News

Consumer Council conducted its fourth 'Supermarket price survey' in June on 13 June for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Horte e Costa, Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga and Rua da Emenda areas in Santo António 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 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.
…

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP122.7 billion (USD15.37 billion) at the end of May 2014. The reserves rebounded by 2.0% from the revised value of MOP120.3 billion (USD15.07 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-May 2014 represented 13 times the currency in circulation or 108.6% of Pataca M2 at end-April 2014. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, increased 0.14 points month-to-month but dropped 1.14 points year-on-year to 97.25 in May 2014.
…

Following the lifting of the curfew in Thailand's travel hot spots and as per information provided by the Macao tourism industry, Thailand tour groups departing before 16th of June will remain canceled, while some travel agencies will re-launch Thailand tour packages after the said date, with earliest possible departure date by 24th of June. GGCT reminds Macau residents who plan to go to Thailand to remain vigilant of local security developments, comply with the relevant provisions of the curfew, plan their itineraries accordingly and strengthen security precautions. To date, GGCT has received 35 inquiries but no requests for assistance. If necessary, Macao residents can call the 24-hour tourism hotline (853) 2833 3000 or contact the Chinese Embassy and consulates for assistance: 24-Hour consular protection hotlines of the Embassy: 085-483-3327, Consulate General in Khon Kaen: 080-936-6070, Consulate General in Songkha: 081-766-5560 and Consulate General in Chiang Mai: 081-882-3283.
…

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) participates in the 28th International Travel Expo (ITE) Hong Kong for an opportunity to promote Macau as a leisure and business tourism destination. Head of Destination Marketing Department, Betty Fok led the MGTO delegation and trade partners to attend the Expo's opening ceremony. MGTO takes part in the leading tourism event in Hong Kong from 12 – 15 June together with travel trade delegates representing 37 businesses including hotels, travel agencies, ferry companies and event organizers to showcase Macau's latest tourism information, unique culture and international events to exhibitors, business tourism partners and visitors from various countries and regions around the world. MGTO attended the "Guangdong･Hong Kong･Macau Trade Networking Reception" as part of the program today (12 June) and hosted a cocktail reception at their joint booth, facilitating a wealth of networking opportunities for close to 100 travel trade partners from the three destinations. This year, MGTO has once again chosen "Touching Moments, Experience Macau" as its promotional theme and adopted "Lotus in blossom" as its booth's major design with colorful ribbons extending from the top of the booth, symbolizing a myriad of touching moments in the vibrant city. The design of lotus flower extends toward the center of the booth, where digital panels showcase each of the "Step Out, Experience Macau's Communities" walking tour routes and their attractions, encouraging Hong Kong residents to come and experience the dynamic ambience in Macau. Furthermore, MGTO organizes a series of travel seminars in the Expo including a MICE seminar tomorrow (13 June) to promote Macau as a business travel destination and its Incentive Travel Stimulation Program; two travel seminars about "Step Out, Experience Macau's Communities" will also be held on the consumer days (14 and 15 June) to introduce Hong Kong citizens to the four walking routes under the theme so that they can gain a deeper understanding of the city's local culture and tourist attractions. During the two consumer days, MGTO will cooperate with three travel agencies in Hong Kong for the first time to offer a limited number of special travel packages to Macau in the Expo. The packages include "exclusive" hotel offers and discounted ferry tickets for visitors to purchase on the spot, expected to encourage visitations to Macau for a firsthand experience of its touching moments.
…

The 11th Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific (11CASP-AP), hosted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM), is held in Macao on 12 and 13 June 2014. Representatives from 18 countries and administrations as well as 4 international organizations will be present to discuss the aviation security issues in the Region, review the annual plan of Phase II and define the Phase III programme. AACM also takes over the chairmanship of the Steering Committee Meeting and will coordinate the other member states and administrations on the implementation of the action plan in the new phase. The CASP-AP was agreed among the states and administrations in the Asia Pacific Region to be established to enhance aviation security in 2002 in view of the 911 terrorist attack in the United States of America. CASP-AP members gather together to devise the action plans to enhance their mutual relationship and increase the level of aviation security in the Region. Presently, the CASP-AP has a membership of 24 states and administrations. Macao participated in the Programme since 2004. The steering committee meeting of the Programme is held once every year to assess the status of technical assistance provided to the members and the other action items, define the future work plan and assist members to comply with the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization. The members take turns to organize the annual meeting. The 11CASP-AP is convened in the meeting facilities of Macao Science Centre and has an attendance of more than 40 delegates. The member states and administrations attending the meeting are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Singapore. In addition, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, Airport Council International and International Air Transport Association also took part in the meeting as partners. International Civil Aviation Organization chairs the meeting as the Programme Coordinator.
…

