Macau Daily News (English)

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Israel comes in third place in international league of Internet hackers

Israel has reached an ignominous third place in the international hackers league, according to the latest Internet security threat report from security software provider Symantec.

The report, published every six months, shows that the number of Internet attacks emanating from Israel, as a proportion of total local surfers, has increased greatly. Israel was ranked ninth in the previous survey.

Symantec's ranking covered all countries that have more than 1 million residents connected to the Internet.

According to the latest report, some 8,109 attacks over the Internet originated in Israel in the first half of this year, 40 percent more than the 4,922 published in Symantec's report on the first half of 2003.

In previous reports, Israel has held "top" place in the league, as the number one origin of Internet hacking worldwide.

First in the league in the latest report was Latvia, followed by Macau, both of which appear in the top 10 for the first time. Israel was followed by Australia and Finland. Canada, which was number one in the previous report, moved to ninth place.

Another newcomer to the list was Egypt, which went from 17th place in the first half of 2003 to sixth place in the current report. Egypt rarely gets placed in the top 10 for hacking because of its relatively low connection to the Internet.

The survey found that the number one form of hacking was in the disruption of e-commerce, constituting 16 percent of all hacking activity.

Note: Hacking is such an art form that a successful hacker can make it seem as if the attack was originating in another place, so attacks emanating from elsewhere may just seem to have started in Israel.

Symantec reported that 4,496 viruses and computer worms were discovered in the first half of 2004, more than four times the number discovered in the parallel.

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Thailand and Macau have signed an agreement on liberalization of bilateral air traffic, Thailand's Deputy Transport Minister Vichet Kasemthongsri said on Monday.

Mr. Vichet said that under the deal, which resulted from bilateral negotiations last month, passenger and cargo planes would be able to fly to any point in either country, with no limitations on routes, frequency or aircraft capacity.

In addition, the rule allowing each country to only send one airline to the other will be abolished.

Mr. Vichet expressed confidence that the deal would facilitate air travel and thus serve to boost bilateral trade and tourism.--Enditem

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HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--China National Aviation Co. (1110.HK) said Wednesday it has been actively exploring business opportunities for its 51%-owned unit Air Macau Co.

"One of the actions taken was conducting discussions with different companies in respect of the future developments of Air Macau," CNAC said in a statement.

The company said it has no plans to sell its controlling stake in Air Macau.

"The option of having another organization take over Air Macau has never been the company's intention, nor has it been considered or discussed with any entity," said CNAC.

CNAC's statement came after Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported that Australian budget airline Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. (VBA.AU) could assume management control of Air Macau.

CNAC also denied that Air Macau's senior executives were pushing for the Virgin takeover, but had met resistance from Macau-based executives who didn't want to cede control of the market to other carriers. It said the report was "untrue and unfounded".

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Sept. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- New technologies and new work procedures have given rise to new hazards and risks of accidents and diseases, which have resulted in great increases in the numberof people being killed and injured at work, said Macao's labor bureau chief at an international conference.

Speaking at the International Association of Labor Inspection'sfirst meeting held in the Asian region on Wednesday, Shuen Ka Hung,director of the Macao Labor Affairs Bureau said that economic growth in most countries in Asia and the Pacific, the fastest growing region in the world, is opening up new opportunities for improving the quality of working life. However, occupational safety and health is emerging as an important concern in the region.

Shuen said at the International Conference on Safety and Health,which closed here Wednesday that accidents rate remains particularly high in the construction industry, which usually employs nearly 10 percent of workers in most countries.

He considered that the prevailing contract system, unstable employment and the large number of seasonal and migrant workers contribute to safety and health problems in the construction sector.

Shuen told over 100 participants from 20 countries and regions as well as international labor organizations to the meeting that Macao is experiencing an economic transition. There is an immense expansion in the tourism industry, which is followed by development in the construction industry. The construction boom has boosted the demand for an increasing number of migrant force from China's mainland.

Macao has invited senior labor affairs officials from the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region (Pan-PRD) to the meeting. A framework agreement on enhancing all-round cooperation in the Pan-PRD regionwas signed earlier this year among "9+2" members in the region, which include Guangdong and Hainan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces in southwest China, Hunan Province in central China, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces in east China, and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. The cooperation is expected to substantially increase personnel flows in the region. Enditem

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FOUR hundred undocumented Filipinos will be sent back to the Philippines after the Macau Government imposed stricter rules against illegal foreign workers.

Macau-based labor attache' Ma. Salome S. Mendoza said in her report to Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas that the deportation of overstaying Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) is in line with the recent campaign of the Macau authorities on its localization policy.

Mendoza said she was notified by Cheang Seng Lon, head of the Investigation Division of the Macau Immigration office, that they expect at least 400 Filipino workers to voluntarily surrender to avoid facing stiffer penalties.

Mendoza said the head of the Macau Labor and Employment Affairs Shuen Ka Hung informed them of the move to arrest undocumented workers after the Macau Government issued Administrative Regulation 17 and Law No. 6, which impose stringent fines and deportation of undocumented workers in Macau.

"Administrative Regulation 17 affects migrants who entered Macau illegally as tourists in order to work as well as those workers who already hold work permits or blue cards but are still engaged in other work for extra income," Mendoza said.

Under Administrative Regulation 17, which took effect last June 15, and Law No. 6, which became effective last September 1, OFWs who are non-residents in Macau are not allowed to work there.

Those found engaging in jobs without the necessary work permits as well as those who render services with or without pay are considered violators and will be arrested. They will also pay a corresponding penalty of 20,000 patacas, which is equivalent to P140,000.

Aside from paying a fine and deportation, those who will be arrested or voluntarily avail of the amnesty will be banned from re-entering Macau from one to three years.

However, the extent of the ban would be depending on whether the offender surrendered or arrested by the immigration agents.

Early this month, 130 Filipinos staying illegally in Macau have been deported and the 400 will be the second batch of undocumented OFWs to be deported.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) records showed that there are 2,335 documented OFWs deployed to Macau last year and about 1,309 were hired and re-hired from January to June 2004.

[SeeMacau]

Air Macau plans to lease three Airbus A321 planes by the end of 2005 to boost its capacity and is in talks with budget airline Virgin Blue to set up jointly a low-cost airline serving Asia, the Lusa news agency reported.

The airline, based in the former Portuguese gambling enclave of Macau, will receive the first new aircraft later this month while the remaining two will arrive next year, a company source told the agency.

Air Macau, controlled by China National Aviation Company (CNAC), currently has 11 passenger planes and three for cargo which service 14 destinations in Asia.

The airline makes most of its money shuttling passengers between Taiwan and China.

The Air Macau source added the airline and Virgin Blue should unveil by the end of the year the outline of their planned budget airline which will be based in Macau, a semi-autonomous region of China.

Air Macau has 16 years left on a permit, which was granted in 1995, to operate as Macau's sole airline.

Virgin Blue has reportedly offered giving Air Macau substantial royalty payments and shares in the proposed new China-focused budget airline if Air Macau gives up the permit earlier.

CNAC ownes 51 per cent of Air Macau's shares while Portuguese flag carrier TAP-Air Portugal controls 20 per cent. The Macau Tourism board detains 14 per cent and the remaining sheres are in the hands of other smaller investors.

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MACAO, Oct. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- An international cast consisting of American, French and Chinese artists put on a rehearsal of Charles Gounod's operatic version of Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet in Macao Wednesday.

The annual month-long Macao International Music Festival (MIMF)to be held from Oct. 8 to 31 this year presents a transnationally-produced opera every year as a major heat dedicated to the festival.

Popular China-born tenor Warren Mok, who is a frequent artist to the annual MIMF, performed Romeo. The setting and costume was presented by the Opera de Nice, France, while the chorus was made by the China National Opera and Dance Drama Company and the music by the Macao Orchestra.

The 18th MIMF will offer a total of 20 performances to bring audiences a sense of romanticism. There will be eight concerts to be put on in front of four well-preserved churches, while some performances will be presented at landmark spots representing the city's modernity, such as the Macao Cultural Center and at the Macao Tower.

For example, the St. Joseph's Church will host a Guitar Recitalby Pablo Marquez on Oct. 9, and the Ding Sisters, both singers from the Chinese mainland will perform at the Ruins of St. Paul Church on Oct. 22. Enditem

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The Administrator of Macau's Monetary Authority, António Felix Pontes, defended today, here, the existence of training programmes on anti-fraud prevention and detention in the insurance sector.

The official said so during a chat on "fraud in the insurance sector" as part of 8th Conference of the Association of Supervisors of Lusophone Insurers (ASEL), which is happening since Monday in the Angolan capital, Luanda.

During his speech, Antonio Pontes underlined that, in addition to training, there is need for the creation of a database for consultations and take into account a tripartite co-operation between the police, the supervisors and insurers authorities of the sector.

"Without this it is not possible to tackle fraud, for wherever there is insurance there is also fraud", he emphasized.

According to the lecturer, the most problematic frauds, in his point of view, are the fraudulent sinisters caused by organized crimes.

During the discussion of the theme, the lecturer referred various actual cases of fraud in insurance registered in countries like Hong-kong, Portugal and Macau.

This morning was under debate the theme "money Laundering in the insurance sector and pension fund.

ASEL is integrated by the Insurance Supervising Institute of Angola's Finance Ministry, Central Bank of Cape Verde, Management of Private Insurance (Brazil), Supervision Authority of Guinea-Bissau, Monetary Authority of Macau, as well as the General-Inspection of Insurance (Mozambique), Insurance Institute of Portugal, East-Timor's Banking Authority of Payments, and the Central Bank of Sao Tome & Principe.

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Air Macau, a unit of China National Aviation Company (CNAC), property investor Shun Tak and Virgin Blue are in talks to create a budget carrier to serve the region.

``They've been in discussions for some time and it's likely that the details can be finalised by the end of this year,'' an industry source said on Wednesday.

It is understood that Air Macau, 51 per cent owned by Hong Kong-listed CNAC, is likely to hold 60 per cent of the budget carrier, while Australia's Virgin Blue and Shun Tak will take 30 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

The new carrier will fly between Macau and second-tier cities in China and Southeast Asia.

``We're currently having negotiations but the details haven't been confirmed yet,'' a Shun Tak spokeswoman said.

Shares of Shun Tak, controlled by tycoon Stanley Ho, rose 4.24 per cent to close at HK$4.30 on Wednesday and CNAC closed up 2.8 per cent to HK$1.47. Melco International, also chaired by Ho, surged 4.71 per cent to close at HK$4.45.

Other stocks that invest in Macau also gained, with Macau Success up 9.52 per cent and KWah International rising 6.51 per cent.

DBS Vickers analyst Winnie Chiu said: ``The news is definitely positive for Shun Tak as the investment in Macau, the regional casino hub, fits very well into its corporate focus, that is tourism, hospitality and transportation.''

She also sees a huge potential to operate a discount airline in the region because the target area - Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Guangdong and Shanghai - has a population of 700 million.

Another analyst said the investment would not put financial pressure on Shun Tak because it holds cash of HK$1 billion.

Competition among discount carriers in Asia is keen and they have aggressive plans to expand.

Malaysia's AirAsia aims to double its fleet size to 36, from the current 18 Boeing 737s, by the end of next year.

Singapore-based Valuair, which began operations in May and operates two A320 aircraft, plans to buy two more jets by the end of this year.

``We're cautious because it's very difficult to make a discount carrier profitable, especially amid high fuel costs,'' BOC International associate director Michael Chan said. ``Valuair is still losing money. The management will have to show good expertise to keep very low sales costs.''

He added that the market in the mainland's second-tier cities has not matured enough and the number of passengers interested in flying between Macau and these cities is not promising.

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Virgin Blue and Air Macau are in talks aimed at basing a new low-cost carrier in the former Portuguese enclave with Macau magnate Stanley Ho a possible stakeholder.

Ho’s Shun Tak Holdings, a property, shipping and investment firm, has been involved in the talks with the two carriers, according to an official in Hong Kong who works in Shun Tak’s marketing department.

The official would not comment further, as the three sides had yet to consummate a deal.

Shun Tak is a Hong Kong-registered company with assets including a high-speed ferry service that serves Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau.

Since last year the ferry service has extended its reach by launching services to airports in these three cities.

Virgin Blue is interested in Macau because it wants to grow its business by expanding into Asia, while rival Qantas is currently setting up Jetstar Asia in Singapore with local partners.

Full-service carrier Air Macau is considering establishing a low-cost airline because it wants to grow its business and reduce its dependency as a transit carrier for those travelling between Taiwan and China.

The airport in Macau is also keen to capture more traffic from low-cost carriers and recently persuaded Thai AirAsia, an associate of Malaysia’s AirAsia, to operate there.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The just-concluded National Day "Golden Week" did not shine particularly clinquant lights on Macao's tourist market as the city has been familar with bustling weekend travel heat since summer.

Macao welcomed more than 400,000 visitor arrivals during the "Golden Week" holiday period from Oct. 1 to 7. Although the number doubled the previous forecast, it still represented a decrease of some 25 percent from the same period last year, when it hosted 547,000 visitors during the week-long holiday.

Figures from the Macao Immigration Bureau suggested that some 270,000 of the arrivals came from China's mainland, and 170,000 of them were individual travel passport holders.

China's National Day holiday usually saw the highest influx of visitors from China's mainland to Macao. The mainland's implementation of relaxed individual travel permits to Hong Kong and Macao in July last year has made the two special administrative regions more sensitive of the mainland's long holidays than before, since both cities serve as hot tourist destinations for a massive influx of visitors during holidays.

Macao was shocked by floods of tourists from the mainland during the National Day holiday last year, which was the first major holiday after the mainland loosened individual travel restrictions to Hong Kong and Macao on a trial basis. The scheme has been extended 32 cities in China's mainland since then.

Macao's tourist market has been saturated at every weekend since summer travel season. The counting of visitor arrivals in the first eight months reached 10.8 million, which was close to the total number of 11 million recorded for the whole of last year.Macao recorded the highest monthly number of tourists in August, which went up to 1.6 million, 27 percent up over the correspondingperiod of last year.

Industry insiders forecast that the number of visitors would exceed 15 million by the year end, which would almost tap the maximum tourist handling capacity in the city of 27 square kilometers. In this sense, it is good to see that the flow of tourists is dispersed to normal days instead of holidays.

This was echoed by Macao's shop owners and hotel business people.

Owner of a Portuguese food restaurant surnamed Lee said that his business was only 10 percent up than normal days during the holiday period. But he was happy about that.

He said that his business was swift nearly all week round. He considered that individual travelers are more flexible to make their travel plans, who would rather avoid crowded holiday travels.

By Sept. 19, some 2.4 million individual travelers from China'smainland visited Macao this year, which has become the major source for Macao's tourist market growth. Enditem

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Virgin Blue and Air Macau are in talks about basing a new low-cost carrier in the former Portuguese enclave with Macau magnate, Stanley Ho, a possible stakeholder.

This is according to a report in Travelbiz.au, which continues that Ho's Shun Tak Holdings, a property, shipping and investment firm, has been involved in the talks with the two carriers.

Shun Tak is a Hong Kong-registered company with assets including a high-speed ferry service that serves Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau. Since last year the ferry service has apparently extended its reach by launching services to airports in these three cities.

The report continues that Virgin Blue is interested in Macau because it wants to grow its business by expanding into Asia, while rival Qantas is currently setting up Jetstar Asia in Singapore with local partners. The establishment of a low-cost airline would also help Air Macau to grow its business and reduce its dependency as a transit carrier for those travelling between Taiwan and China.

Furthermore, the airport in Macau is said to be keen to capture more traffic from low-cost carriers.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The Photo Exhibition of China's Space Technology was opened here in Macao Saturday to showcase the history of China's space technology development.

As one of the activities in celebration of the World Space Week,which is to end on Sunday, the two-day exhibition offered 70 pictures recasting the historical moments of China's space technology breakthroughs.

The swirl trip of China's first astronaut Yang Liwei in Macao in November last year waged an unprecedented enthusiasm for space technology here.

An exhibition of China's 1st Manned Space Mission opened duringthat visit, which presented the re-entry Shenzhou-5 capsule, the astronaut's space suit and food and the parachute attracted some 60,000 fans for one day.

The Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense sponsored the space technology exhibition and held a lecture to tell stories behind each important step of China's space technology development to the audiance.

Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR Li Yongwu, Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in the Macao SAR Wan Yongxiang, Commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison in Macao Liu Lianhua, attended the opening ceremony of the show. Enditem

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BEIJING, Oct.10 (Xinhuanet) -- A photo exhibition showcasing the history of China's space technology has opened in Macao.

The two-day exhibition presents 70 pictures depicting the important moments in the development of China's space technology, China Radio International reported Saturday.

A lecture will be held during the exhibition to tell the audience stories behind China's space program.

The exhibition is one of the activities being held to celebrate World Space Week.

The successful launch of China's 1st manned space ship Shenzhou 5 last year aroused Macao people's interest in space technology. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Photo Exhibition of China's Space Technology was opened here in Macao Saturday to showcase the history of China's space technology development.

