tourism source. It was the Government's responsibility to provide on-the-job training to employees, including casino staff to enrich their skills and broaden their career prospects, he said. The Labour Affairs Bureau and the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center would work closely with gaming operators and associations to provide tailor-made training courses to increase opportunities of promotion and skills to work in non-gaming workplaces. When asked, Mr Leong gave an assurance that the Government would not change its policy on foreign workers, who are only here to fill vacancies that local workers could not fill. There will be no change in this without discussions with employers and employees, he added.
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The Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, urged the police to continue to develop stronger sense of belonging and be more innovative in studying and resolving social issues. Mr Wong made these comments when he visited the Macao Prison and the Academy of Public Security Forces, on 8 and 9 January, when he also had opportunities to listen to senior officers the challenges and difficulties they faced in serving the community. He spoke highly of the Macao Prison on retaining good external communication but urged them to continue to strengthen measures for internal contact, boosting morale and developing a stronger sense of belonging, to let the public know more of their contributions to the society. In a meeting with Mr Wong, officers said the needs for translation, medical service and psychological consulting had increased significantly, brought on by the increase of prisoners, especially foreigners. In his visit to the Academy of Public Security Forces, Mr Wong praised it for having successfully trained numerous police officers, but urged them to be more innovative in conducting reforms and research projects on Macao-based theories, providing a more solid academic foundation for police officers. Senior officials who accompanied Mr Wong on his visit included Director and Deputy Director of the Macao Prison, Mr Lee Kam Cheong and Mr Loi Kam Wan respectively; Director and Deputy Director of the Academy of Public Security Forces, Mr Hoi Sio Iong and Mr Cheong Iok Kun respectively; the Chief of Office the Secretary for Security, Ms Cheong Ioc Ieng. Mr Wong had also visited the Macao Customs, the Border Gate checkpoint and the Police Tactical Intervention Unit previously, where he asked officers to work harmoniously and be more transparent in performing their duties.
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The new issue of the Macao Higher Education Magazine - International Edition has been published. Interested parties can obtain the magazines in specific government departments, public libraries, higher education institutions etc. or access the website of the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) to view or download the magazine. The content of the Macao Higher Education Magazine – International Edition is comprehensive and diversified, comprising the discussion of relevant issues on higher education, overview of characteristic academic departments in local higher education institutions, sharing of students' learning experiences, introduction of higher education students' activities, information for further education, and the display of individual creations etc. In these recent years, the Macao SAR Government is determined to promote the cultural and creative industries, giving favourable conditions and encouraging higher education institutions and training centers to cultivate talent in the corresponding fields. In this issue, apart from introducing the relevant design programmes and courses in the higher education institutions, there are also interviews with students who are taking the programmes, as well as professionals who are working in the field. Moreover, in order to give a comprehensive overview on how to foster talent majoring in the corresponding fields, the unit manager, instructor and students of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center are also invited to share their viewpoints and learning experiences. Some outstanding and creative art works of the students are also included in this issue. In addition, there are contributions of students studying in different parts of the world sharing their learning experience. Magazine copies will be given out at GAES, Centre for Higher Education Students, Public Information Centre, Government Service Centre, public libraries, Macao's higher education institutions, Plaza Cultural Macau, Starlight Bookstore etc. Interested parties can also browse the website of GAES (http://www.gaes.gov.mo/big5/) to view or download the new or previous issues for both the Chinese and International Edition of the Macao Higher Education Magazine.
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Published by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and produced by the Companhia do Desenvolvimento Cultural e Criativo 100 Plus Limitada., the first local online magazine about cultural and creative industries C2 will be launched on 10 January 2015. C2 will cover the latest moves of local and global cultural and creative industries, illustrate the challenges and opportunities Macao is facing, aiming at boosting the development of local and regional cultural and creative industries. The year 2015 has kick-started with the 1st issue of C2 in pace with robust global growth of the cultural and creative industries. Some countries even considered these industries as part of their economic growth. The word C2 is a combination of "Culture" and "Creativity", a platform for the exchange of cultural and creative information. This trilingual magazine (in Chinese, Portuguese and English) will be published online on the first Monday of each month, including articles, videos and PDF files. The Public can also access the magazine through social media, such as Facebook and WeChat. This electronic magazine crosses the geographical boundaries to keep readers up-to-date with Macao's cultural and creative moves. Each issue of C2 contains regular features and columns: the highlight of the inaugural feature is "City under the Lens", in which veteran and new generation of local filmmakers tell us about the Macao film development and their experiences. "Chit Chat" invites Macao's renowned designers Chao Sio Leong and Hong Chong Ip to share their experience on how to convert creative ideas into business opportunities. "Extravaganza" and "Around the Globe" will explore inspirational activities or topics about Macao and the rest of the world. In this issue, Taiwan's Close to YOU International Puppet Festival and inspirations from Harry Potter film given to the creative and cultural industries of the UK and the rest of the world, will be presented. "Infographics" reviews Macao's box office figures in 2013. Several local and overseas columnists will write in the "Blog" each month. The columnists of the inaugural issue are: Agnes Lam, Mok Sio Chong, Lin Yi-Chun, Wong Cheng Pou, Joe Lei, Tyr and Ling Lui. Visit us at www.c2magazine.mo, and download the full version of the magazine. For enquiries, please email us at c2magazine.macau@gmail.com.
