News

After an intensive investigation, the Commission Against Corruption detained the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Ao Man Long, at 10 pm last night (6 December), for alleged involvement in taking serious bribe and irregular financial activity. And in accordance with the Article 50 (6) of the Macao Basic Law, the Chief Executive had suggested to the Central Government to remove Mr.Ao from all official duties. A statement from the Macao Government issued today stressed that the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government had always strictly requested officials at all levels to behave honestly in performing their official duties: it is strictly against any abuse of power for personal gain. Macao, being ruled by law, does not allow anyone to violate the law, the statement said. According to the statement, this incident reflects the MSAR Government's determination in building a clean and incorruptible society. Officials at all levels shall continue to implement policies legally and to service the community to promote the development of the MSAR, it said.
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【Low/Green】 The potable water salinity level today (07/12/2006) is 75.8 g/litre, and is classified as “Low” or “Green” and all parameters are well within WHO standard.
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The prosperous gaming and tourism industry is turning Macao into one of the world's most promising and exciting property markets, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said today. Addressing more than 500 hundred real estate professionals during an international property conference this morning, Mr Tam said the gaming and tourism industry had successfully transformed Macao into a modern entertainment and business hub. It created growing demand for hotels, convention centre, shopping malls, office space and residential property in Macao, guaranteeing the city to be one of the world's most promising and exciting real estate markets. Mr Tam said traditionally the property market had been one of the major economic pillars of Macao, contributing significantly to the territory's economic development. He said another source of great potential and opportunity came from Macao's geographical location. 'Located on the Southeast coast of China to the west of the Pearl River Delta, business entities in Macao could reach a marketplace with huge potential, making Macao a perfect platform for networking on real estate projects, investments and finance across sectors and regional borders. 'There is general agreement that Macao is not only a growing property market on her own, but also a strategic platform for developing real estate business in the region,' said Mr Tam.
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The Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Joint Conference 2006 will be held in Zhuhai on Friday (December 8). The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Huang Huahua, will lead the delegations of the two Governments respectively to attend the meeting. The two delegations would discuss various measures to promote co-operation between the two places.
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Jointly organized by the Macau Sports Development Board (MSDB), the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the China-Macau Autosports Club (ACMC), the 2006 Macau International Kart Grand Prix will be staged in Macau on December 16 and 17. Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes, Acting President of MSDB Alex Vong, President of ACMC Chong Coc Veng and Asian Karting Open Championship Managing Director Johnny Tan were present at the press conference today (December 4) to brief the media about the race arrangement. Macau will host this karting event for the third consecutive year and the previous events were acclaimed as successful by both spectators and competitors. This year, in addition to a number of leading karters who will join the Formula A category again, the Asia Karting Open Championship (AKOC) has given the race higher profile by tying up with the ROK Cup series. The organizer specially invited about 30 world-class Formula A karters who had outstanding performance in various world-class karting competitions. Among them is the champion of the 2006 CIK-FIA European Formula A Championship, Marco Ardigo, who will compete in the Formula A category along with other world leading drivers and to defend his Formula A champion title won last year in Macau. In addition, the region’s most talented drivers will also battle it out for the fourth round of the 2006 Asian Karting Open Championships. A line up of 229 competitors from 22 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom; Finland; Italy; Denmark; Switzerland; South Africa; Belgium; France; New Zealand; Australia; Germany; Japan; South Korea; Malaysia; the Philippines; Indonesia; Thailand; Singapore; Mainland China; Taiwan, China; Hong Kong and Macau will take part in various racing categories of the Macau International Kart Grand Prix. The youngest racer, Christian Joseph Gaddi from the Philippines who will compete in the Formula Cadet 60 category, is only 7 years old. There are 6 drivers from Macau joining the competition, including Chang Wing Chung who is 10 years old. The young Philippine driver Michele Marie Bumgarner, who was crowned as the overall champion for ICA class of the AKOC last year will challenge the experienced Formula A drivers. She is the only female driver among the 229 competitors. 