News

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) proudly presents the exhibition At the Risk of Colour – Claude Viallat & Franck Chalendard, inviting these two internationally renowned French painters to showcase 41 works. Part of the programme of the 26th Macao Arts Festival and Le French May Festival, the exhibition is jointly organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, the Alliance Française de Macao and the Bernard Ceysson Gallery and will be inaugurated on Thursday 28 May at Tap Seac Gallery, at 6:30pm. Claude Viallat was one of the founders of the Supports/Surfaces Movement in France, which since the 1960s has been questioning the traditional structure of paintings by drawing repeated patterns on surfaces without stretchers or frames. His works supersede the limitations of canvas, frame and wall; by painting on all kinds of surfaces, from tents to lose fabrics suspended from ceilings, Viallat creates a new spatial dimension for viewers. Franck Chalendard expresses his artistic creation principally through paintings. He is good at using repetitive shapes and patterns to create abstract figures, thus exploring new meanings. In his recent works, he paints colour blocks on fabrics with glossy printed patterns, using the emotive power of colours as a pathos-free style to present full chromatic delights. By presenting At the Risk of Colour – Claude Viallat and Franck Chalendard, from 29 May to 9 August, 2015, IC wishes to share with the public of Macao the rich and varied fruits of French contemporary painting. The Tap Seac Gallery is located at No. 95, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, and is open daily from 10am to 9pm. Admission is free.
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The Government would further improve the mechanism for the withdrawal of non-resident workers and strives to address labour issue claims. Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, stressed the government’s position to reporters on 23 May, and said employers were required to compensate non-resident workers in accordance with the law for whatever reason they are laid off. The duty of promoting knowledge of their legal rights to non-resident workers rested with the Labour Affairs Bureau and the Human Resources Office; but he said the Government efforts had to do more in this area. With non-resident workers employed for specific public projects, Mr Leong said the Government would look carefully at the duration of work to prevent them from over-staying after completion of such projects.
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Consumer Council conducted its seventh ‘Supermarket price survey’ in May on 26 May for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Sé 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2015 reached MOP 16.41 billion, down by 5% compared with the revised figure of MOP 17.33 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. Retail sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (MOP 3.73 billion) accounted for 23% of the total, which was followed by retail sales of Goods in Department Stores (15%), Adults' Clothing (11%), Leather Goods (10%), Goods in Supermarkets (7%) and Motor Vehicles (5%). In comparison with the first quarter of 2014, value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2015 decreased by 11%, with marked decrease being observed in sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (-31%), Leather Goods (-28%), Goods in Department Stores (-13%) and Motor Vehicles (-13%). On the other hand, sales of Communication Equipment soared by 56%, and sales of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles rose by 18%. After removing the effect of price changes, volume of retail sales for the first quarter of 2015 decreased by 3% quarter-to-quarter, with notable decrease in sales of Leather Goods (-14%), Chinese Food Products (-14%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (-13%) and Motor Vehicles (-12%); however, sales of Communication Equipment increased by 25% quarter-to-quarter. Meanwhile, volume of retail sales for the first quarter decreased by 8% year-on-year, of which sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (-28%) and Leather Goods (-28%) marked notable decline, and sales of Goods in Department Stores and Motor Vehicles decreased by 15% and 13% respectively; on the contrary, sales of Communication Equipment surged by 60%. In respect of the comments of the retailers, about 41% stated that sales volume in the first quarter of 2015 increased or held stable over the previous quarter, down by 12 percentage points compared with the corresponding figure in the fourth quarter of 2014, while 59% reported decrease in sales volume. In terms of the retail prices, about 42% reported stable prices, 21% stated an increase and 37% noted a decrease. Moreover, about 65% of the retailers expressed that the stock level remained stable compared with the first quarter of 2014, while 23% indicated that the stock level decreased. As regards business outlook for the second quarter of 2015, about 18% of the retailers anticipate that sales volume will increase from the first quarter, 49% expect sales volume to remain stable, while 33% foresee a decrease. Concurrently, about 77% predict stable retail prices, 15% predict a decrease, while 8% expect an increase in retail prices.