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Consumer Council conducted its specific price survey on over-the-counter drugs on 8 January for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Result of the mentioned survey has been uploaded to the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and is available in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. For inquiry, please call the Council's hotline: 8988 9315.
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Consumer Council conducted its second 'Supermarket price survey' in January on 7 January for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that Gross Value Added, Intermediate Consumption and Compensation of Employees of all economic activities at current prices increased by 21.8%, 14.5% and 14.9% respectively year-on-year in 2013. The corresponding indicators for Gaming rose by 23.1%, 15.0% and 12.6% respectively; Gross Value Added of industries closely related to tourism and gaming also registered satisfactory increase, such as Wholesale & Retail (+19.6%), Hotels (+21.3%) and Restaurants (+14.5%). Meanwhile, Real Estate Activities and Banking saw rapid growth, with the respective Gross Value Added soaring by 42.0% and 33.0%, giving further impetus to economic growth. On the other hand, the secondary sector lagged behind the tertiary sector, where increase in Gross Value Added of Construction narrowed due to the completion of the main structures of the new University of Macau campus. Growth in Gross Value Added of all economic activities outpaced growth in Gross Output, bringing the ratio of Gross Value Added to Gross Output up from 44.5% in 2012 to 46.0% in 2013. On the other hand, owing to a slower increase in Compensation of Employees (+14.9%), the ratio of Compensation of Employees to Gross Value Added shrank by 1.8 percentage points to 29.7%. Regarding changes in the industrial structure, Gross Value Added of the secondary sector grew by 10.4% year-on-year, lower than the rate of economic growth, bringing its relative importance to GDP down by 0.6 percentage points to 5.7%. In particular, relative importance of both Manufacturing and Electricity, Gas & Water Supply dropped by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year to 0.6% and 0.7% respectively; relative importance of Construction fell by 0.4 percentage points to 4.4%. Gross Value Added of the tertiary sector increased by 22.5% year-on-year, with its relative importance to GDP rising by 0.6 percentage points from 93.7% in 2012 to 94.3% in 2013. Gross Value Added of Gaming (46.1%), Wholesale & Retail (7.6%) and Hotels & Restaurants (7.5%) together accounted for 61.2% of GDP, up slightly by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year. Meanwhile, Gross Value Added of Real Estate Activities increased substantially, with its relative importance to GDP rising by 1.2 percentage points to 8.7%. Gross Value Added of Banking, Insurance and Pension & Funding surged upon the increase in net interest income and premiums, with its relative importance to GDP rising by 0.4 percentage points to 6.2%. Increase in Gross Value Added of Transport, Storage & Communications was lower than the economic growth, bringing its relative importance down by 0.3 percentage points to 2.7%. Industrial structure is the compilation of GDP under the production approach, which equals the sum of Gross Value Added (Gross Output minus Intermediate Consumption) of all economic activities, plus taxes on products.
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The Government would continue to keep close touch with the media to better promote its work to the people and to further increase transparency in its administration, said the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan. The press is an important conduit to enhance mutual understanding between the government and the people as it would help give the public better knowledge of the government's policies and measures, she said. Ms Chan was speaking in a meeting on 7 January with more than 30 representatives from local news outlets reporting in the Chinese, Portuguese and English languages. The representatives were also invited to share their suggestions on how to enhance the work in public administration, legal affairs and disseminating information to the people. Efficient administration, incessantly enhancing public service quality, promoting government's execution and recognition, and pragmatically enhancing legal ruling were the priorities of her position, Ms Chan said. To work in accordance with the principles of "putting people first" and "scientific decision-making", the Government strived to offer better services to meet the growing needs of the people. In the meeting, the media representatives suggested that the Government put more efforts to increase its administration transparency, promote new policies in an easier-to-understand way for the people, and to build a more comprehensive mechanism in releasing information to the press. Ms Chan said monitoring by the media was important in helping enhance the administration's efficiency.
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