News

Macao and Jiangsu leaders have agreed to strengthen co-operation on trade, culture and tourism to further boost their economies. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, mutually agreed on this with the Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial CPC Committee, Mr Liang Baohua, when they met today after the Macao delegation arrived in Nanjing.
Mr Liang welcomed Mr Chui, who was in Jiangsu for the first time as Macao’s Chief Executive. Mr Liang said Macao and Jiangsu would step up bilateral co-operations on trade, culture and tourism. Mr Chui said Macao and Jiangsu have been co-operating for a long time, and future co-operation should be built up from that foundation. Moreover, Macao, being a service platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, would actively promote contact between Jiangsu and the Portuguese-speaking countries and regions.
The delegation left for Yangzhou in the afternoon where they attended a welcome banquet hosted by Yangzhou leaders. Tomorrow Mr Chui is scheduled to meet with the Governor of Jiangsu Province, Mr Luo Zhijun, before returning to Macao in the afternoon.
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The Acting Chief Executive, Ms Florinda Chan, said tonight the Government was very concerned with the protests and conflicts that occurred during the day, resulting in 41 injuries. A statement issued tonight said Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On – who is leading a delegation on an official visit to Jiangsu -- had called Ms Chan and the Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuoc Va, to get a better picture of the incidents. A number of organisations have organised marches on Labour Day to protest a number of issues and appealed for improvements on a number of labour-related issues. The statement said some protesters did not follow the route specified earlier by the police and clashed with the officers, resulting in injuries to 41 people -- three members of the public, two journalists, four protesters and 32 policemen, the statement said. The Government respected citizens’ basic right to gather in public, to march and to demonstrate peacefully, the statement said. It said the Government had expressed its sincere sympathy to the victims, three of whom were hospitalised. They were a member of the public, a protester and a policeman. In order to maintain public security, the police have took measures promptly to minimise the negative effect, such as requesting journalists to stay back about 100 metres. Some 350 policemen were deployed at the scene.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today met with the Secretary of Nantong Municipal CPC Committee, Mr Luo Yi Min, to discuss bilateral co-operation in Nantong, Jiangsu. Before leaving for Nantong, Mr Chui and his delegation visited World Expo 2010 in Shanghai where he toured the Macao pavilion with the Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang. The Macao delegation also visited the China pavilion and the Urban Best Practice Area—the “Tak Seng On” pawn shop. In the afternoon, the delegation left for Nantong to meet with the Jiangsu leaders. Mr Luo said at the meeting that Macao was in an important position in the nation’s economic development and Nantong would enhance co-operation with Macao in terms of economic, culture, education and tourism. Mr Chui told Mr Luo he believed bilateral co-operation would help to diversify Macao’s economy. The delegation attended a welcoming banquet in the evening. Tomorrow they continue on to Nanjing.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is in Shanghai to attend this evening’s grand opening ceremony of World Expo 2010. Mr Chui and his delegation will visit the Macao pavilion, the China pavilion and the Urban Best Practice Area—the “Tak Seng On” pawn shop tomorrow, before leaving for Nantong, Jiangsu. Members of the delegation included the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, the Chief of the Office-of-the Chief Executive, Mr Alexis Tam, the Secretary of Executive Council and consultant of the Office-of-the Chief Executive, Ms O Nan, the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Victor Chan and the consultants of the Office-of the Chief Executive, Mr Fung Sio Weng and Kou Chin Hung. Before his departure Mr Chui told reporters that the Government respected and would abide by the decision made by the Court of Final, which reversed a government refusal of an application by a trade union to hold a rally in a public park on 1 May. Mr Chui said that there were many ways to express opinions peacefully, and that the Government welcomed suggestions and would monitor public opinion expressed via all channels.