As one of the activities in celebration of the World Space Week, which is to end on Sunday, the two-day exhibition offered 70 pictures recasting the historical moments of China's space technology breakthroughs.

The swirl trip of China's first astronaut Yang Liwei in Macao in November last year waged an unprecedented enthusiasm for space technology here.

An exhibition of China's 1st Manned Space Mission opened during that visit, which presented the re-entry Shenzhou-5 capsule, the astronaut's space suit and food and the parachute attracted some 60,000 fans for one day.

The Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense sponsored the space technology exhibition and held a lecture to tell stories behind each important step of China's space technology development to the audiance.

Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR Li Yongwu, Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in the Macao SAR Wan Yongxiang, Commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison in Macao Liu Lianhua, attended the opening ceremony of the show.

[SeeMacau]

ZHUHAI, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Gongbei Customs in south China's Guangdong Province led the country in importing goods from Hong Kong and Macao with zero tariffs since the CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) was implemented early this year.

　　The Gongbei Customs, in south China's Guangdong province, imported 200 million HK dollars worth of goods made in Hong Kong and Macao. These goods are eligible for zero tariff under the CEPAin the first eight months, preceding all other provinces.

The amount of tariffs exempted in importing goods totaled 12.55million yuan (1.5 million US dollars).

Imports from Hong Kong under the CEPA preferential terms made up 99.4 percent of the total imports of Gongbei Customs in the first eight months. They fell into the categories of pharmaceuticals, perfume for industrial use and garment.

The imports from Macao, mainly electric conductors and cement, made up 0.6 percent of the customs' total import.

Under the CEPA, the imported goods from Hong Kong and Macao will witness diversified variety and increased value. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

AFP , LISBON
Monday, Oct 11, 2004,Page 10

After conquering the Brazilian mobile market, Portugal Telecom is eyeing a move into fast-growing mainland China by using the former Portuguese enclave of Macau as a foothold.

"China is on the brink of a new phase in its history. It is a magic moment which must be taken advantage of," the chief executive of the firm, Miguel Horta e Costa, told business daily Diario Economico last week at the end of a tour of China.

"For this reason we are looking into opportunities. But we do so cautiously, in a country of this scale there can be no rush, no errors in judgment."

During his visit to Asia, Horta e Costa met with the heads of China Mobile Communications Corp (中國移動通信), the world's biggest mobile carrier by subscribers, as well as with top officials from China Unicom Ltd (中國聯通), the nation's other mobile carrier.

He also held talks with the leaders of China Telecom Corp (中國電信) and China Netcom (中國 網通), the country's major fixed-line operators, in a tour which took him to Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau.

China is already the world's largest mobile phone market with more than 300 million subscribers, a figure which is expected to rise to 556 million by 2010.

The country is also expected to post a sharp rise in the number of Internet, cable TV and fixed-line telephone subscribers as strong economic growth fuels demand from a growing numbers of Chinese for those services.

Portugal Telecom currently holds a 28 percent stake in CTM, Macau's public telecoms operator which offers fixed, mobile and Internet services in the tiny territory of some 500,000 people.

It also has a 55 percent stake in cable television provider TV Cabo Macau as well as minority stakes in two satellite television firms in Macau, Telesat and Cosmos.

Earlier this week Horta e Costa told reporters that TV Cabo Macau would be a priority in the firm's strategy for growth in China.

He added that Portugal Telecom also aims to explore ways to provide data transmission services to the many casinos which exist or are being planned for Macau.

"Portugal Telecom has competitive advantages due to its presence in the territory and the ancestral ties of Portugal to Macau," he said.

The aim is to use Macau as a base to eventually expand into other areas in China and capitalize on the nation's huge growth potential as it has already done in former Portuguese colony Brazil.

Portugal Telecom has poured millions of euros into Brazil in recent years and, together with Spain's Telefonica, it now has a joint venture in the Latin American country called Brasilcel, which controls 44 percent of the Brazilian mobile market.

Vivo, Brasilcel's mobile operator in Brazil, has over 23 million clients in the country.

But analysts caution that Portugal Telecom is too small to carry out the huge investments which would be needed to gain a strong presence in China and the firm must keep its focus on deepening its position in Brazil where it faces steep competition.

"Before seeing, say 100 million euros invested in Asia, I would rather see the same 100 million euros invested in Brazil," said Ricardo Pimentel Seara, a telecoms analyst with Portuguese bank BPI, in a telephone interview.

[SeeMacau]

Shares of Melco International Development surged as much as 35.08 per cent on Monday, fuelling market expectations that the company will exercise its right to force the conversion of its HK$100 million bond held by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) into new shares.

Recent fervour over Macau gaming plays sent investors into a buying frenzy, tripling the share price in the last month. Monday's intra-day high of HK$7.70 is a level not reached in more than a decade. The shares closed at HK$6.20, up 50 HK cents or 8.77 per cent.

Melco can require chairman Stanley Ho's STDM to exercise the convertible bond into 25 million new shares at the conversion price of HK$4. This represents 6.21 per cent of Melco's enlarged issued share capital.

Forced conversion depends on the 60-day average price of Melco's shares being above HK$4 and a land concession being granted to a Macau joint venture between Melco and STDM.

Melco issued the bond to STDM for a 50 per cent stake in a joint venture to develop a HK$1.5 billion hotel and entertainment complex in Macau.

If the concession is not granted by September 1, 2005, Melco can terminate the bond and transfer its 50 per cent stake in the joint venture back to STDM, Melco said. The five-year convertible bonds carry an annual coupon rate of 4 per cent starting on March 1, 2005.

Melco is overseeing the development with the Hyatt Hotels Group managing the hotel and STDM's subsidiary, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), operating the casino. Melco unit Mocha Slot Group will run an electronic gaming lounge. The joint venture will also receive rental income from both SJM and Mocha. The site is situated on land at Baixa da Taipa in Macau.

For the first six months, Melco reported a net profit of HK$60.1 million, reversing a net loss of HK$14.9 million a year earlier. Its leisure and entertainment business managed to narrow its operating loss to HK$5.2 million from HK$7.1 million a year ago

[SeeMacau]

Leading jockey Larry Cassidy is facing a $2.25 million lawsuit after his careless riding ended the career of a fellow jockey.

The Sydney ace yesterday admitted liability in the case involving Gold Coast jockey Gary Doughty, who suffered brain damage in a fall at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, in 2000.

Brisbane Supreme Court Justice Patrick McMurdo is deciding total damages to be paid to Doughty, 43, who remains blind in his right eye after the fall.

Cassidy, brother of two-time Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jimmy, was suspended for a month for careless riding after colliding with Doughty on the home turn in the Eye Liner Stakes on July 1, 2000.

Doughty fractured his skull falling from River Affair, which clipped the heels of Cassidy's mount Pittance, which won the race.

The race day was marred by several falls, with jockeys later involved in an horrific eight-horse pile-up at the Bundamba track in a later race.

Doughty has sued Cassidy on the grounds he was owed a duty of care which was breached when the leading rider failed to check it was safe to move out.

He claimed Cassidy left him unable to move in the race or to avoid the fall, which he said has cost him his career.

Doughty was in a coma for more than a day and spent 17 days in hospital in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

He has sued for loss of earning capacity, medical treatment and his need for voluntary assistance from his family, including his wife, trainer Kelly Doughty.

Doughty claims his injury has cost him more than $2 million in lost earnings and health bills.

In evidence he was forced to defend claims his rides were drying up at the time of the fall.

Doughty told the hearing the "phone wasn't ringing" because of rumours he was trying to persuade owners to switch trainers to his wife.

He said he was also hoping to cash in on lucrative riding prospects in Macau, in South-East Asia when the fall occurred.

[SeeMacau]

One hundred elite photographers across the Taiwan Straits as well as from Hong Kong and Macau used their cameras to snap focus in Macau in 24 hours starting on Wednesday.

The Record of 24 Hours in Macau is a photo-shooting activity jointly sponsored by the Macau Tourist Office, the Photographic Society of Macau and Taiwan's China Times.

The Tourist Office hoped that the photographers could grasp the unique beauty of Macau with their cameras.

Their photo works are expected to be compiled into an album, and later put on show in the Chinese mainland, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Many photographers are familiar with Macau's mix of Portuguese and Chinese culture and architecture.

Guo Jianshe, a Beijinger who chairs the Baixing Photo Club, said that he came to Macau before the 1999 hand-over. He walked almost every street in Macau and he particularly likes the ruins of St. Paul's Church and the Barra Temple.

[SeeMacau]

A mainland Chinese man who lost big money while gambling went berserk, stabbing his wife repeatedly and started a fire that trapped several people inside their apartment in Macau, officials said today.

The woman died after the attack, but firefighters saved three people while two others escaped, said Macau fire department spokesman Iu Chong Hin.

Firefighters also caught the 48-year-old man, identified by his surname Chen, in the apartment and handed him over to police. Police have charged him with murder and arson.

[SeeMacau]

Media investor eSun Holdings plans to spend HK$500 million on a luxury residential and hotel project in Macau to cash in on the territory's booming economy.

Chief executive Mark Lee said the company intends to increase the residential portion of the project - on a 1.5 million-square-foot site originally planned mostly for TV studios - by 70 to 80 per cent.

Julius Lau, a director for project manager Lai Sun Development, said that under the original plan, only 30 houses were to built on the site, generating a total gross floor area of about 100,000 square feet.

``Land premium negotiations with the Macau government will be necessary if the residential floor area is to be raised,'' Lau said.

Lee said the company does not rule out bringing in partners to jointly develop the project and that three or four groups have indicated their interest.

Separately, Lee said eSun's plans to spin off its film- making unit, Media Asia Holdings, through a listing in Singapore, were nearly complete,and that an announcement will be made early next month.

Lau also said Lai Sun will launch a 50 per cent-owned serviced-apartment project on Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, later this year with sales projected at about HK$1 billion.

The company plans to offer a low-rise joint-venture housing project in Yuen Long for sale by the end of this year or in early 2005, estimated to be worth HK$400 million.

Lee said Lai Sun Development's debt restructuring was approved by 90 per cent of eSun's shareholders on Wednesday.

The restructuring was also approved by all creditors and 99 per cent of Lai Sun's shareholders.

The restructuring will raise eSun's stake in Lai Sun to 40.8 per cent. Lai Sun indirectly owns 42.54 per cent of eSun. Therefore, both parties will establish a cross-holding relationship.

eSun expects to write off HK$328 million for the half year ending January 31 next year, as a result of the restructuring.

Lee said eSun agrees with the business development direction of Lai Sun and intends to hold its shares for long-term investment.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao's hospitality industry logged a record 2.62 million overnight guests in the first eight months, up 42.1 percent over the same period of last year.

According to the latest release from the Macao Statistics and Census Bureau, Macao's 72 hotels and guesthouses recorded 379,952 overnight guests in August, a 7.5 percent growth year-on-year.

The official statistics suggested that some 58.1 percent of allguests were from China's mainland, and 37.2 percent of them were Hong Kong residents.

In August, the average hotel room occupancy rate stood at 82.4 percent. Three-star hotels are the most popular choice for the visitors to stay overnight.

By the end of August, Macao had a total of 9,281 hotel rooms, up 4.7 percent over the same period of last year.

Some industry insiders said that three-star hotels would be a good investment over the next few years, as many tourists prefer lavishing on shopping and food to luxury hotels in Macao.

The counting of visitor arrivals in the first eight months reached 10.8 million, which was close to the total number of 11 million recorded for the whole of last year. The increase of tourists has boosted the demand for more hotel rooms. The number of hotel rooms is expected to reach around 11,500 by the end of next year. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

MAIN DISH

MACAO-STYLE AFRICAN CHICKEN

European, Asian and African influences come together in this dish from Macao, a Chinese administrative region that was a longtime Portuguese colony. Serve it with rice or flat bread and a tossed green salad with red onions and chickpeas.

FOR THE MARINADE AND CHICKEN:

• 2 small dried red chiles, finely snipped

• 1 small garlic clove, smashed and minced

• 2 small shallots, peeled and minced

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder

• 2 teaspoons crumbled, dry rosemary

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1 (3- to 3 ½-pound) chicken, cut into pieces

FOR THE SAUCE:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 small red bell pepper, cored and minced

• 1 cup freshly grated or frozen and thawed coconut

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 1 ½ cups chicken stock

TO FINISH:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Mix marinade ingredients, rub into the chicken and marinate, covered in the fridge overnight (8 to 12 hours).

To make the sauce, heat the ¼ cup oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the pepper; cook stirring occasionally until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the coconut, peanut butter and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring from time to time, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving it. Pat dry with paper towels and brown on all sides.

Transfer chicken, marinade and potatoes to a baking dish. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Makes 6 servings.

Source: Adapted from recipes.egullet.com.

Per serving: 866 calories (69 percent from fat), 66.9 g fat (18.7 g saturated, 31.7 g monounsaturated), 195 mg cholesterol, 47.6 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 4.4 g fiber, 363 mg sodium.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- the secretary for economy and finance of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Francis Tam Pak Yuen, left here on Sunday for Portugal, where he will attend the Guangdong, Macao and Portugal Economic Cooperation Forum 2004.

An official with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute said that the visit is expected to improve exchange between entrepreneurs from the Macao SAR and Portugal, expand the Portugal market for products made in Macao, and promote Macao's role as a platform for the development of economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The forum to be held on Tuesday in Lisbon, capital of Portugal,is co-organized by governments of the Macao SAR and the Guangdong Province.

It was reported that Tam will give a speech at the forum, describing the economic development and the investment environmentin Macao, Guangdong and the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, with an aim to promote the economic and trade cooperation between the region and Portugal.

A 22-member delegation of Macao entrepreneurs and more than 20 entrepreneurs from the Guangdong Province will also attend the forum and have dialogues with their Portuguese counterparts. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

A British commercial delegation made up of representatives from over 50 companies arrived in Macao on Friday looking for opportunities for doing business.

The delegation led by Stanley Ko, chairman of the British Chamber China Committee, was the largest ever British industry mission to Macao.

Ko said that the trip aims to introduce UK companies to business opportunities in Macao. The delegates largely came from the construction and engineering sector.

Upon schedule, the delegates will meet with Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long and Director of the Macao Tourist Office Joao Manuel Costa Antunes as well as key players of Macao's gaming and leisure industries in the one-day visit.

The UK Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong Philip Tissot said that the trip is an excellent example of the considerable interest the British companies are seeing in Macao as a result of the enormous growth taking place here.

He said there is a huge potential in Macao for collaboration with UK companies. The visit of the delegation is an opportunity to build on existing trade links. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

Starting on Monday, Macau's new identification (ID) card holders only needed to carry the "smart" cards to travel to Hong Kong without applying for travel documents.

The long-awaited easy travel scheme was officially launched on Monday, as the number of Macau's "smart" Permanent Macau Resident Identification Card holders has increased to 124,000.

According to the Identification Department of the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, the government hopes to replace all the conventional ID cards with the "smart" cards by the year 2007.

Travelers with the ID cards can insert the cards into one of nine automatic kiosks at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Macau's Outer Harbor to pick up the "declaration forms."

Verification or retrieval of the electronic cards can be done instantly at the official website of the Identification Department.

[SeeMacau]

2004-10-20 / Central News Agency /
TransAsia Airways made its maiden charter flight from the eastern Taiwan county of Hualien to Macau yesterday as part of its efforts to help boost the local tourist industry.

Hualien County Magistrate Hsieh Shen-shan said he was heading a team of officials and business executives to attract Macau investors and holidaymakers to Hualien, which has been noted for its scenery and tourist resources.

"We hope the visit can not only help us realize the goal of doubling tourist arrivals but also attract Macau businesses to invest in Hualien County to accelerate our economic development and create more jobs, " Hsieh sai.d

The carrier will operate three round-trip charter flights.

[SeeMacau]

The Bank of China Macao Branch (BOC Macao), the designated Renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Macao, announced Wednesday that it has got everything ready to start the business with the first group of participating banks in early November.

Zhang Hongyi, General Manager of the BOC Macao, said that 16 banks out of Macao's 24 banks will be the first group of banks to offer the local personal RMB services in November.

Under a memorandum signed here between the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Macao Monetary Authority in August, local banks in Macao can provide deposit, remittance, exchange and credit card services of RMB. The authorization will make Macao the second place after Hong Kong to offer an official channel for RMB notes circulating outside China's mainland.

Zhang said that at the first stage, BOC Macao will only provide deposit, remittance and exchange of RMB. The credit card services of RMB will come along later.

The launch of the RMB services will bring convenience for personnel flows between the mainland and Macao, which is conducive in boosting Macao's economy, said Zhang.

Once the service is launched, individual RMB account customers of all the 16 participating banks, who must be legal Macao residency card holders, can exchange no more than 20,000 yuan RMB per person per day with Macao pataca or other currencies, or remit no more than 50,000 yuan RMB per person per day.

Zhang said that the RMB services would bring the circulation of RMB under the control of the banking system, which is conducive in monitoring the currency in Macao.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Over 540 overseas Chinese entrepreneurs from 19 countries and regions around the world convened at the Macao International Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention here Wednesday, engaging in trade talks and group discussions.