Prof. Xu Ren-He, one of the professors internationally recruited recently by the newly-established Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Macau (UM), has attained new breakthroughs in various areas, one of which is in stem cell research. He and an external team have discovered through his latest research that an embryonic stem cell-based approach can be used to tackle multiple sclerosis. The study, "Human ESC-Derived MSCs Outperform Bone Marrow MSCs in the Treatment of an EAE Model of Multiple Sclerosis", was published in the prestigious Cell Press journal Stem Cell Reports. "Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease in the brain and spinal cord. Patients often have impaired vision, abnormal cognition, ataxia, and even paralysis as seen in stroke patients. Current therapies are mainly palliative and often cause severe side effects. There is no cure at all," says Prof. Xu. Prof. Xu and the external team has demonstrated that human embryonic stem cell (hESC) derived mesenchymal stem cells (hES-MSC) significantly reduce the severity of disease in an animal model of multiple sclerosis, and that hES-MSC offer much better efficacy than human adult bone marrow derived MSC (BM-MSC). BM-MSC are currently being tested in clinical trials for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. However, this cell therapy has been restricted by the limited number of bone marrow donors, variation in quality among different samples, and concerns about potential transmission of pathogens. Thus, BM-MSC may not be an ideal cell therapy. In contrast, hESC can be expanded indefinitely and are easy in quality control. A single hESC line can be continuously used to generate MSC with consistent quality, which perfectly fulfils the requirements for pipeline production of clinical-grade MSC. The authors of the paper also found that hES-MSC express little pro-inflammatory factors like interleukin 6 and penetrate the blood-brain barrier to migrate into the central nervous system, which might also contribute to the therapeutic effect of hES-MSC. Prof. Xu's team is currently further elucidating the molecular mechanism for the actions of hES-MSC. Through ImStem Biotechnology, Inc., a company established in the United States by Prof. Xu and his colleagues, they are working for the approval of the Food and Drug Administration to make this treatment available to patients. Prof. Xu is a professor of the Faculty of Health Sciences at UM. His research focuses on elucidating the regulation of pluripotency and exploring the translational potential of pluripotent stem cells. He was the director of University of Connecticut Stem Cell Core, and a senior scientist of WiCell Research Institute founded by Prof. James Thomson, who first derived hESC lines in the world. Prof. Xu has published more than 50 papers in biomedical journals including Nature Biotechnology, Nature Methods, Cell Stem Cell, PNAS, and Stem Cell Reports. He also possesses several patents derived from his research. For more details, please visit Prof. Xu's website https://fhs.umac.mo/staff/academic-staff/xu-ren-he/.
…

For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council conducted its specific price surveys on oral care products, tissue papers, and milk powder on 10 June. Results of the mentioned surveys have been uploaded to the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and are available in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. For inquiry, please call the Council's hotline: 8988 9315.
…