2006 Macau International Kart Grand Prix will gather together the best drivers from the world to bring thrilling and high level races to motor fans and visitors alike. While admission is free, entry will be restricted to holders of admission coupons which are available now at Kong Seng’s 3 service stations at Av. Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Rua Comandante Mata e Oliveira and Av. Horta e Costa, the main office of the Macau Sports Development Board (Macau Forum, Block 1, 4th floor, Av. Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues), the China-Macau Autosports Club (Edf. Grande Prémio de Macau, Av. da Amizade, opening hours: 9:30am to 7pm) and 4 tourism information counters of MGTO at the Macau International Airport, Macau Ferry Terminal, Border Gate Checkpoint and Ritz Building at Senado Square. Limited amount of tickets will also be available on site on December 16 and 17. There will be free admission for the practice days on December 14 and 15. The event will be broadcast live on TDM Radio on December 16 and 17 to bring the excitement to local residents. Macau Satellite TV will also transmit a 10-minute highlight of the races on December 16 and 17 through satellite, facilitating more instant and convenient coverage by the international media to promote Macau and the event.
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Macau has received its record-breaking 20 millionth visitor for the year 2006. On Sunday, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) celebrated the new milestone with performances of Portuguese Folk Dance, Dragon and Lion Dance at six major tourism spots in Macau peninsula and Taipa island. In addition, Macau Tourism Ambassadors distributed give-aways to visitors during the day. In the year 2000 and 2001, Macau’s visitor arrivals experienced breakthroughs of 9 million and 10 million respectively. Seven years after the establishment of the Macau SAR, the number doubled to 20 million. In the first ten months of 2006, visitor arrivals exceeded 17 million, an increase of 15.85 per cent compared to the same period last year. The top ten tourism market sources of Macau (in accordance with volume) are Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, the United States, Singapore and Thailand. Mainland China, the largest source market, occupies nearly 54 per cent of total visitor arrivals; among which, half of the 9.7 million visitors are comprised of individual travelers. On the other hand, the increment of the other markets was also satisfactory. Director João Manuel Costa Antunes of MGTO cited: “It is not easy for Macau, a tiny enclave with an area of only 28.2 sq. kilometers and a population slightly over 500 thousand to receive 20 million visitors a year. The outstanding result is fruitful of the great support of the Central Government, our Macau SAR leaders as well as the hard work both the travel and tourism industry and the public.” He continued: “In addition to the Historic Centre of Macau that exhibits Chinese and Western cultures, lifestyle and unique cuisine, the liberalization of the gaming industry attracted investments for world class tourism and MICE facilities to Macau. These led to high-speed growth and development of the tourism industry. In return, the multi-dimensional tourism development will motivate other industries.” He added, “We see opportunities and challenges ahead of us. We must, therefore, have the initiative to improve, offer quality service to visitors and refine our tourism brand.” MGTO has been striving to provide diversified tourism products and quality service to satisfy the need of different markets. “The Historic Centre of Macau” inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List gave Macau a golden chance to reinforce a quality tourism brand, enabling visitors to learn of the history of Macau and to personally feel the mood of being present at the “Historic Centre of Macau”. Culture is closely related to tourism. As mentioned by Vice mayor of Guangdong Province, Tang Bingquan at the Guangdong International Tourism and Cultural Festival 2006, “Culture without tourism lacks vitality, while tourism without culture lacks charm.” MGTO launched a series of activities for “2006 Macau World Heritage Year”, through different channels and format to actively promote Macau’s world heritage. For instance, MGTO organized one of the largest groups of international media to visit Macau. The close to one hundred media from 13 countries/regions visited Macau’s world heritage. On the other hand, people from different spectrums also formed familiarization groups to visit the heritage, among which included specialists, scholars, students, seniors, media and tourism stakeholders. Visitors from Japan are especially fond of Macau’s world heritage and are interested in ecotourism. Therefore, world heritage visit is certainly included in their itineraries.
