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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, today confirmed that Banco Delta Asia had remitted a sum of over 20 million US dollar out of Macao. The money is from dozens of accounts and the remittance was done according to instruction of several dozens clients from Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said Mr Tam at a public occasion. ''The affairs had come to an end for Macao,'' he said. When asked by reporters, He said he could not disclose where the money was sent as transaction was private matters between the bank and clients. Mr Tam said the SAR Government's management over the bank had been extended to September this year and the operation of the bank is normal and stable now. He maintained the Government regretted the US Treasury's so-called sanction over Banco Delta Asia. ''The Bank had officially appealed against the US Treasury Department's sanctions,'' said Mr Tam.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) promoted both leisure and business tourism at the 21st International Travel Expo Hong Kong (ITE). Being an official supporter of the event, MGTO organized a big delegation of Macau travel trade to participate in this travel fair, and was represented by the Head of Promotion and Marketing Department of MGTO, Ms. Cecilia Tse, in the opening ceremony this morning. ITE is a prime travel expo held annually in Hong Kong. Previous statistics show that the expo has successfully attracted an international portfolio of exhibitors and visitors, and helped creating an effective platform for the travel industry to inspire one another. The MGTO booth was decorated with a strong festive atmosphere, to align with its global promotional theme “Experience Macau!” – in addition to an eye-catching thematic signage at the reception counter, eight colorful banners were hung to echo with the main theme; while the rear entrance of the booth resembled the main gate of the A-Ma temple. As MGTO strives to position Macau as a leisure and business destination, MGTO seized the occasion to cater for trade, corporate and public visitors. Apart from actively disseminating the relevant Macau information, MGTO has also led a delegation of 32 Macau travel entities who share the same vision to co-exhibit in the expo. On top of these, MGTO has hosted a Macau familiarization tour yesterday for the expo’s hosted buyers, to showcase to them the latest development of Macau’s leisure and business tourism. During the expo, MGTO hosted an in-booth cocktail to greet HK trade partners, MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention & Exhibition) organizers and media friends. It will also hold two on-site seminars during consumer days (16 & 17 June) for its HK promotional campaign, “the Difference is Macau”. The campaign will introduce 10 themed travel itineraries to the public, with an aim to position Macau as a “destination-for-all”. The 21st ITE is held from 14 to 17 June 2007 (14 & 15 June are trade days, while 16 & 17 June are public days) at HK Convention and Exhibition Centre. According to official release, there are over 600 international exhibitors from 50 countries and regions participate in the expo.
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A directional proposal to Macao’s urban planning should be completed in the last quarter of the year, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, said today in the plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly. Mr Lau said the Research Center for Sustainable Development Strategies, a think-tank governmental institution, was studying this specific subject and the Government would welcome comments when the proposal goes to the public. “An all-round evaluation of relationship between land allocation, industry development, world heritage protection, environmental protection, population growth, large-scale construction, transportation, restructure of old district, will be studied to provide reference for the government to make for better urban planning,” said the Secretary. Due to historical reason and limited by geographical feature of Macao, existing urban planning is based mostly on a string of legislations related with construction, fire prevention, real estates, and protection of building, landscape and cultural property. Aside from the above factors, the Land, Public Works, and Transport Bureau would also consider other dynamics, such as transportation network, historical background and resident’s habit when mapping or approving land for development, said Mr Lau. “A mechanism has been set up between the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau and the Cultural Affairs Bureau to discuss the land planning near the Guia Mountain. Both sides’ common view is to balance the city’s development and its protection,” he said. Mr Lau also revealed that the planning for Nam Wan Lake, Pak On Industrial Zone in Tapia and Butterfly Valley Industrial Zone in Coloane, which were made more than 15 years ago, were not suitable for today’s rapid social and economic development. The Government would study the relevant planning and make necessary arrangement in order to advance the landscape, he added.
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A safe and stable power supply would benefit social development, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, said today. Mr Lau, who was attending a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly, said the Government has gradually increase the power supply from the Mainland to satisfy Macao's development needs. "In order to consolidate power transfer networks, we are going to build the fourth channels for transferring power from the Mainland to Macao. "We have also decide to terminate the power station in Macao considering the need for environmental protection and land shortage. Meanwhile, the one in Coloane will be used as backup," he said. Mr Lau added that the government would closely monitor the company to introduce natural gas to Macao at the end of this year.
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The Government will introduce a set of initiatives to enhance Macao's transportation system, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, said today. Mr Lau was answering questions at the Legislative Assembly, where he reiterated that the Government would put mass public transport in the forefront of its transportation policy. 'By introducing a safe, convenient and economical public transit system, we can reduce people's reliance on privately-owned vehicles,' said Mr Lau. 'The authority would continue to enforce compulsory vehicles examinations to better monitor greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate vehicles in bad conditions. 'We would also encourage gaming operators and hotels to provide group transportation and parking spaces for their employees.' As for measures to increase parking spaces, Mr Lau said that the Government would introduce more on-street parking meters and continue to encourage private developers to build public carparks in their buildings. Moreover, the Government would increase the obligations for vehicle owners to rein in the increase of vehicles, Mr Lau said. To relieve congestion during rush hour, the authority would also divert traffic from major avenues to less busy roads, he said.