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Students and staff of the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) have raised MOP23,800.00 for the Qinghai Yushu earthquake victims. Donation was transferred to the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R. on 29 April by Registrar, Mr. Antonio Chu and IFT Student Union representatives. The IFT delegation was received by Mr. Wu Xu Peng, Deputy Division Director of Department of Culture and Education. The relentless 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Tibetan region on 14 April. The death toll in Qinghai Yushu city has climbed over 2000 and hundred thousand others have lost their homes and loved ones. The high altitude and freezing weather has made rescue difficult. The compatriots in Macao have expressed their sympathy and deep condolence and IFT, in order to offer aid to the victims of this devastating quake, organised the “Water Conservation Fund Raising Activity” to combine the water conservation with charity. In recent years, Macao has been facing the threat of salinity. The continuous support from the upstream provinces in supplying us fresh water has largely relieved the threat, especially during the severest draught in the last hundred years. IFT would like to take this opportunity to arouse the students and staff awareness in treasuring our resources while raising fund for Qinghai Yushu earthquake relief, to reassert the concept that “every drop counts”. The activity is highly support by the Water Conservation Workgroup who sponsored 500 water saving taps to the activity. Fund raising points were set up at the Main campus, Taipa Campus and the 2 training units – Pousada de Mong-Há and Educational Restaurant and students, staff and guests of the training units who made donations, would receive a water saving tap as compliment. The students have experienced the patriotic sentiments of Macao people who are always ready to give a helping hand to our compatriots in the disaster area. Through the selfless donations of our community, it is believed that the promise by President, Hu Jintao to the students of Yushu city, “There will be new schools! There will be new homes!” will soon be fulfilled. Registrar and representatives of Student Union of IFT transferred the donation to Liaison OfficeIFT staff and student contribute to the fund with an open heart
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the total number of licensed vehicles reached 189,757 at the end of March 2010, a year-on-year increase of 3%, of which 54% (102,626) were motorcycles and 39% (73,514) were light private cars. New registration of motor vehicles increased by 1% year-on-year to 3,947 in the first quarter of 2010, with motorcycles and light private cars accounting for 61% and 35% respectively. In the first quarter of 2010, number of traffic accidents rose by 3% year-on-year to 3,113 cases, resulting in 1,251 victims and 1 of them was killed. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China increased by 3% year-on-year to 894,020 vehicle trips in the first quarter of 2010, with vehicle traffic through the Border Gate taking up 82% of the total. Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport fell by 4% year-on-year to 8,956 in the first quarter of 2010. The major routes were Taiwan, China; Mainland China; Malaysia; and Thailand, accounting for 38%, 25%, 9% and 8% of the total commercial flights. Helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong increased slightly by 1% year-on-year to 3,562 and those between Macao and Mainland China went up by 4% to 790. Passenger transport by sea between Macao and Hong Kong totalled 28,178 ferry trips, similar to that of a year earlier, with the Outer Harbour sharing 75% of the total (21,079). Ferry trips between Macao and Mainland China totalled 6,429, up by 25% year-on-year, with the Inner Harbour (2,890) and the Outer Harbour (2,653) accounting for 45% and 41% of the total respectively. In the first quarter of 2010, seaborne container throughput totalled 20,084 TEU or 14,234 containers handled, down by 7% and 10% respectively year-on-year. Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo fell by 11% to 40,405 tonnes, with 2,772 tonnes of transshipment goods. Gross weight of containerized cargo by land dropped notably by 39% to 9,846 tonnes, including 2,999 tonnes of transit goods. Outward air cargo grew significantly by 60% year-on-year to 7,592 tonnes in the first quarter of 2010. The main destination was Taiwan, China that accounted for 71% of the total. Concurrently, inward air cargo surged by 87% to 4,110 tonnes, with those from Taiwan, China taking a predominant share of 86%. However, transit air cargo dropped by 43% year-on-year to 1,629 tonnes. At the end of March 2010, number of mobile telephone users rose by 7% from a year earlier to 1,055,722 whereas fixed-line telephone users decreased by 2% to 170,567. As regards internet services, number of subscribers reached 150,069 and the cumulative duration of usage totalled 97.2 million hours in the first quarter of 2010, up by 17% and 29% respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total merchandise export for March 2010 registered an increase for the first time since February 2008, up by 17.4% year-on-year to MOP753 million, attributable to a 51.8% surge of re-exports (MOP554 million); meanwhile, value of domestic exports fell by 28.1% to MOP199 million. The value of total merchandise import amounted to MOP3.55 billion, up by 29.0% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP2.80 billion was recorded for March 2010. From January to March 2010, total value of merchandise export fell by 9.4% year-on-year to MOP1.83 billion, of which the value of domestic exports declined by 39.7%, but that of re-exports expanded by 16.7%; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import grew by 20.9% to MOP10.00 billion. The trade deficit for the first quarter of 2010 widened by 30.6% year-on-year to MOP8.17 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 6.1 percentage points year-on-year to 18.3%. Analyzed by destination of exports, value of merchandise export to Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2010 increased by 24.6% year-on-year to MOP839 million, while that to Mainland China (MOP270 million), the USA (MOP208 million) and the EU (MOP96 million) decreased by 7.2%, 58.8% and 48.2% respectively. Exports of Textile & garment amounted to MOP382 million, down substantially by 55.4% year-on-year to account for 20.9% of the total merchandise export; however, value of Non-textile exports (MOP1.44 billion) grew by 24.4%, with that of Copper & articles thereof and Jewellery rising notably by 150.9% and 109.4% respectively. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, in the first quarter of 2010, value of merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP3.02 billion) and the EU (MOP2.20 billion) expanded by 20.9% and 27.1% respectively year-on-year. The value of imports of Consumer goods rose by 43.4% year-on-year, with that of Motor cars & motorcycles growing significantly by 113.9%; nevertheless, the value of imports of Capital goods and Raw materials & semi-manufactures fell by 14.6% and 7.1% respectively. From January to March 2010, total value of merchandise import and export amounted to MOP11.83 billion, up by 14.9% compared with MOP10.29 billion in the first quarter of 2009.