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The number of crimes reported in the first quarter of this year saw a drop of 4.7% compared with the corresponding quarter in 2014, with no serious violent crime which showed that Macao’s public security was maintained at a stable level, said the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak. Releasing the crime figures for the first quarter of 2015 at a press conference on 21 May, Mr Wong said telephone fraud and cases related to webcam blackmail over nude images dropped 29.7 per cent and 77.8 per cent respectively compared to the same period last year. But the amount of money involved in these cases was more than that of last year despite police efforts in anti-crime promotion and fighting crime. The police carried out 3,588 criminal investigations, an increase of 2.4 per cent with 83 more cases, the increases mainly in false imprisonment and blackmail cases. Violent crime fell by 4.7 per cent: there was not one case of murder, abduction or serious violent crime in this period. Gaming-related crime rate remained similar to that of last year, showing the drop in gaming revenue has little negative impact on the social environment. Meanwhile, crimes against society, such as transferring counterfeit money, the use of forged documents and arson, fell by 10.4 per cent to 258 cases. There were 10 cases of juvenile crimes, compared with 16 cases in the corresponding quarter. Illegal immigrants and over-stayers caught in the first three months saw a decrease of 31 per cent totalling 8,678. Among the over-stayers, 7,565 were from the mainland and 686 were from overseas. There were 427 mainland residents who entered Macao illegally during the quarter. Regarding taxi irregularities, there were 1,724 prosecutions, including 512 cases of overcharging (29.7%) and 381 cases of refusing to take passengers (22.1%). The latest figure, surpassing last year’s total of 1,666 cases, was the result of joint efforts made by the city’s supervising bodies for taxi services, the Judiciary Police and the Transport Bureau. Mr Wong said there was room for improvement in maintaining public security, but the statistic showed effectiveness of measures taken this year, pledging the Government would keep close attention to the latest trend of crime and crime-combating.
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The approval of 150 gaming tables for a soon to open hotel is due to its integration with local small- and medium-sized enterprises, and it helps to enrich the city’s tourism features. This is according to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, who said on 21 May that casino operators could re-arrange tables under their own entities as long as the number of tables did not exceed the total number of tables approved. Mr Leong said the Government had not received application from other operators requesting an increase in table numbers. The Government pledges to restrict the annual increase of gaming table to no more than three per cent until 2023. The downturn of consumer price index showed the Government’s efforts in controlling the product price; he said the Government would pay close attention to the effect on residents brought on by the drop in revenue from gaming.
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Assorted 26th Macao Arts Festival Outreach Programme activities, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, provide various channels for the public to understand different aspects of the arts. The Arts Administration Talk “Providing Support during the Creative Process” and the Pre-Show Talk “Out of Context – for Pina” will be held on Saturday 23 May, in which onstage and offstage aspects of the performing arts will be analysed. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to participate. The 26th MAF presents Out of Context - for Pina by Les ballets C de la B (Belgium) on 23 and 24 May, a tribute to the late German choreographer Pina Bausch. On Saturday (23 May), from 3:00pm-5:00pm, the company’s manager, Lieven Thyrion, will give a Pre-show Talk entitled “Providing Support during the Creative Process” at the Institute for Tourism Studies Auditorium (Team Building) to expound on how administrative personnel can provide more support to art creation for arts groups apart from fundraising and administration. In addition, to further explore Falk Richter’s work, a Directors’ Talk entitled “Writing for a Globalised World - the Plays and Works of Falk Richter” will be hosted on 30 May from 5:30pm-6:30pm in the Macao Cultural Centre Conference Room. On this occasion, Falk Richter will analyse the content of his works Trust and Electronic City, and, based on these two works, will discuss how their scripts are staged. Renowned Hong Kong director Chan Ping Chiu, who has directed Richter’s work, will attend the talk with Macao director Johnny Tam. The aforementioned activities will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation to Cantonese. Admission is free; please reserve in advance as seats are limited. For details and registration of the MAF Outreach Programme, please visit www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event or contact IC through tel. (853) 8399 6699 during office hours.