Other related promotional activities included organizing Macau World Heritage Photo Exhibitions in Macau, mainland cities as well as overseas; placing advertisements and TV/radio commercials at local, regional and international media; using “World Heritage” as the theme for large-scale promotional events and at international travel fairs; and holding “Macau World Heritage Passport Campaign” etc. Antunes pointed out: “Promotion of world heritage is a very meaningful and long term task, results cannot be easily seen in a short period of time. We will continue to promote to different peoples in various ways, to gradually uplift the fame and value of Macau’s world heritage.” MGTO will retain “A World of Difference, The Difference is Macau” as promotional theme for Macau tourism, with emphasis on world heritage. At the same time, it will promote comprehensive tourism with multi-faceted elements: culture, convention & exhibition, gaming, retail, sport, leisure, gourmet, grand events and festivities.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government will organize a Research Grant Lecture in the Cultural Affairs Bureau Auditorium (Edifício do Instituto Cultural, Tap Seac Square, Macao) on December 4 (Monday) at 6:30pm. Dr. Dong Shao Xin of Fudan University will give a lecture on “Macao and the Introduction of Western Medicine into China”.
Macao has been an important point of interchange with the West since its early history – it channeled eastern culture into Europe and western culture into China. The introduction of western medicine into China is one of the many important cultural exchanges to have taken place there since late Ming Dynasty.
Macao was the first city in Chinese territory to use western medicine, establishing its first western hospital in as early as 1568. During the early 17th century, the Jesuits of Macao’s St. Paul’s College researched both eastern and western medicine. As a result, many missionary doctors traveled into China to serve the Chinese imperial family, at times facilitated by the city’s senate. Various kinds of medicines were brought into China, expanding an already complex system of medicines and Macao’s medical activities spread across the Pearl River Delta, exemplified, for instance, by the clinics and pharmacies of the Franciscan Order.
In 1805, the smallpox vaccine was introduced into China through Macao. This extraordinary event gave Protestant missionaries a leading role in the history of the introduction of western medicine into China. In 1820, Dr. John Livingstone of the East India Company opened a clinic in Macao; while in 1828 Dr. Thomas R. Colledge, who also worked for the Company, established an eye hospital, going on to found the Medical Missionary Society in China in 1836. Macao’s role as the main channel for introducing western medicine into China gradually declined after the opening of the other five treaty ports.
Dong Shao Xin received a Ph.D. in History from Sun Yat-sen University in 2004 after which he took up a teaching position in Zhejiang University. Since August 2005, Dong has been conducting post-doctoral research at Fudan University’s Institute of Chinese Historical Geography. His academic research includes Macao history, the history of Sino-western relations, Catholic history in China and medical history. This research topic was awarded a grant in the 13th Research Scholarship Competition of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government.