The 25th Macao Arts Festival (MAF) Outreach Programme, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, is diversified and flexible, covering a wide range of subjects. In order to bring the arts to all the different social strata, this year's MAF outreach programme features an art criticism programme for secondary school students, in which keynote speakers share their experience of art appreciation with teachers and students in schools. Moreover, the exhibition prior to the children's puppet theatre performance Rain of Stone, Song of the Sea introduces the history and current status of Macao's ocean to audiences of all ages. To promote community care, this year Arts Festival also features exclusive sessions for disadvantaged groups, enabling audiences from different social strata to share the joy of the arts.
This is the second year the 'art criticism programme' was launched in schools. Different speakers were invited to share their arts appreciation experience and introduce a variety of performing art forms, helping to expand the students' art and culture horizons and increase their interest in the performing arts. Four experienced artists and critics - Tang Hio Kueng, Lei Ioi Chon, Ip Ka Man and Wu May Bo - were invited by the organiser to visit Choi Nong Chi Tai Secondary School, Pui Va Middle School, Kwong Tai Middle School, the Workers' Children High School, and Taipa Fong Chong School and introduce the characteristics of different performing art forms to teachers and students, namely about drama and dance, as well as sharing their experience and processes of writing art critique. Six sharing sessions were held. The outreach programme also included the Rain of Stone, Song of the Sea Exhibition for Children held at the Old Court Building, which ran for 30 minutes before the children's play with the same name, in order to enhance the audience's understanding of the ocean surrounding Macao. The Macao Peninsula juts into the ocean; due with the social and economic development of recent years, in addition to the changing landscape, the adjacent ocean has changed a lot. The exhibition was divided in four sections: 'Macao: A City Fighting for Boundaries with the Ocean', 'Who is Manufacturing Marine Litter?', 'Granite Areas' and the prologue of Rain of Stone, Song of the Sea, aiming at enabling children and adults to better understand the relationship between the ocean and daily life from different angles, namely the environment, ecology, memory and imagination. The event also featured a session entitled 'Reading the Ocean', in which a number of selected ocean-related picture books and literary works were displayed, allowing the public to read them to the accompaniment of the sounds of the ocean. On 26 May 2014, the organiser hosted docent tours for a total of some 200 kindergarten and primary students from Jardim de Infância Luso-chinês Girassol, Escola Hoi Fai, Macau Pui To School, Escola da Sagrada Familia, Xin Hua School. In addition, photos of Rain of Stone, Song of the Sea taken by the students of the Stage Photography Workshop, also features in the outreach programme, were also displayed in the Old Court Building. In order to promote the arts to all the different social strata, and to implement the spirit of community care, this year's Arts Festival not only featured an exclusive session for persons with visual and hearing impairment, but also featured three exclusive sessions for disadvantaged groups on 19 and 20 May. Various social groups were invited to Special Creatures, a puppet show performance by renowned Argentinean puppeteer Roberto White, who breaks the language barriers, enabling over 200 people from to enjoy this great performance together and experience the beauty of art. For more information and enquiries about the 25th Macao Arts Festival, please visit: www.icm.gov.mo/fam.
…

Consumer Council conducted its third 'Supermarket price survey' in June on 9 June 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 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.
…

Macao's economy has registered a stable growth in recent years. Being designated as the World Tourism and Leisure Centre, Macao SAR Government supports the city's moderate economic diversification and one of the policies is to expedite the development of leisure tourism. With the increasing tourist number over the years, Macau Government Tourist Office is keen on exploring new tourism & leisure routes to diversify the city's tourism & leisure products. Students and academics from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao are invited to conduct research, planning and design for the area where links the Macau Ferry Terminal to the Mong-Há area as a new leisure and tourism attraction for both locals and tourists. Four teams comprising 25 students and 7 teachers from Institute for Tourism Studies, University of Saint Joseph, The University of Hong Kong and Jiangnan University studied the subject and presented their findings and plans on 10 June after a 6-day intensive research workshop from 4 to 9 June, with an aim to foster research collaborations in the area. Representatives from Macau Government Tourist Office, Macau Tourism Development Committee, Macau Town Planning Board, Macau Urban Planning Institute and renowned architect from Macau were invited to the presentation. The research teams incorporated new attractions, facilities, streetscape (i.e. signage, lighting, public facilities) and events into the area. Carrying capacity, accessibility and transport, theme and opinions of both the local residents and tourists are essential factors for planning the project.
The workshop allowed students from different universities to exchange ideas and gain hands-on experience. It also equipped students with the knowledge and skills to conduct a comprehensive tourism planning project. Through the participation, they also learned a lot about urban planning and architecture. Findings of the workshop will be written as a report and submitted to the Government for reference to Macao tourism planning and development.
…