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The Secrectary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuok Va, maintained today that the police had taken appropriate measures to maintain public order during a protest march on 1 May. He said that internal investigations and reviews had been commenced to enhance the handling of demonstration in the future. Mr Cheong was speaking at a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly today, to answer questions from legislators. He said the police had decided the route of the protest march based on the consideration of its effect on law-abiding residents and visitors, as the demonstration was to take place on the first day of the labour day Golden Week holiday, when a great number of visitors were expected in Macao. But the demonstrators deviated from the agreed route and had begun to charge the police defence line during their march. Considering that the demonstration had steered away from the original objective, which was to peacefully express appeals, the police decided to call an end to the demonstration at 16:45 on that day. But demonstrators continued to charge the police’s defence line so police had to take action to disperse the crowds and order was restored at 19:51 that day. Regarding the incident whereby an officer fired warning shots into the air, Mr Cheong said the shooting was neither a means to suppress the demonstration nor was it based on an order made by a senior police official. He said the shooting was an on-the-spot judgment of the situation made by the officer to prevent demonstrators from trampling on one another, as some people at the front of the crowd had started to fall at the time. An internal investigation had begun into the incident, including a review of how demonstrations would be handled in the future, he said.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today the appeals made by most demonstrators on 1 May were rational and proper: but a few had a political motive that led to the disturbance. Mr Ho said people have the right to express their views by demonstrating, but their actions should not disrupt social order and affect the rights of other law abiding citizens. Demonstrators should proceed lawfully and abide by the guidelines given by the security agencies. He said the government paid special attention to the people’s views expressed lawfully, and would answer them proactively. Regarding last Tuesday’s incident when an officer fired warning shots into the air during a demonstration, Mr Ho said the shooting was neither a means to suppress the demonstration nor was it an order made by a senior police official. The shooting was an on-the-scene judgment of the situation made by the officer to prevent demonstrators from trampling on one another, as some people at the front of the crowd had started to fall at the time. Frontline police officers dealing with demonstrations are not allowed to carry firearms, whereas back-up officers are armed, said Mr Ho. He said an internal investigation had begun into an incident, including a review of how demonstrations would be handled in the future. Mr Ho said the Government was highly concerned about the passer-by who was hit by a stray bullet and expressed his sympathy. The police had acted appropriately to help prevent what could have been a worser situation, he added.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah today visited Chairman Mao Zedong's former residence and memorial hall in Shaoshan, Hunan before returning to Macao in the afternoon. During the four-day visit to Hunan, Mr Ho attended a string of activities associated with the 4th Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum, such as its opening, a conference attended by high-ranking officials, a dialogue participated by the chief executives from 9+2 and trade and business officials from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and a joint conference presented by the chief executives. The Forum ended yesterday, with the next one to be hosted by the Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
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Macao is hosting the second round of Meteorological Technical Conference among China, Macao and Portugal that was began in 2000 as a way for jointly development our cooperation. The Macao Special Administrative Region is recognized by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to serve as a platform for cooperation between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries. In the meteorological field our aim as to act the same role. After agreed by the China Meteorological Adminstration and the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology, invitation were sent out to all weather Services of the Portuguese Speaking Countries to particpate in this Technical Conference. Their contribution can be the participation of two meteorologists by country and scientific presentations in areas which they can contributed to. The six Portuguese Speaking countries which will be present are: Angola, Cape Vert, East Timor, Guine-Bissau, Mozambique and Portugal. The aim of this meeting is to enhance the cooperation among Meteorological Institutions and given the importance of this activities for the development of the technical and scientific interdisciplinary knowledge in the field of meteorology in MSAR, and contributes to the cooperation and exchange among China, Macao and the Portuguese Speaking Countries Meteorological Services. All this activities are to serve more and better the Macao population. During the openning session it will take place a ceremony for the transfer the Portuguese version of the World Meteorological Organization / World Weather Information System from Macao, China to Portugal. This website is part of the Public Weather Service Program of this international Organization, and was designed and developed in 2004 by Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau as a way to contributing to the World Meteorological Organization Programs and specially to the portuguese speaking community. Colaboration were received from Hong Kong Observatory and Portuguese Institute of Meteorology during the development stage of this website. The openning cerimony of the Conference will taking place at 10am on 12 June 2007 at the SMG Headquarters located at Taipa Grande.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today the Macao SAR would make an all-out effort to serve as platform between the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) and Portuguese-speaking countries, and to provide potential markets for members of the PPRD. Mr Ho stressed on Macao’s increasingly important role as platform for the PPRD and Portuguese-speaking countries when he attended a joint conference with leaders of the governments of the nine PPRD provinces and the HK Special Administrative Region. “Since the establishment of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) in 2003, the total volume of trade has been raised from US$100 millions to US$300 millions between China and Portuguese-speaking countries,” he said. “Most of the Portuguese-speaking countries are developing countries which have a great need in techniques and capital no matter in producing what kind of product. Macao will act according to the instructions given by the Central Government to provide potential markets for members from PPRD. “Over the past year, Fujian which is a member of the PPRD, has a relatively extensively contact with the Portuguese-speaking countries: we can see there is a great potential in trading and investment co-operation between the two parties,” Mr Ho said. The Chief Executive also said that Macao was studying ways to work with media from the PPRD as strengthening of information exchange and co-operation would benefit the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), he added. Due to its historical background, Macao maintains traditionally close and special economic and trade, cultural and personal links with Portuguese-speaking countries. The Central Government designated the Macao SAR to organise the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) to promote the development, and to strengthen the economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and to leverage Macao’s position as platform to bring China and Portuguese-speaking countries together.
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