As a prelude for the upcoming Macao International Trade and Investment Fair slated for Thursday, the two-day convention focused on exchanges on industries of environmental protection, modern medical production and real estates.

The meeting, co-organized by the World Federation of Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization (WFCEO) and several trade association in Macao, has established itself as a platform for Chinese entrepreneurs sharing experiences.

Ding Kai'en, director of WFCEO said that the effect of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and China's accession into the World Trade Organization have broaden the horizon for economic and trade cooperation among Chinese entrepreneurs from around the world.

He said Hong Kong and Macao have become important trade and investment platforms for the exchanges of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs with their counterparts in the mainland. Booming trade across the Taiwan Strait has also deepened anticipation for China's peaceful reunification. Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs wish to see a unified and coordinated market at their home.

Acting Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan said at the opening ceremony Wednesday that Chinese entrepreneurs are welcomed to makethe best use of the trade platform of Macao to seize the chance brought about by CEPA.

"Macao wishes to become an information harbor and a trade platform for exchanges among Chinese entrepreneurs," said Chan.

Founded in July last year, WFCEO set up its permanent office inMacao. It assimilates industrial and commerce organizations from Chinese communities around the world. The organization has been undertaking a project of building a databank of Chinese entrepreneurs worldwide. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

MACAO - Here on this history-soaked peninsula, where Portuguese culture mingles with the salt air of the South China Sea, a visitor from Brazil can start the day sipping café de manhã, while scanning one of three local Portuguese daily newspapers or watching the news on one of two Portuguese-language television stations.

On the street, a taxi driver will pull down his "livre," or "free," sign and take a passenger past a tableau of coconut palms, baroque Catholic churches, whitewashed forts, hilltop lighthouses, blue tile street signs in Portuguese and Chinese, and bilingual banners advertising music festivals. Making the Portuguese-speaking visitor feel more at home, Radio Macao blares fado, bossa nova and news in Portuguese all day long.

Five years ago, when Portugal surrendered this 10-square-mile enclave to China, most people predicted that its language would disappear here in a blink of an eye. The Portuguese had done little to promote their language here since their merchants first stepped ashore around 1553. By the time they left, only about 2 percent of Macao's 450,000 people spoke the language of Lisbon, with the other 98 percent speaking Cantonese and other languages.

But in a surprising turnaround, enrollments for private Portuguese classes have tripled, to 1,000, since 2002. That prompted public schools here to offer Portuguese this fall, drawing more than 5,000 students.

"The number of Portuguese speakers has exploded in the last year," said Manuel F. Moreira de Almeida, a longtime Portuguese resident who runs Livraria Portuguesa, a bookstore on a narrow colonial street here. "In a few years, there will be more Portuguese speakers here than during the Portuguese time."

If economics dictate the rise and fall of languages, the renaissance of Portuguese is dictated by Beijing's new determination that Macao will serve as a platform for China's growing commercial and strategic interests in the Latin world. Although gambling has long been the main industry here, tiny Macao has found a new role: China's link to the 220 million people of the Portuguese-speaking world.

While Beijing will always draw the top-level visits, like the trip last May by President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Macao offers training programs and conventions in the culturally friendly environment of China's Mediterranean corner, where Portuguese, is, officially at least, on equal footing with Chinese.

"Macao can be a bridge between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries," China's vice commerce minister, An Min, said in October 2003 after trade talks here with seven Portuguese-speaking countries. Capping the talks, China signed an agreement to increase trade, investment and economic cooperation with Portugal and six of its former colonies: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and East Timor. São Tomé and Principe did not come because it has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The University of Macao now teaches law in Portuguese to Angolans and Mozambicans. Training seminars in tourism, nursing, translation and business administration draw students from the five Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa and from East Timor, an Asian land with long ties to this trading post on the Pearl River Delta.

"Macao could come in as a middleman, providing good quality services in training, translation and consultants," said Gary M. C. Ngai, a local researcher.

Slow to establish connections with Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, China now is moving aggressively. Almost overnight, it has become Brazil's second-largest trading partner, after the United States, buying Brazilian iron, steel, aluminum and soy. China's bilateral trade with Brazil has quadrupled since 1999, to $6.7 billion last year. In return, China is backing Brazil's effort to gain a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

"China is intimidating from a military and industrial standpoint, but its special regions have a different image," Brazil's trade minister, Luiz Fernando Furlan, said here at the trade talks last year, referring to Macao and Hong Kong, according to The Associated Press.

In Northern Brazil, a $1.5 billion steel mill is being built in a joint venture between the Shanghai Baosteel Group and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce of Brazil, the world's largest iron ore producer. C.V.R.D. also has a partnership with the Chinese aluminum producer Chalco to build a $1 billion alumina refinery, also in northern Brazil.

Argentina's trade with China has doubled since 2000. Chile is negotiating a free trade pact with China.

[SeeMacau]

The US Consul General James Keith, and Rector of the University of Macao Iu Vai Pan inaugurated an American Corner in the university on Wednesday.

The American Corner is a resource center with an extensive book collection, CD-ROMs, DVDs, videos, and Internet and database access to information about the United States.

Keith said here that the American Corner will also be the site of public programs featuring US experts and for virtual discussionvia digital video conferences interacting with over 100 other American Corners opened globally.

Keith also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Fulbright Program in Macao, which provides grants for students, scholars, teachers and administrators.

The program named after the former Senator J. William Fulbrightwards approximately 4,500 new grants annually. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

An exciting mega Latin-American culture show will be in full swing in Hong Kong and Macao from Oct.28 to the end of November., the group of Latin America Consulates (GRULAC) said here Wednesday.

"The sensational month-long line up of events celebrates all things in Latin America and is expected to take Hong Kong and Macao by storm," said Ricardo Forrester, the GRULA spokesman and consul general of Argentina in Hong Kong.

He said the GRULAC will make the show an annual event from 2004.

The "Latin America in Hong Kong" festival is co-launched by GRULAC members, which are the consulates of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela in Hong Kong. The eight countries will team up to bring their culture, traditions, and folklore to Asia through exhibitions, performances,cinema folkloric show, food tasting and open forums.

In the extravaganza of music, dance, arts and food, the festival is about to bring people together and celebrate the breadth and depth of Latin American cultural diversity, Forrester added.

A myriad of events will be staged during the festival, including colorful rhythm, arts and crafts exhibition, Latin gaze photo exhibition, and rooted music, festival on the beach, flea market and etc..

"This big event is not commercially aimed, but in long term, webelieve it will enhance the economic and trade cooperation betweenHong Kong, Macao, and the Latin American countries, and bring moretourists to our region," said David Tang, counsel general of Cuba in Hong Kong.

"We are preparing a similar Hong Kong event back home and we need to know about Hong Kong and Macao as well," said Olga Forero De Silva, consul general of Colombia in Hong Kong. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

Over 12.19 million people visited Macao in the first nine months, which has surpassed the total number of visitor arrivals recorded for the whole of last year.

Figures released by the Macao Statistics and Census Service suggested that the first nine months' counting was 45.3 percent upover the year-ago period. Visitors from China's mainland constituted 57.1 percent of the total.

The number of visitor arrivals in the first three quarters has far exceeded the total of 11.88 million recorded for the whole of last year.

There were 6.95 million mainland visitors in the first nine months, up 82.7 percent on the same period of last year. Of the total, some 2.48 million were individual travel passport holders.

Industry insiders forecast that the number of visitor arrivals will amount to 15 million by the year-end.

Besides the increase in the source market of the mainland, the number of tourists from southeastern Asian countries also surged by 78 percent over the same period of last year to 160,000 in the first three quarters. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

Macao will invite cultural heritage protection scholars and specialists from the Asian Pacific regions to a forum on the protection of world heritage, which will open on Oct. 25.

The one-day forum is co-organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, the Asian Academy for Heritage Management and the Macao Institute for Tourist Studies (IFT).

IFT communications staff surnamed Loi said that Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific will deliver a lecture at the forum, which will also invite keynote speakers from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.

Loi said that IFT will record the forum memoir and submit it to the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government to provide consultation for policy and law making.

Macao's world cultural heritage bidding has been designated as China's only nomination to apply for the UNESCO in 2005. The application work has been in full swing.

Macao's bidding under the name of the Macao Historical Architecture Clump for the World Cultural Heritage embraces 12 priceless cultural heritage sites, including China's oldest church,Christian cemetery, lighthouse and western theater. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- American firms have been increasingly aware of Macao's enormous business opportunities in the gaming industry, project- and tourism-related trade, said a senior US commercial diplomat in Hong Kong and Macao.

Chief Commercial Consul of the American Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao Stewart J. Ballard said at the ongoing Macao International Trade and Investment fair here Friday that America is Macao's biggest export destination, and Macao's inbound foreign direct investment from America is on the rise, which mainly flew to the gaming, hospitality, transport and communications sectors.

Ballard affirmed that more US export growth to Macao is likely as more US companies discover Macao as a re-export gateway to China's mainland.

He attributed the affirmation to the facts that Macao has clinched a closer economic partnership arrangement known as CEPA with China's mainland, and Macao participated in the "9+2" Pan-Pearl River Delta economic cooperation in the South China region earlier this year.

Projects linking to the coordinated regional development, such as the Macao-Zhuhai Cross-Border Industrial Park and the proposed Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge would make Macao a billion-dollar market, Ballard said.

He said Macao is an increasingly important Asian tourist destination, which attracted 11.9 million visitors in 2003. He noticed that Macao has become a hot destination for business tourists.

Co-sponsored by the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macao) and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, the Macao International Trade and Investment Fair, which convened over 1,300 government officials and business people from over 30 countries and regions, will last to Sunday. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) opened here on Thursday, attracting over 1,300 government officials and business people from over 30 countries and regions.

The fair, co-sponsored by the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macao) and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (MTIPI), isa venue for some 40 forums and workshops, and offered 332 booths for 70 trade delegations to engage in business talks.

President of the MTIPI Lee Peng Hong said that the effect of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the establishment of regional cooperation framework in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region earlier this year have expanded Macao's business scope and enhanced the importance of MIF, which entered the ninth session this year.

The four-day event is the first major international trade activity held after the implementation of CEPA in Macao on Jan. 1 this year. As the most important annual economic activity in the city, MIF has become an important trade platform for enterprises from China's mainland, and European and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan, acting chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Wang Jinxiang, deputy director of the Central People's Government's Liaison Office in the Macao SAR, and Wan Yongxiang, commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in the Macao SAR, attended the opening ceremony. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Portuguese influence enjoys a renaissance
By JAMES BROOKE
New York Times

MACAU - On this history-soaked peninsula, where Portuguese culture mingles with the salt air of the South China Sea, a visitor from Brazil can start the day sipping cafe de manha, while scanning one of three local Portuguese daily newspapers or watching the news on one of two Portuguese language television stations.

On the street, a taxi driver will pull down his "livre," or "free" sign, and take a passenger past a tableau of coconut palms, baroque Catholic churches, whitewashed forts, hilltop lighthouses, blue tile street signs in Portuguese and Chinese, and bilingual banners advertising music festivals.

Five years ago, when Portugal surrendered this 10-square-mile enclave to China, most people predicted that its language would disappear here in a blink of an eye.

The Portuguese had done little to promote their language here since their merchants first stepped ashore in 1553. By the time they left, only about 2 percent of Macau's 450,000 people spoke the language of Lisbon, with the other 98 percent speaking Cantonese and other languages.

But in a surprising turnaround, enrollments for private Portuguese classes have tripled, to 1,000, since 2002.

Beijing is determined that Macau will serve as a platform for commercial and strategic interests in the Latin world.

"Macau can be a bridge between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries," China's vice commerce minister, An Min, said last October. China signed an agreement to increase trade, investment and economic cooperation with Portugal and six of its former colonies: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and East Timor.

[SeeMacau]

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Shareholders of privately held Air Macau are scheduled to meet next Wednesday to discuss whether to open the Macanese market to Australian budget carrier Virgin Blue, reports the South China Morning Post.

A spokesman for China National Aviation Corp, one of the shareholders in Air Macau, confirmed the meeting but declined to give further details.

On the table, said SCMP, will be the commercial terms of Virgin Blue's plan to launch a new China-focused airline flying between Macau and mainland cities by early next year. This will hinge on Air Macau's willingness to waive its 25-year exclusive concession on airline operations based in Macau, which it was granted in 1995.

Virgin Blue Commercial Chief David Huttner said "discussions are ongoing and that no agreement has been reached with CNAC or Air Macau."

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The conservation of the Tak Seng On Pawnshop in Macao was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2004 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards at a ceremony held at the sitehere on Monday.

With the prize, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the unique restoration of Tak Seng On Pawnshop, which was among 16 other sites awarded this year to represent the memory of the last millennium, said Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific.

Engelhardt said that this year's competition for the award was intense. The pawnshop was selected from a shortlist of some 40 entries by the selection committee to set an example for extendingthe understanding of heritages beyond the stereotype concepts of churches and temples.

He commented that with the award, UNESCO encouraged the coordinated effort of the private sector and the governments in restoring and conserving buildings of heritage value. Besides the value of the architecture, the pawnshop represents a living heritage.

The century-old pawnshop, which is a private asset revamped by the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) at a cost of 1.4 million patacas (175,000 US dollars), opened to public as a pawnshop museum and a cultural club in March last year.

The pawnshop not only led the fashion of a south China buildingtype in 1930s but also associated the memory of Macao's commercialand financial history.

Heidi Ho Lai Chun da Luz, president of the Macao Culture Institute said that the award was a recognition of the Macao SAR government's cultural preservation works, which is conducive to Macao's bidding for UNESCO's world cultural heritage next year.

Macao's bidding under the name of the Macao Historical Architecture Clump for the World Cultural Heritage has been designated as China's only nomination to apply for the title next year. The application work has been in full swing. The bidding package embraces 12 priceless cultural heritage sites, including China's oldest church, Christian cemetery, lighthouse and western theater. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Vice-Premier Huang Ju met here Monday with a Macao financial delegation headed by Anselmo Teng, president of the Monetary Authority of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Huang said there has been strong economic and financial cooperation between Chinese mainland and Macao. To strengthen such a cooperation is significant in maintaining the long-term stability and prosperity of Macao.

After China's accession to the World Trade Organization, Huang said, the banking sector in the Chinese mainland faces more opportunities, and the mainland hopes to reinforce the cooperation with Macao in financial service, product innovation and venture investment.

China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Liu Mingkang and vice president of the People's Bank of China Wu Xiaoling also attended the meeting. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

LISBON : Privately held Air Macau and Australian budget carrier Virgin Blue will start operating a low-cost airline serving China by the middle of next year.

Air Macau, controlled by China National Aviation Company (CNAC), will directly detain 51 percent of the new airline with the rest of the company in the hands of Virgin Blue, property investor Shun Tak and CNAC, an industry source told the Lusa news agency.

The agreement to set up the budget airline, which will focus on destinations in China not already served by Air Macau, will be formally signed next week, the source added.

Air Macau currently has 11 passenger planes and three for cargo which service 14 destinations in Asia.

The airline, based in the former Portuguese gambling enclave of Macau which is currently a semi-autonomous regions of China, makes most of its money shuttling passengers between Taiwan and China.

[SeeMacau]

What do you miss most when you are away?
The kind of local colour and lore that have disappeared from much of ultra-modern Hong Kong. Magnificent (though crumbling) old architecture. Fabulous food, much of it Portuguese-Chinese hybrid, meaning that Macau can make a fair claim to having developed the first East-West fusion cuisine in the world.

What's the first thing you do when you return?
Head for the Inner Harbour, best viewed from the vicinity of the A-Ma Temple. It has engaging views of the People's Republic of China, and the harbour itself with its time-warp waterborne traffic: junks, fishing vessels, sampans and freighters from South-East Asian ports of yesteryear.

Where's the best place to stay?
The Hotel Beverly Plaza (70 Avenida do Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues; 00853 782288; www.beverlyplaza.com) is a good three-star hotel located close to all the action. Doubles cost around £69, but much cheaper rates can be secured from travel agents on the upper floors of the Shun Tak Centre, the Macau Ferry terminal in Hong Kong.

Where would you meet friends for a drink?
Casablanca Café (Avenida Dr Calos Assumpção; 751 281), one of the best of the many good bars in a relatively new nightlife area.

Where are your favourite places for lunch?
For a long, languid lunch - a real belt-unbuckler - Fernandos (Hac Sa Wan, Coloane; 882 531) is the place to go. This bistro-style establishment enjoys legendary status among Hong Kong and Macau expatriates, thanks to its massive portions, superb standards, and Algarve holiday ambience. For yum cha, or what we know in the UK as dim sum, the Jade Garden (35-39, Rua do Dr Pedro J Lobo; 710 203) provides good value for money.

And for dinner?
Macau's culinary highlight is the Angolan-influenced African chicken, which is the signature dish of the venerable Restaurante Solmar (11, Rua da Praia Grande; 574 391). For other Macanese and Portuguese favourites, particularly seafood, Restaurante Litoral (261A, Rua do Almirante Sergio; 967 878) leads the way. The tempura - which originates in Macau - at Furusato (Hotel Lisboa, Avenida Infante D'Henrique) is fantastic.