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A housing affairs committee which core function is to collect and analyse public opinion on housing has been set up, it was gazetted today. The committee, chaired by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, comprise members related to housing, such as representatives from the Housing Institute, Office for Infrastructure Department, Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Social Welfare Institute and not more than 14 prominent members of the public. The committee will exist for three years but its term could be renewed. It will hold no less than two meetings every year. The committee will responsible to advise the government on its housing policy.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is to attend the opeing ceremony of World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, where he will also officiate the inauguration of the Macao Pavilion on 1 May. From Shanghai stay, Mr Chui will lead a high level official delegation to Jiangsu province where he will meet their counterparts to discuss trade co-operations and visit several economic developing zones and historical tourism attractions. Mr Chui is scheduled to depart tomorrow and return on May 3. During his absence, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan will be the acting chief executive.
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Communications Museum has endeavored to create more opportunities for students to explore and experience the fun of learning science. For the International Museum Day and summer activities of this year, the Museum has arranged a series of activities to encourage students to participate and experience the fun of communications. Registration of all activities are based on a first-come-first-served basis. Seats are limited and no additional classes will be opened. Details, charges and application form can be found at http://macao.communications.museum. A) SCIENCE SEMINAR 2010: A series of seminars about the relations of science and, technology with our daily life are organized by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of Macao and the Communications Museum. INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY, WORLD TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY: Communications Museum is going to participate in “The Museum Fair of Macao, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province 2010” with the theme of “Museums for Social Harmony” at the Tap Seac Square on May 9. Macao Post will issue a commemorative envelope for free distribution to the public and provide commemorative cancellation service for stamp collectors at the Temporary Postal Counter from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. During the event, visitors can play the interactive games “Smart postman – land, sea, air” and “How to put the stamp chop?” at the booth of Communications Museum. There will also be live demonstrations of the Van de Graaff Generator and its mini version so that visitors can experience the effects of static electricity. Visitors will not only learn more about postal / philatelic service from the games, but they may also win souvenirs and free admission coupons of the Museum. To celebrate the “World Telecommunications and Information Society Day” and “International Museum Day”, visitors can enjoy free entrance at the Communications Museum on May 15, 16 & 18 (Saturday, Sunday & Tuesday). C) INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY: “Caring for children with attention for having a healthy growth” is the theme of the International Children’s Day that will be held on June 5 (Saturday) at Macao Forum. There will be interactive games and live demonstrations at the booth of Communications Museum. Visitors can win commemorative envelopes and free admission coupons of the Museum. D) 2010 SUMMER ACTIVITIES–DSEJ: Communications Museum continues to participate in the summer activities organized by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau. All courses will be held at the E-lab of the Museum. Applicants may register according to the schedules and locations announced by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau. INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS: The “brains-on, hands-on” summer workshops are organized by Communications Museum and they will be held at the multifunction room of the Museum. SUMMER SCIENCE CAMP: Science camps will be organized by Communications Museum with the aim of broadening the vision of children and teenagers and increasing their interests in science through interactive activities and outbound tours. ( * Please find the attached file.) Informação Tel: 853- 2871 8063 / 2871 8570 Fax: 853- 2871 8018 Email: info@macao.communications.museum Web: http://macao.communications.museum
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