The lecture will be given in Mandarin with Cantonese, Portuguese and English simultaneous interpretation. Entrance is free. For further details, please contact Ms. Chu of the Macao Historical Archives of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at 5986510, or visit the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s website: www.icm.gov.mo.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that, in October 2006, Macao’s total value of exports amounted to MOP1.57 billion, down 26.6% over the same month of 2005. Among this, the value of domestic exports dropped 35.5% to MOP1.04 billion, while the value of re-exports remained unchanged, at MOP537 million. Total value of imports amounted to MOP2.92 billion, down 5.9% over the same period of 2005. A trade deficit of MOP1.34 billion was recorded. During the period of January – October 2006, the value of total exports expanded 12.4% year-on-year to MOP17.43 billion. Both the values of domestic exports and re-exports registered increases, up by 12.2% and 12.9% respectively. Moreover, the value of imports grew 17.9% to MOP29.86 billion. In the first ten months of 2006, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP12.43 billion. The exports/imports ratio decreased from 61.2% in the corresponding period of 2005 to 58.4%. In the first ten months of 2006, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 73.0% of the total exports, grew 6.4% over the same period of 2005, while the value of Non-textile exports rose 32.5%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof and Footwear expanded 5.2% and 374.3% respectively year-on-year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 64.8% of the total value of exports. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 45.6% of the total value of exports, increased 4.1%, while exports to the EU, which took up 19.2% of the total, increased 43.5% over the same period of 2005. During the period of January – October 2006, Macao’s total value of imports grew 17.9% year-on-year, mainly due to increases in import values of, by broad economic categories, Fuels & lubricants (+33.9%), Consumer goods (+21.5%), Raw materials & semi-manufactures (+15.9%) and Capital goods (+5.9%). Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong, which together constituted 55.5% of the total import value, rose 25.1% and 23.8% respectively compared with the same period of 2005.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for August - October 2006 was 3.6%, which fell by 0.2 percentage point over July - September 2006, and 0.5 percentage point over the same period of 2005. The underemployment rate was 0.9%, down by 0.1 and 0.6 percentage point over the preceding period and the same period of 2005 respectively. About 1,400 unemployed persons were searching for their first job, representing 13.7% of the total unemployed population, up by 0.2 percentage point over the preceding period. Compared with the previous period, the unemployment situation continued to improve in Hotels, restaurants & similar activities, and Real estate, renting & business activities, while that in the Wholesale & retail trade and Recreational, cultural, gaming & other services also showed improvement; however, the situation was less favourable in the Manufacturing sector. Total labour force was estimated at 284,000 in August - October 2006, of which the employed and the unemployed populations were 274,000 and 10,000 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 66.2%, up by 0.3 and 2.6 percentage points over July - September 2006 and the same period of 2005 respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that inward foreign direct investment to Macao reached MOP 10.59 billion in 2005, of which investments from Hong Kong, the United States and Mainland China accounted for MOP 4.56 billion, MOP 4.41 billion and MOP 440 million respectively. In addition, outward direct investment made by Macao enterprises was MOP 380 million, resulting in a net inflow of foreign direct investment to Macao, at MOP 10.22 billion in 2005. At the end of 2005, stock of inward foreign direct investment to Macao amounted to MOP 41.37 billion, which soared by MOP 10.20 billion from 2004. Stock of outward direct investment made by Macao enterprises increased by MOP 230 million over 2004 to MOP 3.58 billion. In terms of industry, stock of foreign direct investment to Macao was mainly invested in Cultural, Recreational, Gaming & Other Services, with MOP 25.60 billion, up by MOP 7.37 billion over 2004; followed by the Financial sector (MOP 8.31 billion), Industrial Production (MOP 2.87 billion) and Hotels & Restaurants (MOP 2.24 billion), which registered increases of MOP 1.24 billion, MOP 28 million and MOP 870 million respectively compared with 2004. Analyzed by investors’ place of usual residence, the majority of Macao’s foreign direct investors were from Hong Kong; their stock of direct investment grew by MOP 5.41 billion to MOP 25.44 billion in 2005. This was followed by those from the United States and Mainland China, with MOP 7.43 billion and MOP 3.91 billion, up by MOP 4.39 billion and MOP 200 million respectively over 2004. In 2005, income earned from inward foreign direct investment totalled MOP 11.28 billion, a significant increase of MOP 4.06 billion over 2004. Meanwhile, income earned from outward direct investment made by Macao enterprises amounted to MOP 240 million. Direct Investment Statistics include information on the main industries of Macao, namely Industrial Production; Construction; Wholesale & Retail; Hotels & Restaurants; Transport, Storage & Communications; Financial Services; and Cultural, Recreational, Gaming & Other Services. Altogether, there were 1,314 foreign direct investment enterprises in 2005, among which 1,267 engaged in the Non-financial sector and 47 enterprises were in the Financial sector.
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