Where would you send a first-time visitor?
To the Ruins of St Paul's, which is best investigated early in the day before the hordes of tourists arrive, and nearby St Dominic's Church, a marvel of baroque architecture. As the mercury rises, the exquisitely tranquil Lou Lim Leoc Gardens - a lush oasis of bamboo groves, carp ponds and ancient Chinese magic - is the place to cool off. Or take in everything in one go, from the viewing gallery of the Macau Tower (the world's 10th- highest free-standing building).

What would you tell them not to bother with?
The casinos. Macau's gambling emporiums are joyless, smoky and utterly devoid of glamour.

Public transport or taxi?
Taxis are cheap and relatively plentiful, although the average Macau cab-driver's English is nowhere is good as that of his Hong Kong cousins. The minibus network is handy and cheap.
Why Macau?
This sleepy enclave provides a handy escape for stressed-out people from Hong Kong (it's only 90 minutes away by ferry) and it's common to see people practising the gentle art of t'ai chi (top, right). Macau was a Portuguese possession for almost 500 years, which explains its enduring mellow, Iberian atmosphere, unique in frenetic southern China.

Handbag or moneybelt?
Moneybelt. Macau is not as safe as Hong Kong. There is widespread organised crime and prostitution, as well lots of pickpockets. Avoid the pedicabs, found around the ferry terminal and the Lisboa hotel: too many of their drivers will cheat you.

What should I take home with me?
Macau, a duty-free territory, is terrific for shopping. Bargaining is the norm - be wary of paying more than half the open-ing price. Bird cages, lacquer boxes, silk fans, sculptures, Ming pottery, paintings, and Cultural Revolution memorabilia can all be purchased in the many stores around St Paul's.

Thanks to the casinos, Macau is also crammed with pawn shops where you can pick up some amazingly cheap jewellery.

[SeeMacau]

Jon Eleazar “Jon-Jon” Adlawan III of Sacred Heart-Jesuit made his presence felt in the 4th round of the FIM Asian Motocross in Macau yesterday.

Competing in his first stint abroad, the 13-year old Jon-Jon came out fourth overall among 12 entries in the juniors division.

The achievement was relayed to The Freeman by his father, Jonas Adlawan of Powersports Racing, which is also one of Cebu’s most popular dirt-bikers.

Jon-Jon was a point away from snatching the bronze medal against a bet from Japan, which finished with 67 points in the overall tally.

He figured out in a mishap in the final run paving the way for the Japanese to get the medal.

A rider from Australia bagged the gold while Indonesia had the silver. Behind Jon-Jon was a rider from Guam.

Other competing squads in the juniors level came from New Zealand, India, Mongolia, Hong Kong, host Macau and China.

Meanwhile, the decent finish of the Cebuano was duplicated by another rider Renan Alquisola, son of Barili Mayor Bobby Alquisola, which landed fifth in the peewee class.

Alquisola’s teammates occupied the second to fourth places with Guam winning the title.

Glenn Aguilar, the country’s top rider, was third in the elite class.

Ian Reyes, another Cebuano rider who was with the Adlawan’s also tried his luck competing against Aguilar and the rest of the pros, but failed to finish due to mechanical trouble.

[SeeMacau]

Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah has consulted business and community leaders on issues to be prioritized in his annual policy address, governmental sources said here Thursday.

Ho, poised to assume a second-term in office in December, is expected to deliver his policy address in the Legislative Council in the middle of this month.

According to the Information Bureau of the SAR government, during the closed-door meetings with dozens of business and community leaders, Ho focused on problems of traffic congestion, human resources and rebuilding of old districts, saying a rapidly developing economy brings consequences that require gradual steps to ameliorate.

Leong Vai Tac, president of the Macao Center of Development Strategy, who was among the brainpower summoned for consultation, said Ho's second administration would use its relatively abundant fiscal resources to upgrade social infrastructure.

Many experts and scholars hold that the SAR government would join the forces with local communities and private sectors in solving the priority problems.

Macao's economy has been sustaining a two-year-long double-digit growth. The heating economy has boosted the real estate atmosphere and consumption confidence. Nearly all sectors are craving for more recruitment in the city of 27.3 square kilometers. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- All Macao ID cardholders are required to have their old cards replaced with electronic cards starting on Nov. 29.

All of 484,800 Macao ID cardholders are expected to have their old cards switched with new ones by the year 2007, according to the Identification Department of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government.

Friday's Macao Post reported that existing ID cards bearing numbers starting with "7" are the first subjected to be changed, which are to be followed by the numbers of "5", and then "1", and so on.

The Identification Department expected to process 350 applications daily. The number will gradually increase to 800 daily by the first half of next year.

Currently, 162,100 Macao citizens have obtained the "smart" ID cards, who can enjoy the convenience of traveling to Hong Kong without applying for travel documents.

The facilitated travel formality for "smart" ID cardholders, which was taken in place in October has encouraged the enthusiasm for applying for the new ID cards. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

WASHINGTON (US): Registration for the 2006 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery opened Friday, and will continue through noon of January, 2005.

For DV-2006, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because they sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years:

Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible, says a State Department announcement.

[SeeMacau]

LOURES, Portugal, November 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Hovione's active pharmaceutical ingredients plant in Macau underwent a pre-approval inspection by FDA; this was triggered by a filing by a US customer. The inspection, carried out by Ms. Karen Moksnes, Compliance Officer at the US FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and by Ms. Susan Ting, Chemist at the US FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), lasted 3 days, and resulted in a Form 483 with two minor points. Mr. Luis Gomes, General Manager of the plant, said "The inspection was concluded one day early, and by the closing meeting the two points had been satisfactorily addressed".

Hovione plants have been the object of 13 FDA inspections, with 5 at the Macau site since it started to operate in 1986. This inspection reflected the "Risk-Based Management Plan" described in its Pharmaceutical Quality for the 21st Century: The emphasis is on the design and operation of the quality system and on the competence and understanding of the operators and analysts. The thoroughness of the inspection and its ability to make an assessment of the maturity of "GMP mindedness" is far greater. The obvious objective is to be able to determine the plants', and the plant management's, "credibility and reliability" rating that is used in FDA's Risk-Based calculations.

The Macau plant has today a total workforce of 133 professionals and produces both Hovione catalogue generic products and commercial APIs manufactured under exclusivity and has been increasingly used by Hovione customers to produce on an exclusive basis clinical trial quantities of compounds for Phase I and II testing. The facility is responsible for one third of Hovione's total production, and exports to the most demanding markets such as the USA, EU, and Australia.

Hovione is a world-class company dedicated to the process development and compliant manufacture of APIs and eAPIs for the Pharmaceutical Industry. With a 40-year track record of quality standard and advanced particle design technologies, such as micronization, jet milling and spray drying, Hovione offers APIs for all drug delivery systems, from oral to injectable and from inhalation to topical applications. With FDA inspected plants in Europe and the Far East and a Technology Transfer Centre in New Jersey, no manufacturing partner is better positioned to support your API development from gram scale to commercialization. Hovione's capabilities include process chemistry, worldwide regulatory affairs, kilo to multi-ton manufacture of complex multi-step chemistry of APIs under FDA and ICH cGMP quality standards. Hovione has process capabilities in the areas of particle design and inhalation drug delivery.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Four law firms from Macao, Portugal as well as Shanghai and Guangdong Province from China's mainland clinched a mutual partnership agreement here on Monday.

The cooperation initiated by the C and C Advogados (CCADVOG) based in Macao served as Macao's first case of bridging cooperation between China's mainland and Portuguese-speaking countries in the legal service sector by making use of its preferential trade status with the mainland.

The partners also include Portugal's largest law firm PLMJ, theShanghai-based AllBright Law Offices and the Guangdong Sunny Law Office.

Lawyer Cui Feng from the Sunny Law Office said that Macao law firms are familiar with the European-style legal systems in Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish. Their long-time business experience in the South China region have also earned them an advantage in playing as an intermediate bridging China's legal cooperation with foreign countries.

Cui said that his company has received legal consultations fromsuch Chinese firms as air-conditioner provider Gree, which plan toset up overseas plants in Portuguese-speaking countries. The partnership agreement signed here would help attract more customers for his company.

Rui Jose da Cunha, founder and partner of CCADVOG, said that Macao's law system derives from the Latin law system. The Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) has created ahuge space for Macao's law firms to offer their expertise in facilitating China's trade with Portuguese-speaking countries.

Cunha said that compared with their Hong Kong counterparts, most Macao's law firms are smaller in scale and business scope, but they have their different targeted customer markets and legal specialties. With Macao's economic integration with other members in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Region, law firms must catch up with the development trend. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, (Xinhuanet) -- China United Telecommunications (China Unicom), the second-largest mobile operator in China, has obtained a seeming priority status in the bidding for CDMA license to be issued by the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government.

Unicom was among five companies that have submitted bids to operate Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) service in Macao.

According to the bidders, the government's bidding regulation for CDMA service gave a preferential status to outside companies rather than to local firms. Unicom was the only "outsider" in the bidding while the other four bidders are all locally-based companies, including Macao's leading telecommunications provider CTM as well as SmarTone and Kong Seng Paging Co. Ltd.

Tou Veng Keong, coordinator of the Telecommunications Office under the Information Technology Department of the Macao SAR government, said that all the five companies are qualified. The government will make the final decision and announce the winner byMarch 14, 2005.

Zhao Le, executive director and vice president of China Unicom,said his company boasts the largest CDMA network in the world and is the main service provider for Chinese mainland CDMA users who travel to Macao. The company is able to offer Macao citizens CDMA rambling and value-added services when they travel to China's mainland.

Referring to the government's preferential terms in the bidding, Zhao said that the government's considerations are reasonable, which gave an equal bidding status to outside bids.

The Macao SAR government plans to select a CDMA service provider launching the operation in time for the opening of the Fourth East Asian Games, which will be the first comprehensive sports games hosted by Macao in October next year.

With a small land coverage of 27.3 square kilometers, Macao SARhas a large population of 454,000. It hosted over 11 million visitors last year. The booming trend in the gaming-oriented tourism is expected to drive up the number of visitors to a new high of 15 million this year, according to industry insiders. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Health Services has begun to take communicable disease control measures against Norovirus and Dengue fever after confirming several infection cases.

At least seven children between the ages of three months and one year enrolled in the St. Joao Day Care Center have fallen ill with vomiting and diarrhea over the past week. Four of the children have been diagnosed positive of Norovirus, which is highly communicable and can be dangerous.

Thursday's Macao Post reported that none of the sick children has become ill enough to require hospitalization.

As soon as the health authorities found the first symptoms on Nov. 5, the day care center was told to suspend operation, and parents of the children instructed to keep at home. The center was requested to thoroughly disinfect.

Meanwhile, a woman aged 51 was found to contract Dengue fever this month, which was the second of such cases confirmed this yearin Macao. The first Dengue fever case was found in September.

The health authorities have ordered mosquito abatement measures in an area of 200 square meters of the hospitalized woman's home.

The Health Services predicted in April that the Dengue fever would probably re-emerge this year, as it has a pattern of breaking out every three to four years.

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government launched an anti-dengue fever campaign from April to mid-June waging a publicity drive to help citizens better understand self-prevention measures against the disease, while disinfecting empty houses, dirty corners and trash. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

A strong international buying contingent at the opening select session of the New Zealand Bloodstock Ltd.’s Ready to Run two-year-olds in training sale at Karaka on Tuesday helped the sale post gains over the 2003 results.
Although fewer horses were sold—127 this year compared with 141 in 2003—gross rose to $5,379,585, (7,700,500 New Zealand dollars compared with 6,400,000 New Zealand dollars last year).

"There was a lot of activity by buyers from Macau and Korea in particular, which we are extremely happy with," said Petrea Vela, New Zealand Bloodstock marketing and public relations manager. "These buyers have dipped into the market previously but have come back a lot stronger this year, mostly as a result of their recent successes with New Zealand-breds, which is encouraging for the future growth of these markets. It was also good to see a lot of activity from Australian, Singapore, and Hong Kong buyers, without necessarily having a huge number of these present in person."

A bay colt by Cape Cross (Ire) who is a full brother to New Zealand stakes winner Florilegium was purchased by Paul Beamish Bloodstock for $188,623 to top the session. Produced by the unraced Danehill mare Gardenia, the colt is from the family of Group 1 winner A Little Kiss (NZ) and was consigned by Phoenix Park.

Anzac Lodge consigned the second highest-priced juvenile, a bay colt by Redoute’s Choice that is the first foal out of stakes-placed Foxtrot, by Rory’s Jester. Rogerson Bloodstock bought the colt for $174,651.

Tommy Cheung, a leading trainer in Macau, led all buyers by gross after spending $298,652, with his six purchases including a colt by Stravinsky out of the group stakes-winning Zabeel mare Crimson for $97,804.

Chang Sig Kim of United Bloodstock attended the sale with a group from Korea and ranked as second-leading buyer. He purchased seven horses for $287,125.

The sale will continue on Wednesday with a general session, to which 143 horses have been cataloged.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has undergone prominent changes since the handover in 1999, said Macao's Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah on Tuesday.

Ho reviewed the SAR government's work in the fiscal year of 2004 in his Policy Address delivered at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Ho said that in the fifth year of his administration, all positive elements in the economy and social development have yielded initial effects. In the year 2004, the government's policy priority has been given to consolidating and expanding these positive factors.

Ho said that the practices of the "one country, two systems" principle in Macao has entered a new era this year, in which the election for the second chief executive was held.

In this year, the government has pragmatically carried out the administrative reform including streamlining the operation, building the infrastructure of the e-government, simplifying administrative formalities and improving the transparency of the government's work, said Ho.

He stated that Macao's pillar industries of gaming and tourism have grown by leaps and bounds, and have been further fueled by the mainland' s implementation of facilitated individual travel measures on Macao-bound tours over the past year.

He added that the government has set up special task-forces to rationalize the economic structure. As part of the efforts, the Zhuhai-Macao Cross-Border Industrial Park was set up this year, and the government launched three financial assistance projects inencouraging the development of small and medium-sized firms.

"The Macao SAR government's endeavor in optimizing the economic environment has been recognized internationally. The Macao SAR has been listed as one of the freest economy for trade and investment in the World Trade Organization's evaluation," saidthe chief executive.

During this year, Macao has substantially enhanced its cooperation with neighboring regions. The Macao SAR government hasbeen actively promoting the set-up of the cooperation framework inthe Pan-Pearl River Delta region, said Ho.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government would give the policy priority to upgrading the quality of life in the next five years, said Macao'schief executive in his Policy Address on Tuesday.

In his Policy Address for the fiscal year of 2005 delivered at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Executive Edmund Ho HauWah pinned down "upgrading the quality of life" as the government's basic work target for the next five years.

The chief executive, who won the election for a second five-year term in August, also announced a tax reduction package worth 300 million patacas (37.5 million US dollars) in the fiscal year of 2005.

He said that the government planned to cut the income tax by 25percent, and eliminate sales tax as well as tourist tax and sign-board tax of the catering business.

"Although the economic growth has gathered speed, Macao's economic structure is unitary. The overall living quality of Macaoresidents is still low," said the chief executive.

In order to upgrade the overall living quality of Macao citizens, the SAR government would appropriate heavily on urban planning and construction, said Ho, adding that the government would take consideration of the preservation of historical heritage and natural environment in the city's face-lift program.

The government would increase the financial assistance to address urban poverty and the care of the elderly, said Ho, whose second five-year term will begin on Dec. 20.

He said that as Macao faced a rosy picture in the economic growth, the SAR government should remain a somber mind in preparing for potential unstable factors and sustain the economic growth momentum.

He stressed that the government would introduce successful international practices in regulating and monitoring the gaming sector. More resources would be allocated to curb and solve problems that may emerge along with the development of the gaming sector.

[SeeMacau]

Customs authorities say they have cracked a major case of automobile smuggling. After two years investigation, the customs in the southern province of Guangdong broke the first case.

The authorities will bring charges against 14 suspects for smuggling about 560 vehicles, most of which luxury cars. The smuggled goods are worth about are 28 million US dollars.

Different from the usual way of via ships, it's the first time that the suspects use the plates of both Guangdong and Macao on similar vehicles.

[SeeMacau]

Starting from Jan. 1, residents of Hong Kong and Macau may apply for tourist visas to Taiwan over the Internet, the Bureau of Immigration announced last week.

The online application program is part of the government's overall plan to promote tourism in Taiwan and follows on the Hong Kong government's initiation of an online visa application program for Taiwanese tourists in 2002.

Residents of Hong Kong and Macau who are eligible to apply for visas over the Bureau's official Web site are those who have been to Taiwan, or those who have not been to Taiwan but who were born in Hong Kong and Macau.

The application flow is as follows: an applicant completes the application form on the Bureau's Web site, found at www.immigration.gov.tw, and receives an approval or rejection in approximately eight seconds. Each approved application is given an application reference code, which the applicant takes to the Chung Hwa Travel Service office in Hong Kong.

A successful applicant must also present a passport and the HK$55 application fee at the office in order to pick up a visa.