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Consumer Council promotes healthy eating habits among consumers and publishes a report on the comparison of food ingredients label in its latest issue no. 260 Consumer Report. The Council also conducted a survey on the limits of reselling jewelries, consumers are reminded to check the terms and conditions of the jewellery shops they intend to sell the related products to safeguard their rights. In support of Consumers International’s 2015 annual theme of consumers’ rights to healthy food, Consumer Council examined 34 samples of pre-packaged cereal products to check and compare their amounts of fiber, sugar, potassium, and fat contained, and see if they follow the international ‘3 low 1 high’ rule. Examined foods include cereal bars, oats, cereal cookies, instant cereal drinks, and breakfast cereal. The Council hopes to remind consumers about the ‘3 low 1 high’ rule and to check the ingredients list on the package before purchasing any cereal products. Results of the report are now available in the latest issue of Consumer Report. Consumers like to purchase jewelries not only as ornaments but also as gifts to families. When purchasing jewelries, consumers should not only consider the styles, prices, and handiwork of the pieces, but also consider the terms and conditions of the jewellery shops they intend to resell the related products. A survey has been conducted by the Council for the terms and conditions of local jewelley shops regarding jewelries resold to them by consumers. Consumers can now check the survey details in the latest issue of Consumer Report. The latest monthly magazine also features the photo exhibition held by the Council in March for the celebration of World Consumer Rights Day. Further, to promote teenagers’ awareness about consumer rights, the Council is now looking for article submissions from local secondary students. Topics including laws and current news, etc. are welcome to be submitted to the Council for publishing. Submission fees are available and submission requirements are listed in this issue of Consumer Report. 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals decreased by 3.4% year-on-year to 2,547,435 in April 2015; same-day visitors totalled 1,387,618 (54.5% of total), down by 2.7%. The average length of stay of visitors decreased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 0.9 day; overnight and same-day visitors had an average stay of 1.8 days and 0.2 day respectively. Visitors from Mainland China decreased by 6.4% year-on-year to 1,632,673, with those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme rising slightly by 0.5%, at 710,612. Mainland visitors came primarily from Guangdong Province (663,007), Fujian Province (69,954) and Hunan Province (67,004). Visitors from Hong Kong (603,136), Taiwan (83,967) and the Republic of Korea (41,215) increased by 3.0%, 11.0% and 21.3% respectively year-on-year, while those from Malaysia (17,137) and Japan (16,095) decreased by 6.7% and 16.5%. Long-haul visitors from the United States (16,891), Canada (6,360) and the United Kingdom (5,710) registered year-on-year increase, whereas those from Australia (8,501) saw decline. Regarding mode of transport, visitor arrivals by land totalled 1,355,423, down by 4.9% year-on-year; visitors entering through the Border Gate accounted for 88.5% of the total, at 1,199,393, down by 6.3%, while those arriving via the Checkpoint of Cotai rose by 8.3% to 154,040. Visitor arrivals by sea decreased by 2.5% year-on-year to 1,020,891, of which visitors entering via the Outer Harbour (635,384) increased by 1.1%, while those via the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa (361,302) dropped by 4.9%. Visitor arrivals by air increased by 4.6% year-on-year to 171,121, with 169,927 entering via the airport, up by 5.5% year-on-year. In the first four months of 2015, visitor arrivals totalled 9,959,656, down by 3.6% year-on-year, with same-day visitors edging up by 0.6% to 5,580,892 (56.0% of total). Visitors from Mainland China (6,658,616) and Hong Kong (2,108,831) dropped by 3.7% and 2.1% respectively year-on-year, while those from Taiwan (308,775) and the Republic of Korea (209,859) increased by 1.6% and 12.7%. Moreover, long-haul visitors from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom recorded year-on-year decrease.
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Aiming to promote the advantages of Macao as a convention and exhibition destination and to attract renowned overseas convention and exhibition organizers to hold more MICE-related activities here, Executive Director of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Mrs. Irene V. K. Lau travelled to Frankfurt, Germany, from May 18 to 21, to participate in IMEX Frankfurt 2015, organized by the IMEX Group and having as its partner, Germany Convention Bureau. IMEX Frankfurt 2015 is currently one of the Europe´s largest MICE-related fairs. The scale of this event is gradually expanding year after year, attracting over 3,000 exhibitors from 150 countries and more than 10,000 qualified buyers every year. Exhibitors at IMEX include tourism bureaux, conference boards, hotel operators, convention centres, technology providers, airlines, exhibition and conference centres, international business associations, destination management industry, conference and public relations industry, transport and travel industry and trade magazines publishers. During the period of IMEX, IPIM and Macao´s representatives of the convention and exhibition industry jointly organized in Frankfurt a “Macau Breakfast”, to promote the environment and the advantages of Macao´s convention and exhibition industry. Before an audience of more than 40 people, including event organizers, representatives of international business associations, destination management industry and, conference and public relations industry, Mrs. Irene V. K. Lau actively promoted the advantages of Macao´s convention and exhibition industry and the “One-Stop Service” provided by IPIM for MICE Bidding and Support in Macao, in a bid to attract the holding of more international events in Macao. At the same time, IPIM has set-up a promotional booth in the Macao Pavilion built inside the IMEX venue, to promote the “One-Stop Service” for MICE Bidding and Support in Macao and to answer enquiries. Apart from IPIM, other exhibitors at the Macao Pavilion included Macao Government Tourist Office, and also Macao´s travel agencies, hotels, resorts and convention and exhibition venues operators, targeting to develop the international tourist market and to promote Macao´s tourism and MICE industries and the Made in Macao products.
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