Each visa issued is valid for three months, starting the day of issuance, and allows the visa holder to travel in and out of Taiwan twice, with a maximum stay of 14 days for each visit.

The Chung Hwa Travel Service is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 9am to 12pm. The travel service also has an office in Hong Kong International Airport which is open daily from 9am to 5:30pm.

Residents in Macau may pick up their visas at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Macau; the center is open from 9am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Applicants who have received online visa application approvals but are not able to pick up their visas personally during business hours may apply for a temporary entry permit upon arrival at Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport or at Kaohsiung International Airport.

Each permit is valid for 14 days and costs NT$200; the permit is only valid for one entry.

[SeeMacau]

The Portugal, Guangdong, Macao Economic Cooperation Forum 2005 was held here on Monday, convening over 600 officials and business people from Portugal and China's Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

The forum, jointly organized by the Trade and Economic Promotion Institute of Portugal, the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province and the Trade and Investment Promotion Institute of Macao, was a new venue for promoting exchanges between Portuguese and Chinese enterprises through the platform of Macao.

Some 320 business people from Portugal and China's Guangdong Province and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SAR) engaged in 278 talks in the business-matching session during the forum. The interested areas mainly covered the beverage, food,textile, chemical, tourist, high-tech, telecommunications, machinery and manufacturing industries.

Secretary of Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR government Francis Tam Pak Yuen said that Macao and Guangdong held a joint trade fair in Portugal in October last year. The forum held in Macao this time could be considered a continuity of that fair.

Alvaro Barreto, Portugal's economic affairs minister, said that the signing of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic PartnershipArrangement in 2003 and Macao's membership status in the Pan-PearlRiver Delta Region have reinforced Macao's position as a trade platform for promoting China's foreign trade with Portugal and facilitating Portuguese investment to go into China's mainland.

[SeeMacau]

Wong Hon Keong, a member of the Basic Law Committee of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), died of illness at the age of 73 in the Kiang Wu Hospital here on Thursday.

Wong was also the chief advisor to the Research Center of the University of Macao and director of the Macao Academy of Social Sciences.

Wong became a member of the Drafting Committee for the Macao Basic Law in May 1998. He was re-appointed as a member of the Basic Law Committee of the Macao SAR at the 13th meeting of the 10th NPC Standing Committee on Dec. 29, 2004. He was specialized in the research of education, mass communication and culture. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

A week-long trade and investment fair between Macao and east China's Zhejiang Province was unveiled here Thursday, highlighting the latter's opportunities and resources to local investors and folks.

Seven agreements were signed on the first day of the Macao-Zhejiang Week 2005, four of which were investment projects involving a contractual investment worth 300 million US dollars.

In a speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the Macao-Zhejiang Week, Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah said that the implementation of theMainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the mainland's facilitated individual travel scheme on Macao-boundtour have contributed to intensify the cooperation between Zhejiang and Macao.

Ho hoped the week-long activities would further enhance the bilateral ties. "Macao is willing to back up Zhejiang's development strategy by opening more channels for small and medium-sized enterprises in the province to explore overseas market," said the chief executive.

Xi Jinping, secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said that Macao offers a big market for Zhejiang investment, especially in the tertiary sector.Macao's close relationship with Portuguese-speaking countries could also help Zhejiang businessmen to tap overseas market.

Official figures showed that trade volume between Macao and Zhejiang amounted to 33 million US dollars in 2004 with an annual increase of 58 percent over the previous year. By the end of November 2004, 236 Macao companies invested in Zhejiang, contributing 424 million US dollars in contractual investment.

[SeeMacau]

As visitor arrivals to China's Macao Special Administrative Region topped 16.67 million last year, the tourism industry brought great profits and huge challenges to the city famed for its lucrative gaming industry.

Macao, to host the 2005 PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Annual Conference in April, is enjoying rising international reputation as a popular tourist city. As a result, it cannot allow the gaming industry to damage its image. Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, director of the Macao Government Tourist Office, told a news conference last week that Macao should develop various tourism products - such as health and beauty tours, sports and convention tours and ecology tours - to attract the widest variety of tourists.

Macao is looking forward to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's confirmation of its application to have "Historical Monuments of Macao," which consist of 12 architectural sites, included on the World Heritage list.

The tourism and gaming industries are two of Macao's economic pillars. The SAR government reaped 14 billion patacas (US$1.75 billion) in gaming tax last year.

The government liberalized the gaming sector in 2002.

Antunes said a favourable tourism environment and high standards of service are crucial if Macao is going to build its image as a quality destination.

To develop Macao into a tourism, gaming, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and leisure hub, a series of tourism and entertainment facilities have either begun operating or will be completed soon.

Macao last year hosted 16.67 million visitor arrivals, up 40 per cent over 2003.

Of last year's visitors, 9.5 million people were from the Chinese mainland. That was up 66 per cent over the previous year.

Antunes said he expects the number of visitors from the Chinese mainland will continue to rise.

Macao's present tourism facilities can barely accommodate the rising number of tourists. Currently, the city has 43 hotels and 33 guesthouses. They have a combined 10,502 rooms.

An additional 16,750 rooms will be opened within the next seven years, Antunes said.

Some travellers from the Chinese mainland have complained that Macao's tourism industry has not been regulated very well.

He Haiyan, a Beijing resident who travelled to Macao in 2003 for her honeymoon, said a local tour guide took her and other tourists to a shop with fake perfumes, watches and digital cameras.

"They cost less than items in duty-free shops in Hong Kong. The tour guide said Macao was also duty-free, and that its rental and employee costs were only one-fourth of those in Hong Kong. We believed that and bought a lot. After we returned to Beijing, we were told the goods were fake," He said.

"We filed a complaint with our travel agency, but so far no one has responded to it."

[SeeMacau]

The increase was led by a 37.6 percent jump in broadband subscribers to 42.8 million, according to a report from the Xinhua news agency, citing the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

Hong Kong has 3.3 million Internet users and Macao 201,000, or about 51 percent and 46 percent of their populations, respectively, according to the report.

[SeeMacau]

Batelco has lately signed a new bi-lateral Commercial Roaming Agreement with Macau's telecommunications provider, Smartone Mobile Communications Ltd, enabling Batelco Mobile users to make and receive calls while traveling in one of the gems of the Far East.

Smartone operates a GSM 900/1800 service with a handset display of SmarTone. Batelco's mobile customers will be automatically connected to the Macau-based service upon arrival in the city.

The service, which went live last month, forms part of Batelco's commitment to ensuring that its mobile customers are among the most 'connected' around the globe. Batelco Mobile users can now make and receive calls, text message and use a raft of additional services in 105 countries through agreements with 253 other mobile operators.

'We are delighted to provide our customers with this addition to our comprehensive roaming service,' says Hamza Ali, Senior Manager –Mobile Services. 'Whether they are in Macau for business or holidays, Batelco Mobile users can now stay in contact with loved ones and colleagues with ease and convenience via their own mobile phone.'

[SeeMacau]

An emergency water diversion scheme from Guizhou to Guangdong Province has successfully eased the drinking water salinity to a normal level in Macao, the city's fresh water supplier announced on Friday.

Relying on fresh water supply from the Pearl River in south China, Macao had suffered from a salt tide from the beginning of this year. Water salinity rose to the highest level at 420 ppm on Jan. 29, said the Macao Water.

The Tianshengqiao Reservoir in southwestern Guizhou Province onthe Xijiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River, began to discharge water downstream on Jan. 17 to suppress the water salinity, which became serious due to two years of drought disaster.

The company said that the water transfer will continue in the next week. Macao will have time to draw and store up as much freshwater as it can. The salinity of Macao's fresh water will remain within a normal guideline till the end of February.

Currently the water salinity in Macao has dropped to 190 ppm, and will continue to dip to 170 ppm next Monday so as to ensure the fresh water quality during the Chinese New Year, which will fall on next Wednesday, according to the company.

Drought in the Pearl River valley, mostly in Guangdong Provinceon south China's coast, has been worsening since last autumn. As aresult, sea water began to flow backwards into the Pearl River andmany cities along the river are running short of fresh water.

It is feared that the worst salt tide in two decades will occurin the Pearl River valley in the spring of 2005, which will endanger water supply to more than 15 million people in the economically developed Pearl River Delta, and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

[SeeMacau]

Over 130,000 visitors from the Chinese mainland are expected to flush in Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the mainland's facilitated individual travel scheme (FIT) on Macao-bound tours during the Chinese New Year, said a senior tourist official here Monday.

The Macao SAR government would make an all-out endeavor to deal with the large passenger flow during the mainland's "Golden Week Travel" in the week-long Chinese New Year holiday, said Manuel Pires, deputy director of the Macao Tourist Office in a joint press conference held by the Tourist Office, the Health Service, the Customs and the Public Security Police Bureau.

According to official statistics, since the FIT scheme was launched on July 28, 2003, over 450 million tourists were benefited and made tours to Macao by the end of Jan. 31 this year.

The Tourist Office announced to activate a notification mechanism with its counterpart in Guangdong Province during the holiday reporting the number of tourist arrivals to Macao as well as hotel room rate and price on a daily basis, which is expected to help control the passenger flow.

The small gaming city with a mere land coverage of less than 30square kilometers is under a heavy pressure from handling vacation travelers during China's three long holidays, namely the Chinese New Year in February, the Labors' Day in May and the National Day in October. With a population of 450,000, it host over 16 million tourist arrivals last year with nearly half of them from China's mainland.

The concerned departments vowed to stay on high alert on the disease-control and security measures at customs during the travel spree. The police headquarters and the customs authorities have asked all staff to remain on post during the holiday in order to ensure a swift passenger flow and social security.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) recorded 9,786 crime cases in the year 2004, a decrease of 1.4 percent from the previous year.

Macao Secretary for Security Cheong Kuok Va said at a press conference on Monday that most types of the crimes in the region went down, except for cases of false money and drug trafficking, which showed a significant increase in numbers.

He said that Macao's growing number of individual travelers from the mainland had had "no serious impact" on the city's public security situation.

He pointed out that only seven in every 100,000 individual visitors had violated laws during their stay in Macao last year, when Macao logged 3.5 million individual travelers from China's mainland.

The top security official said Macao's police forces would reinforce combat against theft, which would attaint Macao's tourist image. The department would continue to strengthen cross-border cooperation with their counterparts in neighboring Guangdong Province and Hong Kong to fight against illegal immigration, drug trafficking and employment of illegally imported labors.

The crime rate in Macao has sustained a downturn since it returned to the motherland in 1999. Prior to that, gangland violence used to infringe the city's gaming industry, which blackened Macao's international image in the 1990s. Crimes involving in the use of gang violence has basically eradicated here in recent years with the strong support of the Chinese central government.

[SeeMacau]

http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/newspic/whatson/11077648070s.jpg

To celebrate the Year of the Rooster, Macau Government Tourist Office will stage a 10-minutes fireworks display on February 8 (Tuesday) at 11:59 pm. The fireworks will be discharged from a barge 500 meters from the waterfront of Macau Tower by a firework company from Mainland who took part in the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest.

Members of the public can view the spectacular display from the vantage points near the Sai Van Lake and the waterfront of Taipa. MGTO hopes that the visitors and local residents can enjoy the traditional festive season in Macau.

[SeeMacau]

9/2/2005 9:18

Chief Executive of China's Macau Special Administrative Region Edmund Ho Hau Wah on Tuesday delivered a Lunar New Year address hoping that Macau's economy could make sustainable development in the coming year.
Delivering the message on the eve of Lunar New Year, Ho said that based on the robust growth achieved last year, Macau is expecting a more vigorous economic growth in the coming year. He wished Macau people to seize the chance and improve themselves both materially and spiritually.
He said that Macau should enhance its comprehensive might and create long-term prosperity.

[SeeMacau]

Red fire ants, whose sting can sometimes prove fatal to humans, have appeared in this special administrative region of China, reports Xinhua.

The ants, which have a nasty sting that can cause painful, itchy blisters and nausea, were found near construction sites in two of Macau's offshore islands, Taipa, and a reclaimed strip between Taipa and Coloane islands.

The Macau civil and municipal affairs bureau Friday sought help from experts in China's southern Guangdong province, where the insects were found in January.

As no ant mounds were found at the construction sites, experts estimated that the ants had recently arrived and were small in number. The municipal affairs bureau said the ants could have come along with the building material.

Local hospitals, meanwhile, said no cases of ant bite had been reported so far.

Taiwan reported its first death from red fire ants last October. In January this year, the ants were found in some areas in Guangdong province as well as in Hong Kong.

Under the alerts from its neighbouring regions, Macau has reinforced inspection to prevent possible spread of red fire ants, and intensified plant quarantine at customs.

[SeeMacau]

(CCTV)
Updated: 2005-02-19 09:53

From March 1st, residents in the municipalities of Tianjin and Chongqing will be able to apply for individual travel to Hong Kong and Macao.

People in these two cities will only be required to provide resident cards and identification cards when applying for passports to Hong Kong and Macao. The process is much simpler than before, when people had to submit materials to prove the purpose of their trips.

Currently, people living in those regions that haven't yet launched the new policy can only arrange their trips through travel agencies.

Since July 2003, many regions of China have launched the policy, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and some cities in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.

[SeeMacau]

24/2/2005 15:35

Macau's education authorities have observed a sharp fall in the number of students in high schools, and held an increasing number of casinos to blame for the serious dropout phenomenon.
According to the latest figures from the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, there were 95,485 students enrolled in Macau's 89 schools offering compulsory education in the new semester, which indicated a loss of 2,777 students over the corresponding period of last year.
Sou Chio Fai, director of the bureau was quoted by Thursday's Macau Daily acknowledging high school dropout problem was the primary cause to the decrease in addition to the dwindling number of birth rate.
The bureau estimated that some hundreds high school students left school to pursue jobs in casinos last year, when four casinos came on stream offering thousands of job opportunities.
Teachers in Macau held that it was a foreseeable result that the students were wooed by "fast-earning" money in casinos, since the government has designated the gaming industry as the city's economic backbone. However, they advised the students to take a more prudent thought, because it would more difficult to obtain an on-the-job training or advanced education after students walk into society than studying in school.
Currently, 56,008 students in school are enjoying compulsory education free of charges, which cost 425 million patacas (US$53 million) of the Macau Special Administrative Region ( SAR)government's budget last year.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, March 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The number of tourists traveling Macao in groups reached 186,445 in January, up 17.4 percent from the same period of last year.

According to the statistics released by the Macao Statistics and Census Bureau on Monday, 147,469 of the total visitors were from the Chinese mainland, up 12.5 percent from the corresponding period of last year.

Meanwhile, the number of group tourists from China's Taiwan surged by 41.6 percent year-on-year to 15,046 in January.

The bureau's statistics also showed that the number of hotel rooms reached 9,630 accommodating a total of 302,431 guests in January. The averaged hotel room occupancy rate stood at 67 percent, while that in three-star tourist hotels averaged 74 percent during the period.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, March 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The averaged salary in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is on the rise due to a new round of economic take-up.

According to the latest statistics from the Macao Statistics and Census Bureau, the wholesale and retail sectors employed 18,080 people in the fourth quarter of last year, 14 percent more than that of the same period of the previous year, and the salary averaged 5,972 patacas (747 US dollars) per month, up 6.4 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, staff in the aviation and transportation industries were among the high-paid employees. The salary averaged 20,673 patacas (2,584 US dollars) and 9,820 patacas (1,228 US dollars), respectively, during the period.

The SAR's economic growth gathered speed in 2004, marking an unprecedented yearly increase of 25 percent. In addition to the city's economic mainstay of gaming and tourism industries, the transportation, construction, logistics and the tertiary sectors are craving for more hands offering thousands of job vacancies, according to the bureau.

[SeeMacau]

Bronze sculpture of the Wallace Fountain has already become a familiar scene here in Macao, as the second fountain was erected in the city on Tuesday.

The sculpture offering running water with a quality up to par of the European driving water standard has become a fancy tourist attraction, since Macao was the second city in Asia after Tokyo to have the fountain. The first Wallace Fountain was built in the downtown area of the Macao Peninsula in July last year, while the second one settled its foot on the Taipa Island of Macao this time.

The fountain has its origin in Europe. Upon the inauguration, a stream of water flowing continuously from the center of the dome of the Renaissance-style sculpture, which have four "Goddesses" representing "Simplicity, Temperance, Charity and Goodness" supporting the roof of the fountain.

Philippe Wind, executive director of the Macao Water Supply Co.Ltd. said at the inauguration ceremony that the fountain can quench the thirst of tourists and passers-by for free, while allowing them to have the pleasure of enjoying its unique design and the glamour of the surroundings on the offshore island.

The inauguration of the fountain coincided with the World WaterDay on Tuesday. Attending the inauguration ceremony, Ao Man Long, secretary for transport and public works stamped the postmark of the commemorative covers of the World Water Day, which started issuance on Tuesday.

[SeeMacau]

The three-month long Moments of Eternity: Timepieces--Collection from the Palace Museum, attracting a total of more than 70,000 viewers, drew its conclusion on Mar. 20 in Macao SAR. Jointly sponsored by Macao Museum of Art, Beijing National Palace Museum and other relevant institutions, the exhibition displayed 120 pieces (sets) of timepiece collections or other cultural relics related to timepieces provided by Beijing National Palace Museum. It is the first time that Beijing National Palace Museum has lent so many collections for an exhibition.

This time, all the collections of timepieces on display are exquisitely made, which can be praised as superb craftsmanship excelling nature. They are the essence of the intelligence and painstaking efforts of domestic and foreign craftsmen. Additionally, all these collections are of high historic, scientific and artistic value. They reflect the European tradition and custom, aesthetic conceptions as well as the influence of the introduction of western timepieces upon Chinese clock-making technology in Qing Dynasty, and demonstrate the achievements of combination of early western civilization with Chinese national wisdom.

Since it opened on Dec. 17 last year, the exhibition has been warmly welcome by the Macao residents. Particularly, many overseas tourists came all the way to Macao to feast their eyes with the collections.

[SeeMacau]

1/4/2005 15:14

An international conference on Chinese medicine was opened Friday in China's Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), where some 100 experts gathered for academic exchanges on evidence-based Chinese medicine.

The conference was sponsored by the International Society for Chinese Medicine (ISCM) and co-organized by over 20 ISCM member colleges of medicine from China's mainland, Hong Kong and Macau as well as those from America and Europe.

The three-day conference will focus on discussions on evidence- based Chinese medicine for cardiovascular, liver, lifestyle- related diseases as well as pains. Experts will deliver keynote speeches on enhancing evidence of evidence-based Chinese medicine, medical therapy for congestive heart failure, cancer prevention and diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases.

Chief Executive of the Macau SAR Edmund Ho Hau Wah said at the inauguration ceremony, that Chinese medicine is undergoing a standardization process. Combined with modern technology, the century-old traditional culture has yielded new development, which has been well acknowledged by the international community.

He said that Chinese medicine has been developed in Macau through generations. Macau is keen on establishing itself as a platform for building the industry of Chinese medicine by boosting research and production.

ISCM is a non-governmental organization registered in Macau. Its members include such prestigious universities as Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, University of Hong Kong, University of Cambridge and University of British Columbia.

[SeeMacau]

30/3/2005 14:58

The 15th Chinese International Symposium for Clinical Nutrition is going to take place in China's Macau Special Administrative Region on April 4-7, organizers said here Wednesday.
The annual symposium, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Health, the Chinese Medical Association and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, has developed into one of the most significant academic communication conferences in the field of clinical nutrition in China, and acquired a wide respect and support around the world.
This year's session, the first ever held outside of China's mainland, will invite top-notch experts to deliver lectures on their researches of special diets in clinical nutrition and nutrition in premature newborn.
Clinical nutrition refers to the various ways and means providing necessary nutrition to a patient's body with the aim of preventing or correcting malnutrition in the patient. A patient's body, when well supplied with nutrition, is able to better withstand pain and trauma and convalesce quicker.
The conference will be co-organized by the Macau Medical and Health Federation, the Macau Polytechnic Institute and the Hospital Center Conde S Januario.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, April 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The total number of visitor arrivals to China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) increased by 40 percent year-on-year to a historical high record of 16.67 million in 2004.

Figures released by the Statistics and Census Service on Friday showed that visitors came mainly from China's mainland and Hong Kong, which corresponded to 57 percent and 30 percent of the total arrivals.

There were 3.5 million mainland visitors traveling to Macao under China's facilitated individual travel scheme on Macao-bound tours. Meanwhile, the number of visitors came in group tours leaped to 2.5 million, up 64 percent over 2003.

The majority of the visitors came in Macao via the SAR's land checkpoints, which made up 57 percent of the total, and those arrived by sea or by air accounted for 22 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

The bureau's statistics also showed that the number of Macao's outbound travels in package tours went up 35 percent over 2003 to 211,966 in 2004. Meanwhile, 286,471 Macao residents traveled under their own arrangements with the assistance of travel agencies, representing an increase of 37 percent over 2003.

Compared with 2003, the number of overnight guests increased by30 percent to 3.9 million. The average occupancy rate of hotels inthe city was 75.6 percent in 2004, a jump of 11.3 percentage points from the previous year. The average length of stay of overnight guests was 1.22 nights, down 0.04 night.

Meanwhile, the per-capita spending of visitors in 2004 was 1,633 patacas (204 US dollars), up 8 percent over 2003. Travel spending of mainland visitors topped the list with 2,991 patacas (374 US dollars) per-capita.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao's population has reached 465,333, according to the latest survey by the Macao Statistics and Census Bureau.

The bureau's statistics released on Tuesday showed that the population retained an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent in 2004. Residents aged between 15 and 64 accounted for 74.8 percent of thetotal population.

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has gradually entered a fast period of population growth as the economy is getting warmer. There were 3,308 new births last year, up 3 percent from the previous year. The city also logged 1,737 marriage registrations in 2004, representing an increase of 32.7 percent over the previous year.

Meanwhile, the SAR approved 7,279 residency permits, and received 6,885 emigrants from China's mainland in the year 2004. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Tuesday banned all forms of exports of ammunition or any related military logistics via Macao to Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia.

In a government gazette endorsed by Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Macao banned export, re-export and entrepot trade of ammunition and related military logistics including machinery maintenance equipment to Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia.

According to the gazette, any aids, consultation or training activities concerning Cote d'Ivoire shall be banned here from now to Dec. 15 this year. Meanwhile, Macao forbids any import of diamond mined in Liberia, which will be in place till June 22, and the ban on import of log and timber products from Liberia remains valid till Dec. 22.

[SeeMacau]

A new investment residence law came into effect in Macao on Monday setting the threshold of investment residence permits at the price of 500,000 patacas (62,500 US dollars).

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has amended the residence permits to meet the current situation on the property market, according to Francis Tam Pak Yuen, secretary for economic and finance.

Under the new law, applicants for property investment residence permits need to invest at least one million patacas (125,000 US dollars) in the local real estate market. A qualified applicant should have a guaranteed seven-year deposit of at least 500,000 patacas (62,500 US dollars) in a local bank, and hold a bachelor or a similar degree.

The law is generally expected conducive to attract educated people mainly from China's mainland to the SAR, while at the same time lift the investment permit price to prevent the local real estate market from overheating.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is on high alert of dengue fever, which is very likely to break out this summer.

The Macao Health Bureau on Tuesday warned citizens that the disease would probably re-emerge this year, as dengue fever usually breaks out every three to four years.

The bureau said in a public circular that it will mobilize a large crowd of volunteer workers to aid the preventive activities of dengue fever from April 6 to June 25.

This year's anti-dengue fever campaign will take the forms of exhibitions, shows and games from April to mid-June to help citizens better understand self-prevention measures against dengue fever.

Volunteer workers will start issuing questionnaire papers to make citizens aware of the deadly disease, and help the government's work in insect abatement and update the information on the prevention of the disease among the folks.

[SeeMacau]

A Macau cargo ship capsized Tuesday evening at the estuary of south China's Pearl River, leaving six people missing as of Wednesday night.
The source with the Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Communications said the 500-ton ship, with seven on board, came across with fresh gales and capsized five nautical miles northwest of Guishan Island at 7:49 p.m.
The rescue bureau immediately organized a rescue operation and saved one crew member at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The provincial maritime rescue center has mobilized many ships in search of the six missing. The rescue operation is still going on.

[SeeMacau]

The 54th Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Conference officially opened this morning with H.E. Mr. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region, welcoming 1,176 delegates from 44 countries to Macau.

"We foresee a strong and solid growth in the tourism industry as well as the vast opportunities to be provided," said Mr Ho. "We also have no illusions on the challenges ahead of us." He added: "As you are fully aware, many of these challenges are not unique but rather universal, shared by many our partners in this region. We value our participation in PATA and we firmly believe that we all will become stronger and better through our closer partnership and cooperation."

Mr Ho's speech was preceded by messages from Macau SAR Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Dr Chui Sai On, 2004/2005 PATA Chairman Mr Ram Kohli and PATA President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong.

Dr Chui said: "Throughout its membership of PATA, Macau has maintained a close relationship with the Association. And today, it carries special and important implications to Macau as the host, for the first time, of the PATA Annual Conference."

He added: "PATA has always been active in the enhancement of growth, value and quality of travel and tourism for its members within the Asia Pacific region. Four PATA Task Force reports on Macau were written over the past 25 years, giving us constructive ideas as well as visions, in the development of the tourism industry."

Mr Kohli praised Macau's determination to expand its destination image to encompass its rich and unique culture and heritage and thanked Mr Ho, Dr Chui, Mr Antunes and the Macau Host Committee, a collaboration of private- and public-sector tourism stakeholders in Macau, for making the Conference possible.

During the PATA Presidential Address, Mr de Jong asked delegates to stand for one minute of silence in remembrance of the more than 170,000 people killed and some 100,000 people still missing and feared dead as a result of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami.

Mr de Jong said: "Two years ago, as we recognised the external threats to our industry, we expanded PATA's strategic agenda to include a strong focus on advocacy and reputation management. It was the right call. Sadder but wiser from our recent years' experience dealing with the Bali bombing, with SARS, with Avian Flu, and our successful Phoenix recovery campaign, PATA is now, more than ever, ready to respond rapidly to crises that threaten our region."

Mr de Jong went on to outline the Association's rapid and authoritative response to the December 26 quake and tsunami tragedy. He said: "Our response to the tsunami, when viewed in total, is part and parcel of PATA's transformation into an agile, knowledge-based and advocacy-embracing travel trade association."

Following a colourful Macanese cultural performance, International Air Transport Association Director General and CEO Mr Giovanni Bisignani delivered the opening keynote address on the Conference theme "Connecting Tourism's Stakeholders".

"Globally, tourism is responsible for 5% of GDP. In PATA countries, tourism directly accounts for up to 50% of GDP," said Mr Bisignani. "If one link in the value chain is weak or broken, everybody suffers. This has been the lesson of Asia Pacific's recent crises." He added: "Everyone in this room has felt their impact. In a global world of instant news, coordinated action is critical."

Toward the end of the opening session, PATA recognised leading travel industry individuals and organisations with assorted awards, including the "Father of the Boeing 747" Mr Joseph F Sutter, who was inducted into the PATA Gallery of Legends. In addition, Mr Joao Manuel Costa Antunes and Mr Bo W Long both received PATA Life Membership honours for their contributions to PATA's work over many years.

Two 2005 PATA Grand Award winners -- the best of the 2005 PATA Gold Awards programme -- also received their awards: the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for its Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project and Banyan Tree Holdings for its Banyan Tree Spa Bintan.

Last night (April 17), the Macau Host Committee, comprising representatives of the SAR's public- and private-sector tourism stakeholders, hosted a spectacular reception at the Taipa Houses-Museum.

For the next three days, Conference delegates will hear from experts on strategic travel industry topics, such as changes in the aviation sector's competitive environment; poverty alleviation through tourism; the industry's sustainability; the relationship between tourism and the arts; and China (PRC)'s rise as a tourism destination and source market.

[SeeMacau]

It is a curious irony that the first newspaper in China was a Portuguese -language weekly. Founded on September 12, 1822 in Macau by Paulino da Silva Barbosa, the Abelha da China, or China Bee, survived only one year but left behind a profound legacy.

Today, the enclave's 460,000 residents are served by eight Chinese and three Portuguese daily newspapers, five Chinese and one Portuguese weeklies, an English daily and dozens of magazine titles; all this on top of a raft of publications imported from Hong Kong and the mainland. Each morning, street -side newsstands are piled high with up to 20 different daily papers.

On the face of it, the media market would appear to be booming in line with the general economic headiness in Macau. In fact, the opposite is true.

Most local publications barely break even and often struggle to pay salaries, the local television and radio station has run at a loss for more than a decade and the advertising market remains seriously depressed. Apple Daily Group advertising director Mark Simon, whose paper ferries about 7,000 copies a day to the territory, said flatly: "Macau is boring. It's a small market for everybody and ad rates just don't pay much."

Indeed, homegrown press probably would have succumbed long ago to the influx of Hong Kong and mainland competitors if not for the very unique dynamics of the market: the single largest investor in Macau's media industry is the local government. Nearly every media organisation in Macau receives an annual subsidy of up to 780,000 patacas ($ 790,530), distributed by the Macau Government Information Bureau, known by its Portuguese acronym GCS.

Moreover, the government shows no signs of giving the market a freer hand in the sector - as it did in recent years with gaming and telecommunications. In February, Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah announced plans to increase press subsidies by the end of the year. Last month, the government took over Macau's only terrestrial television and radio broadcaster, Teledifusao de Macau (TDM), by formally acquiring the 49.5 per cent that it did not already hold.

"Macau is a tiny place and there is a lot of media spillover from Hong Kong," said GCS director Victor Chan Chi-ping. The subsidies to media organisations were a kind of "public service", he said, "Because they cannot survive commercially on their own ."

Jose Rocha Dinis knows this first hand. The 58-year-old director of the Portuguese-language daily Jornal Tribuna de Macau (JTM) has lived here for 24 years, prior to which he worked as a journalist in Lisbon. As he sat in his office next to Senado Square, smoking brown cigarillos and chatting over a cup of espresso, Mr Dinis said the subsidies "are a way to protect the local industry, otherwise we would be completely eaten by Hong Kong".

Mr Dinis' paper, a 24-page tabloid with a circulation of about 1,000, employs six staff journalists and receives an annual subsidy of 594,000 patacas. JTM also relies heavily on court announcements, which by law must be published in both Chinese and Portuguese newspapers, as well as advertisements from various government departments. "Macau is like a three-legged table," he said. "The Portuguese community is a short leg, but without it the table falls. The government understands this."

In many ways, the local government's acquisition of broadcaster TDM marked the end of an experiment in privatisation. Hong Kong television had dominated Macau's airwaves ever since Television Broadcasts started broadcasting in the late 1960s. TDM was set up by the Portuguese administration in 1984 to provide local content, with a Portuguese and Cantonese channel on both radio and television, and it ran at a loss from day one. In 1989, in an effort to turn it around, the government brought in private investors but retained a 50.5 per cent stake.

At that time, Macau had no laws against tobacco advertising. The new management floated a plan to sell ads to cigarette companies and beam the station's signal over to Hong Kong, ostensibly bringing in a windfall of new revenue. The move, of course, was blocked by Hong Kong authorities, and resulted in a "complete disaster", said current TDM chief executive Manuel Goncalves.

Later changes to the structure of the private shareholdings failed to produce positive results, despite involvement from casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun and future Chief Executive Edmund Ho. The private investors returned their 49.5 per cent share to TDM in 2002 and the company was forced to rely on the government to cover nearly all operating costs. TDM last year lost 60 million patacas.

"We don't call it a loss anymore," said Mr Goncalves, now that the government was the sole backer. "It's necessary funding for public service. The market will never allow a profitable station in Macau."

That verdict appears to apply to print media, too. The pro-Beijing Chinese -language Macao Daily News, with upwards of 30,000 copies per day, is the largest newspaper by far. It receives a direct annual subsidy of 780,000 patacas from the local administration and the lion's share of legal and government announcements. It supplements that with a good number of sauna advertisements, among others. But staff and production costs at the Daily News are proportionately high and among Macau's papers, their situation is "the roughest", according to Mr Chan.

"The biggest papers face the heaviest pressure. They all need subsidies to survive."

There are limits to the subsidies, however. Publications need to be dailies or weeklies and to have been in business for five years before they can qualify. Portuguese daily Hoje Macau was launched in September 2001 and is eagerly awaiting the financial support. "It's been hard to pay salaries because we don't receive subsidies," said director Joao Costeira Varela. Still, Hoje makes ends meet through court announcements and limited ad sales to private companies. In addition, subscriptions at 10 patacas per paper from government departments account for about 200 copies of its 1,000 circulation.

Also unqualified are publications in languages other than Chinese and Portuguese. But that cuts off a nascent, and possibly the only, growth market in Macau's print media landscape: English-language publications.

Increasingly, locals are turning to English as a second language and an influx of gaming industry expats has further broadened the audience. Last autumn, the English-language Macau Post Daily was launched and is doing well, despite a strong reliance on newswire content.

Macau Business, a glossy monthly distributed mainly to hotels but also in Hong Kong, was established in May last year and has been growing steadily since. Its executive director, Paulo Azevedo, was formerly a journalist with TDM and another Portuguese daily, Ponto Final. "The Portuguese language in Asia is like Latin, like we're 16th century Dominican priests or something," he said. "It's nice to maintain this image of Macau but commercially speaking it's a nightmare. There is no growth there."

Mr Azevedo says his magazine has been breaking even since it launched and advertising profits are reinvested to fund expansion. Still, it is hard to make ends meet and he could use some assistance from the government coffers. "You can't give to some and not others."

If a welfare mentality is sprouting among Macau's media organisations, nobody seems concerned by it, least of all the recipients of the administration's largesse. To be sure, the government can afford to prop up the sector for the foreseeable future, armed as it is with a war chest of gaming tax revenues. But perhaps some industry fundamentals have not really changed since the China Bee first went to press in the early 1800s.

Indeed, the irony of that enterprising publication was not that it printed in Portuguese. Rather, it was that the paper's founder, Barbosa, was the territory's governor. You can guess how it was funded.

[SeeMacau]

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)'s Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) today released 'Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007' at the 54th PATA Annual Conference in Macau.

This new series of forecasts for 40 countries across the Asia Pacific region predicts overall growth in international visitor arrivals of 10.6% per year to 2007. Every destination covered in the PATA region is predicted to post positive annual growth to 2007, ranging from 4.0% (Pakistan) to 20.9% (Malaysia).

There are numerous factors influencing the forecasts: the recovery following the tsunami, the emergence of low-cost airlines, the rapidly rising middle-classes across Asia, and significant advances in avionics leading to new generation aircraft that will change how we move around the world.

"Combined, these factors look set to dramatically increase intra-regional travel flows," said PATA Director-SIC Mr John Koldowski. "Whatever the changes we expect, and those we don't, the travel industry needs an anchor, a meticulously researched set of predictions on which to plan future strategies."

The 'Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007' are produced by the eminent scholars Professor Lindsay Turner and Professor Stephen Witt.

[SeeMacau]

The Macau Judiciary Police arrested eight suspected barrack sharps, who were alleged to cheat at a local casino.
Friday's Macau Daily News said that the eight suspects all from China's mainland belong to a gang of fraudulent gambling. They had cheated 1.39 million patacas (US$173,750) away from a local casino in a coordinated move.
Police said that the suspects foisted discarded barrack cards in playing while heavily smoking to camouflage the trick.
Police seized gaming chips, discarded casino cards and 200,000 patacas (US$25,000) in cash in a raid at the suspects' hotel rooms on Thursday.

[SeeMacau]

A Macau cargo ship capsized Tuesday evening at the estuary of south China's Pearl River, leaving six people missing as of Wednesday night.
The source with the Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Communications said the 500-ton ship, with seven on board, came across with fresh gales and capsized five nautical miles northwest of Guishan Island at 7:49 p.m.
The rescue bureau immediately organized a rescue operation and saved one crew member at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The provincial maritime rescue center has mobilized many ships in search of the six missing. The rescue operation is still going on.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO: The total number of tourists visiting the enclave in groups in February rose year-on-year by 59.6 per cent, thanks to the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

Of the 194,322 group tourists 147,384, or 46.5 per cent more than last year, were from the mainland. The number of Taiwanese tourists was 20,743, a 150 per cent jump. Tourist groups from Hong Kong rose the least, by 8,867 or 16.4 per cent.

The Chinese New Year holidays fell in February this year rather than January as in last year. Taking the first two months as a whole to eliminate the distortion caused by the festival timing, the arrivals grew 35.7 per cent from a year earlier.

The number of Macao residents travelling overseas in groups shot up to 22,393, 2.6 times more than the same month in 2004. Their most popular destinations were the Chinese mainland, South Korea and Thailand.

As for local residents who booked with travel agencies for individual trips, the month of February saw a total of 22,431 departures, 14.8 per cent more than last year. Their favoured destinations were the mainland (40.1 per cent), Hong Kong (23.2 per cent) and Taiwan (17.6 per cent).

A total of 10,181 hotel rooms were available in February, a 10.4 per cent increase over last year, thanks to the five new hotels in the SAR.

The number of tourists using hotels grew by 8.9 per cent, to 288,249, lifting average hotel occupancy by 0.9 per cent from a year ago, to 65.4 per cent. Three-star hotels enjoyed the highest occupancy at 70.5 per cent, with the average length of stay being 1.16 nights, slightly less than the year before.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Judiciary Police arrested eight suspected barrack sharps, who were alleged to cheat at a local casino.

Friday's Macao Daily News said that the eight suspects all from China's mainland belong to a gang of fraudulent gambling. They had cheated 1.39 million patacas (173,750 US dollars) away from a local casino in a coordinated move.

Police said that the suspects foisted discarded barrack cards in playing while heavily smoking to camouflage the trick.

Police seized gaming chips, discarded casino cards and 200,000 patacas (25,000 US dollars) in cash in a raid at the suspects' hotel rooms on Thursday.

[SeeMacau]

A Macao cargo ship capsized Tuesday evening at the estuary of south China's Pearl River, leaving six people missing as of Wednesday night.

The source with the Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Communications said the 500-ton ship, with seven on board, came across with fresh gales and capsized five nautical miles northwest of Guishan Island at 7:49 p.m.

The rescue bureau immediately organized a rescue operation and saved one crew member at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.

The provincial maritime rescue center has mobilized many ships in search of the six missing. The rescue operation is still going on.

[SeeMacau]

Eva Lo Tak Wah is certainly not the first Macao entrepreneur to tap Beijing market, but as a chairperson of the Prime International Conference Exhibition (Beijing) Co. Ltd., she has become the first one from Macao to set up a solely-funded firm in the national capital.

The fanfare that greeted the company's opening on March 4, 2005,was out of proportion of its modest size. The company's inauguration ceremony was witnessed by Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), and Bai Zhijian, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR and Lu Hao, vice mayor of Beijing.

"I can see that people have clung a high hope on me, and I would not let them down," said a smiling Lo.

Compared with hundreds of exhibition and convention firms in Beijing, the Prime with an initial investment of 100,000 US dollars is far from being even noticeable. However, its existence signifies the first Macao-funded company registered in Beijing, and it targets one of the most promising industries in the national capital.

Lo's experience in Beijing started more than one year ago, when she undertook convention organization projects through a joint venture firm that she founded with a local company. Her most successful case was organizing the WTO and China: Beijing International Forum 2004. The conference drawing over 300 participants to discuss the Market Environment and Opportunities for China in the Later Stage of the Transitional Period after its Entry into WTO has helped Lo establish her reputation as a professional convention organizer in Beijing.

"It was the implementation of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Arrangement (CEPA) that has given me the confidence of making a bolder step forward to establish my own business in Beijing," said Lo.

She went to the Macao Economic Services Bureau to obtain a service provider certificate in January this year, which made her eligible to invest in the mainland.

With CEPA's preferential policies given to Macao investors to go into the mainland market, Lo has found the Beijing market more approachable. As the incumbent vice chairman of the Beijing Youth Federation, Lo has her personal reasons to favor Beijing over other cities in the mainland to set up her first firm.

[SeeMacau]

The principal of Angola's Agostinho Neto University, João Teta, is in Macau since today early morning, in the capacity of chairman of the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities (AULP).

Angop learnt today from a note from the principal's office that, the visit aims at officially inviting Macau to occupy one of the vice presidencies of AULP, as well as seeking this country's technological support for the implementation of virtual Universities of the Portuguese Speaking countries.

João Teta is being accompanied by AULP's deputy chairman, Lopes da Silva, and by its Secretary General, Alarcão Troni.

[SeeMacau]

HONG KONG, Macau welcomed 4.45 million visitors in the first quarter of 2005, up 18.8 percent from the same period a year ago, the government said on Friday.

Mainland Chinese made up 55.8 per cent of the total number of arrivals between January and March, up 13.5 percent from the first quarter of 2004.

Macau, the only place in gambling-mad China where casinos are legal, logged 1.53 million visitors in March alone, a 17.3 percent increase over the year-ago period.

Macau government officials expect the number of visitor arrivals in 2005 to reach 20 million, against last year's 16.6 million.

Macau's gaming and betting businesses comprising casinos, greyhound and horse races and a string of lotteries generated a gross revenue of 42.3 billion patacas (US$5.28 billion) in 2004.

Government economists estimate that the gaming and tourism industry generated about half of the territory's gross domestic product last year, which grew 28 percent year-on-year in real terms from 2003.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- China's mainland has issued 5.46 million individual travel passes to the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) by the end of February, a senior Chinese official said here on Monday.

Wang Liaoping, director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce said that the economic and trade relations between China's mainland and Macao are in the best time in history.

The Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement in effect since the beginning of 2004 has ensured facilitated cooperation in finance, tourism and professional qualification attestation, said Wang at the Seminar of "the Strategic Development and Opportunities of the Economic Integration among Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao," which opened here on Monday.

The mainland and Macao have facilitated bilateral trade and investment policies with the trade volume between the two sides jumping 24.7 percent to reach 1.8 billion US dollars in 2004. The two sides will realize free cargo trade before 2006, said Wang.

By the end of March, the Macao Economic Bureau has issued 113 certificates of product origin, which help save 518,000 patacas (64,750 US dollars) of tariff on Macao's export to the mainland. The bureau also issued 199 service provider certificates allowing Macao investors to invest in cargo surrogating, transportation, warehouse, telecoms and retailing business in China's mainland.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Historical Architecture Clump has been qualified for the final contest for the world heritage award at UNESCO's meeting in July, disclosed a culture official here on Sunday.

Macao's bid has passed an expert appraisal to enter a shortlist of 30 projects worldwide for the final round competition at the meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, Stephen Chan Chak Seng, chief of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Macao Cultural Bureau told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Macao's bid under the name of Macao Historical Architecture Clump has been designated as China's only nomination to apply for the World Heritage selection of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005. It embraces 12 priceless cultural heritage sites, including China's oldest church, Christian cemetery, lighthouse and western theater.

The 29th meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee is set for July 10 to 16 in South Africa, which will announce this year's winners to be inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Macao preserves China's largest clump of urban historical properties with a 400-year history of mixing the eastern and western cultures. With the support from the Chinese government, the Macao Special Administrative Region officially launched the procedures for the world heritage bidding in July 2002, said Chan.

He added that the relics, most are still in use, have witnessed the earliest pervasion of western religious culture in the oriental continent as well as its ensuing co-existence with the local culture.

As a tourist mecca hosting over 16 million visitor arrivals last year, Macao has brought all of its 128 cultural sites under preservation and an overall face-lift to embrace the patronage of international tourists as well the world heritage bidding.

[SeeMacau]

Five members of a committee overseeing electoral affairs of the Legislative Assembly (LA) of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) swore in Tuesday.

President of the committee Fong Man Chong and four members, namely Lao Si Io, Jose Chu, Lau Ioc Ip and Ho Wai Heng, swore in front of Macao's Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah and other government officials.

The committee members are from the court, the Municipal AffairsBureau, Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, the Finance Services Bureau and the Information Bureau, respectively.

Fong said that compared with the LA election four years ago, the election of the third LA set for Sept. 25 will see more registered voters. The total number of voters are expected to reach 180,000 when the voter registration stops on May 28.

According to the Basic Law, in the third LA election, 12 legislators will be directly elected through the general ballot, 10 legislators are to be indirectly elected by corporate societies and another seven members will be nominated by the chief executive

[SeeMacau]

The Chinese Cultural Exchange Association was set up in Macao on Saturday to promote cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Xu Jialu, Deputy Director of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Wang Zaixi and Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah were among those attending the inauguration ceremony of the association.

Daniel Tse Chi Wai, president of the association said that the main objective of this association is to function as a cultural bridge between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan by promoting educational, scientific, technological and artistic exchanges.

Xu Jialu said that the association was set up at the right time, in the right place and by the right people. He hoped it could be a platform creating new chances for cross-strait exchanges.

[SeeMacau]

Mariana Kou puts receiving an education high on her list of things to accomplish and she says getting her education in the United States is the most important thing she could do for herself. “ I’m originally from Macau which is a small city right next to Hong Kong and I decided to come to the United States because I believe that the U.S. has more resources for [getting] an education and that would give me more learning opportunities to get the best out of my undergraduate education,” she says. “I think education is actually very very important because you utilize your background for your career development and skills, but I think that it actually helps you and teaches you how to live your life like what you should do and it helps you to think about what you want to achieve in your life and how do you want to interact with people,” she says. [and] “Overall, what is just correct to do and like what is the right thing to do and it helps you to formulate your goals and your personal life.”

Mariana is a senior attending Notre Dame University. She tells us a little bit about her major. “I’m now a finance major and I am in the Mendoza College of Business. I am very interested in the major and I took a lot of different classes in finance and I have learned the different aspects of the financial markets,” she says. “With my degree, I want to get an analyst position and just start my career in the financial industry,” she adds. “ In the long term I think I will spend maybe ten years in the financial industry and afterwards I may start my own business, but I am not quite sure yet.”

Mariana says being involved in campus activities has been a good thing for her, but she really appreciates the university resourcefulness in helping international students adapt to living in the U-S. “I’m actually in some of the cultural clubs and I am the co-person of the Asia International Society and I think the university has done a very good job to apply the resources to help international students adapt to U.S. life, like providing all the information about how to get a social security number and how to get a job on campus to get use to the U.S. life and meet more people,” she says. “Also I think the university has done a really good job to help people to get a sense of community on campus and to build religious groups. They have a department on campus called ‘campus ministry’ and they organize a lot of retreats to help people get together.”

When it comes to cultural differences, Mariana says the lifestyles aren't that different from her hometown, but she believes that Americans are more of a diverse group and very accepting of people from other countries. “I think one of the big differences that I feel that Americans are more use to different cultures I would say and that they have more experiences to all kinds of different people,” she says. “Even the American companies they have different people from different cultures, different kinds of people from different races and it seems to me that Americans are more of a diverse group,” she adds. [and] “Actually I feel more comfortable coming to the U.S. because it is a diverse group of people and all the people aren’t from one race so I feel that it is very easy to adapt to a U.S. life and it is okay to be an international student and Americans welcome us and we can learn a lot of things from you. As for similarities I think the lifestyle is not that different from my hometown. We have all kinds of facilities and it seems that the life is pretty much the same. I don’t feel that it is very different as far as everyday life.”

After graduation, Mariana will stay in the United States where a job awaits here in New York. Mariana Kou is one of more than 500-thousand international students currently enrolled in U-S colleges and universities.

[SeeMacau]

The leading Margaux property, Château Palmer, is for the first time conducting a recorking of one of its old vintages away from the Château.

The recorking of 500 bottles of the renowned 1961 vintage, will take place some 8,000 miles away from Bordeaux, in Macau, on the south coast of China. The Lisboa Casino in Macau has one of the world's largest private stocks of the vintage, which they bought in 1997. Château Palmer decided the corks needed replacing, but as such a large number of bottles would be difficult to send back to the Château, it was decided to do the recorking in Macau.

The recorking will take the same form as that used by Australian producer Penfolds in their well-known Recorking Clinics, when bottles of Grange and other of their top wines are checked over, tested for condition, and topped up with similar wine. The recorked Penfolds wines are then given a certificate of authenticity which is signed by the winemaker and stuck on the back of the bottle.

While the Penfolds Clinic will only top up low level bottles with wine from the current vintage, Palmer will be topping up the 1961 bottles with wine from the same vintage.

1961 is widely regarded as a top Bordeaux vintage. Wine writer and auction expert Michael Broadbent describes it as "one of the greatest post-war vintages to date, and one of the best of the twentieth century." He adds: "The top 1961s became the gold dust of the wine world". Despite being a great year, it was a low yielding vintage, and the production of 1961 Château Palmer only amounted to 35,000 bottles. This is barely 30% of a normal vintage.

[SeeMacau]

Six immigration auto-gates, also known as e-channels, are now in operation at Macau Ferry Terminal to provide smooth and efficient traveller clearance.

Hong Kong permanent residents, aged 11 or above, holding smart identity cards can use the e-channels in the departure hall. They run from 10am to 6pm daily.

The Immigration Department said it will review the operating situation with a view to extending the opening hours.

If a person's thumb or finger is too dry or too moist, the scanner's ability to read the print will be affected, so a wet or dry tissue should be used to wipe it.

[SeeMacau]

After the rollout of the automated passenger clearance auto-gates (e-channels) at Lo Wu control point, Hong Kong permanent residents (aged 11 or above) holding smart identity cards may also use the six e-channels in the departure hall of Macao Ferry Terminal control point to perform self-service departure clearance from Thursday.

An Immigration Department spokesman said the six e-channels were now open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The department will review the operating situation with a view to extend the opening hours of the e-channels.

People were reminded that if their thumbs were too dry or too moist, the scanner's ability to read the thumbprint would be affected. To avoid delay, the user can use a traditional counter for clearance.

[SeeMacau]

The number of new companies setting up to catch the economic boom in Macao is increasing sharply with a total of 713 companies newly incorporated in the first quarter of 2005.

Information released by the Macao Statistics and Census Service on Tuesday showed that the number of newly incorporated companies and their registered capital increased 51.7 percent and 29.5 percent, respectively, over the first quarter of 2004. New companies reported 108.28 million patacas (13.5 million US dollars) in registered capital.

These newly incorporated companies are mostly in wholesale and retail sector, followed by real estate, construction and business services.

Among the stockholders of the new companies, 60.8 percent are Macao residents. The capital of the companies mostly came from Macao, followed by Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. Guangdong Province topped the list of capital coming from the provinces within the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region in South China.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macau Special Administrative Region recorded 4.45 million visitor arrivals in the first quarter, an increase of 18.8 percent from the same period of 2004, according to official statistics on Friday.
Figures from the Macau Statistics and Census Service (MSCS) showed that the region, which registers 465,000 residents, hugged in 596,860 package tourists in the quarter, a 9.8 percent year-on- year increase.
Chinese mainlanders made up some 75 percent of the package-tour arrivals in March, according to the statistics.
Macau's 74 hotels and boarding houses accommodated 909,768 guests in the first quarter, almost flat on the same period of 2004, according to the MSCS figures.
The statistics showed that hotel guests accounted for 40.4 percent of the total number of tourists in the quarter.
Famed for its gaming industry and a mixture of western and eastern cultures, Macau has long been a charming destination for world travelers.

[SeeMacau]

18/5/2005 15:47

China's Macau Special Administrative Region predicts a 20-million tourist stream this year, local media reported on Wednesday.
The Macau Post quoted Joao Antunes, director of Macau Government Tourist Office, as saying that the number of tourist arrivals is hopefully to range from 19 million to 20 million.
The official told the newspaper that tightening of restriction by China's central government on gaming involvement of governmental employees will not cause huge damage to Macau's tourism.
Gaming is not the only selling point of Macau's tourism, Antunes said, adding that historic and scenery spots in Macau are also attractive to visitors.
He said that in the first quarter the region recorded 4.45 million visitor arrivals, a strong indicator for a powerful tourism booming this year.
Concerned authorities in Macau have been in a hard bid to promote tourism and to make policy adjustment to hug in more tourists, said the official.
Famed for its gaming industry and a mixture of western and eastern cultures, Macau has long been a charming destination for world travelers.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao agent of a Taiwan-made energy drink branded "Bullwild" has announced a total recall of the goods due to poison scare, local media reported Thursday.

The Macau Post quoted sources from Bullwild's Macao company as saying that there are 2,640 bottles of the beverage on sale or in stock and the recall will be completed within one day.

Bullwild's Taiwan company launched an emergency recall of the beverage earlier this week after four people were reportedly poisoned by the product on the island.

Police suspect that someone laced the drink with cyanide before placing it on store shelves, Taiwan media reported.

[SeeMacau]

China`s Macao Special Administrative Region recorded 4.45 million visitor arrivals in the first quarter, an increase of 18.8 percent from the same period of 2004 , according to official statistics on Friday.

Figures from the Macao Statistics and Census Service (MSCS) showed that the region, which registers 465,000 residents, hugged in 596,860 package tourists in the quarter, a 9.8 percent year-on-year increase.

Chinese mainlanders made up some 75 percent of the package-tour arrivals in March, according to the statistics.

Macao`s 74 hotels and boarding houses accommodated 909,768 guests in the first quarter, almost flat on the same period of 2004, according to the MSCS figures. The statistics showed that hotel guests accounted for 40.4 percent of the total number of tourists in the quarter.

Famed for its gaming industry and a mixture of western and eastern cultures, Macao has long been a charming destination for world travelers.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macau Special Administrative Region is studying the feasibility of setting up a "Chinese Medicine Park," local media reported Friday.
The Macau Post quoted Yeung Tsun Man, member of Macau's Science and Technology Council, as saying that Macau is able to build a " small-scale but high-quality" Chinese medicine industrial park.
Yeung told the newspaper that 13 Chinese Medicine manufacturers are based in the region with a population of only 450,000.
Macau could serve as an international "testing center" for Chinese medicine standards, said Yeung.
A Pan-Pearl River Delta Forum and Exhibition for Chinese Medicine will be held in Macau from June 21 to 23, which will hopefully raise Macau's ambition to act as an access for traditional Chinese medicine leading to the international market, local analysts said.
With over 90 percent of its population as Chinese ancestry, Macau has a long history of using Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese treatment has enjoyed a great popularity here.

[SeeMacau]

Hong Kong and Macau prisoners can now serve out their sentences in their home city, under a new agreement between the two jurisdictions.

The Arrangement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons was signed today by Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee and his Macanese counterpart Cheong Kuoc Va.

It lets prisoners to do their time in their place of origin, allowing friends and relatives to visit them on a regular basis and helping their rehabilitation.

It adds to similar agreements Hong Kong has with the US, the UK, Sri Lanka, Italy, Thailand, the Philippines and Portugal.

[SeeMacau]

Macao will hold a forum on traditional Chinese medicine in late June this year.
The forum will discuss research and commercialization of traditional Chinese medicine as well as technology innovation and market supervision related to medicine.

Meanwhile, an exhibition will be held on production and packaging of traditional medicine.

More than three hundred experts and researchers from China, the United States, Britain and Sweden will attend the three-day forum that starts on June 21.

[SeeMacau]

Macao Special Administrative Region is to promote tourism through the help of Visa International , the world credit-card giant.

It was announced here Tuesday at a press conference that Visa has launched a promotional campaign entitled "Visa Treasure Hunt" to offer "treasures" for Visa card-holders visiting Macao till June 30.

Prudence Chan, Visa`s Country Manager for Hong Kong and Macao, told the briefing that the program "gained great support" from Macao`s Tourist Office.

Manuel Antunes, director of the Tourist Office, said Macao continues to grow in statue as a top visitor destination and Visa has made it easy for tourists to enjoy everything the city has to offer.

Visa card-holders who visit Macao and spend with their cards could get "Scratch Win Card" to gain prizes including mobile phones, hotel and dining vouchers, said Chan, the Visa manager.

The Visa customers could also get exclusive merchant offers as discounts and free gifts, she added.

Visa`s overseas card-holders spent 2.4 billion paracas (300 million US dollars) in Macao in 2004, a 33-percent year-on-year growth, Chan said.

[SeeMacau]

China's Ministry of Commerce said it has decided to remove export duties on textile products that are produced on the mainland under outward processing arrangements (OPA) but tagged as Macau-originated goods.

The commerce ministry did not say what the current export duties are on Macau textile OPA exports in the brief statement on its website.

A similar decision was made yesterday for Hong Kong textile products produced on the China mainland.

[SeeMacau]

MACAU and HONG KONG, May 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Gammon Building
Construction (Macau) Limited and its Macau Partner, Mei Cheong Construction
Co. Ltd., today held a ceremony to mark the commencement of work on the
Venetian Macao hotel tower, the first superstructure development on the Cotai Strip.

Valued at HK$2.6 billion, this Venetian Macao hotel tower is Gammon's
largest ever building contract. "Venetian Macao not only marks the beginning
of another chapter in Gammon's development in Macau, building on our
involvement in the Macau Tower foundation works in 1998, but also the
beginning of our relationship with the Client, Las Vegas Sands Corp," says
Martin Hadaway, Chief Executive of Gammon.

Gammon along with parties involved signed an Occupational Safety & Health
Charter at the ceremony. This Charter aims to demonstrate a mutual commitment to safe working practices on the project through close co-operation and dedication.

Gammon will implement its OHSAS 18001 Health and Safety system procedures to help ensure the delivery of high standards of safety on this project.

The project covers a total gross floor area of approximately 350,000
square meters and includes a 32-storey tower that will provide about 3,000
hotel suites, and a six-level podium. The hotel is part of the Venetian Macao
casino resort hotel complex.

A workforce of nearly 2,500 will be engaged at the peak construction
period.

[SeeMacau]

An education reform conference is slated to be held at the University of Macau May 28-29, with scholars and senior professors in education from Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China expected to take part. The annual conference, first held in 1996, is being co-sponsored by the colleges of education of the University of Macau and Taiwan's Tamkang University. Seven education reformers and scholars from the four areas are scheduled to deliver keynote speeches at the conference. Taiwan's education reform commentator professor Huang Kuang-kuo and professor Huang Jung-tsun, a former minister of education who has been involved in governmental work to implement education policy, will be among the seven speech givers, according to the conference organizers. In addition to the speeches, research papers from more than 150 scholars from 60 colleges, universities and education institutes in the four areas will be released at the conference.

[SeeMacau]

Seventeen suspects have been apprehended in Macao allegedly involved in the pre-election fraud, an anti-corruption commission press release said here on Thursday.

The press release, issued by the Commission Against Corruption(CCAC), said the suspected, "illegally holding the certificates ofconstituencies," have been transferred to the Public Prosecution.

The case was the first of its kind in the run-up to the legislative elections scheduled for Sept. 25.

The CCAC urged the Macao citizens to report "any election crime" to the authorities, said the press release, adding that a hot-line for the purpose has been opened.

[SeeMacau]

An illegal bookmaking group was cracked by the police in China's Macao Special Administrative Region, local media reported Tuesday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the six detained suspects allegedly had a monthly betting turnover of 140 million HK dollars (17.7 million US dollars) and a monthly net profit of over one million HK dollars (120,000 US dollars).

The bookmaking ring had been operating in Macao since 2003 and processing bets on the Italian league soccer matches, according tothe newspaper.

Most of the clients were from Southeast Asian countries, the report said, adding that the illegal bookmakers had set up their Internet website to attract punters.

The Macao police had been tracing the gang, membering four HongKong residents and two Macao citizens, for three months and had been imposing undercover surveillance on it for weeks, said the report.

[SeeMacau]

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Friday announced the opening of 100,000 employment opportunities in Hong Kong Disneyland and 200 job openings in Macau.

POEA administrator Rosalinda D. Baldoz said most of the job openings for Hong Kong Disneyland are for professional ballet dancers and singers that will play Disney characters at theme park's shows.

"Interested applicants can apply on-line at the theme park's web site at www.hongkongdisneyland.com. I believe they do their recruitment via teleconferencing," Baldoz said.

She added that HP Disneyland has yet to accredit a local agency to provide workers for the theme park.

She said Macau is also looking for 200 skilled workers to fill various job vacancies including gaming supervisory positions, security guards, hotel workers, medical workers, pharmacists and university instructors.

She added that a full listing of available overseas job openings is available on the POEA web site (www.poea.gov.ph).

She said a local agency, Ad International with telephone number 813-3000, handles all the recruitment for Macau.

[SeeMacau]

Macao's daily demand for tap water may reach a record of 200,000 cubic meters later this year, local media reported Monday.

The Macau Post quoted Oscar Chu Wai Man, deputy general managerof the Macao Water company, as saying that the highest demand for tap water peaked at 182,229 cubic meters on July 28, 2003.

Chu told the newspaper that the rising demand for tap water in the special administrative region is due to the growing number of hotels, casinos and visitors.

The Macao Water is in negotiations with the concerned authorities in Zhuhai, a neighboring mainland city, to build a new water-supply pipeline, Chu said.

Both sides are hopefully to strike an agreement by the end of this year, he added.

The Macao Water company signed a 25-year water-supply concession agreement with the administration in 1985.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, May 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao will have a record of 210,000 registered voters in this autumn's legislative polls, local media reported Monday.

The Macau Post quoted Jose Chu, director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP), as saying that in the previous 2001 legislative elections, the number of registered voters stood at 163,659.

The special administrative region, with a population of over 460,000, will hold "direct and indirect" legislative elections on September 25, according to the newspaper.

It reported that the future legislature will have 29 members, as against the current number of 27. The number of legislators directly elected by the universal suffrage will be increased from 10 to 12.

The number of indirectly elected and officially appointed lawmakers will remain unchanged at 10 and seven, respectively, said the report.

The indirect ballot will be held by the representatives of community, business, labor and sports associations. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

Some 400 residents are killed every year in China's Macao Special Administrative Region, which has a population of over 460,000, local media reported Tuesday.

The Macau Post quoted sources from the Health Bureau as saying that lung cancer is the major cause of those cancer deaths, followed by breast cancer and colon cancer.

Stressing that cancer is Macao's number one killer, the newspaper reminded residents of the fact that around one third of cancers are preventable by quitting smoking.

Thirty-four percent of Macao's male residents and 4 percent of its female residents are smokers, according to the Health Bureau sources.

The Macau Post also urged people to stick to a healthy life style covering balanced diets and regular physical exercises.

[SeeMacau]

A senior official from Macao says the SAR government will make further efforts to promote the region's traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, in the international market.

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Chui Sai On, made the remarks at the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of a regional TCM association.

He said the SAR government will improve regulations and provide training to promote healthcare services using traditional Chinese medicine while encouranging the research, development and application of TCM.

He added traditional medicine is part of the Chinese national legacy, and the Macao SAR government will step up cooperation with the mainland in the TCM industry.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Red Cross Society has allocated 100,000 yuan, or about 12,000 US dollars, to help the disaster relief efforts in the flood-hit Hunan and Guizhou provinces.

The floods triggered by torrential rains have claimed more than seventy deaths and affected five million people in the two provinces in central and southwestern China.

The Macao Red Cross Society says it will closely follow the development of the disaster and be prepared at any time to cooperate with disaster relief work of the Red Cross Society of China.

[SeeMacau]

Macau's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) will offer free safety inspection services for 500 vehicles next month, local media reported Tuesday.
The Macau Post quoted IACM sources as saying that the move aims to encourage drivers and riders to maintain their cars and motorbikes in "optimum conditions" all year long.
The free check-up, in conjunction with the University of Macau and Macau Institute of Engineers, will be launched on July 23 to 24 for 200 light vehicles, 100 heavy vehicles and 200 motorcycles, according to the newspaper.
It added that the IACM opened a hotline and a website for residents to get needed information.
Macau, a region with a population of around 460,000, is expected to have 150,000 vehicles next year, said the newspaper report.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have apprehended two drug smuggling suspects, local media reported Tuesday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that on a tip-off, the police have busted the two traffickers, one 37-year-oldMacao female citizen and one Hong Kong male resident at the same age.

The duo allegedly sold illegal drugs to clients in the northern district of the Macao Peninsula, said the newspaper report.

It added that a quantity of drugs have been seized from the female suspect's flat.

[SeeMacau]

Macau, June 13 (CNA) A shipment of fresh, mature Taiwan pineapples was delivered to Macau Monday in a record-breaking 13 hours, trade sources reported. It took only 13 hours to allow fresh and tasty pineapples to be put on a Taiwan Agricultural Products Exposition table in Macau around 9 a.m. Monday after farmers in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan began to pick and pack the fruit around 8 p.m. Sunday upon receiving a telephone order from the Macau expo authorities, said Wu Wen-hsiung, vice president of the Taipei-based China Times Evening News, one of the private organizations co-sponsoring the expo. According to the Taiwan Agricultural Products Expo authorities in Macau, the Taiwan pineapples on display were all sold out on the first day of the expo Sunday. They placed another order with the Chiayi pineapple farmers around 4 p.m. the same day in the hope that a new shipment could make it when the expo reopened the next day at 9 a.m. The Chiayi farmers did not fail them -- they began to pick and pack the pineapples around 8 p.m. Sunday and delivered the cartons at 4 a.m. Sunday, enabling the shipment to reach the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport at 7 a.m. the same morning. The transportation companies as well as the Macau customs authorities have also been cooperative -- the pineapples were flown over the Taiwan Strait and passed Macau's customs and quarantine checks to hit the expo table in two hours, Wu said. Normal transportation of agricultural products from Taiwan to Macau takes at least 20 hours if the products are transported by air. It usually takes three to seven days if the shipments are delivered by sea, Wu added.

[SeeMacau]

China's Health Minister says mainland will set up a cooperation mechanism with Hong Kong and Macao to coordinate their responses to public health emergencies.

Gao Qiang told reporters Saturday in Hong Kong that his ministry will enhance information exchange with the two regions.

He says if there is an outbreak of infectious disease on the mainland, authorities would make every effort to contain it by providing information, and implementing control and prevention measures.

And the central government will assist Hong Kong and Macao with expertise and resources in the event of public health emergencies.

[SeeMacau]

Macao's Health Bureau on Thursday warned the public over the consumption of traditional Chinese dragon-boat rice dumplings which contains boric acid harmful to health.

A statement issued by the bureau said local businesses have been requested not to produce or sell dumplings containing the harmful substances.

The Health Bureau tested 30 dumpling samples earlier this week and 10 of them proved to contain the hazardous component, said thestatement.

Boric acid, being used as a mild antiseptic in the manufacture of certain heat-resistant products, might trigger toxic symptoms to human bodies, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Infants and children are more susceptible than adults to boric acid intoxication.

Dragon-boat rice dumplings, pronounced "Zongzi" in Mandarin and"Chung" in Cantonese, are the most popular tidbit for the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Chinese festival having an over 2,000-year history.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have arrested two male suspects for alleged credit-card fraud, local media reported Thursday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the duo, holding Hong Kong passports, used three fake cards going on a shopping spree in Macao earlier this week.

The pair, both at the age of 21, spent 18,000 Hong Kong dollars(2,250 US dollars) on gold necklaces and expensive jeans in two hours, according to the newspaper.

The two, reportedly having criminal records in Hong Kong, were apprehended after a shop cashier alerted police about their "suspicious behavior."

Further investigations are underway.

[SeeMacau]

A Taiwanese agricultural products exhibition was launched Thursday at the Macao Forum, a local convention center.

Over 200 sets of farm products, 100 adornments and souvenirs were on display at the Taiwan Agricultural Products Expo, covering flowers, fruits, vegetables, rice, flour and tea.

Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of Macao Special Administrative Region, and Bai Zhijian, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macao, attended the opening ceremony.

Hundreds of professionals, scholars and business people from China's mainland, Taiwan and Macao were also present at the ceremony.

The expo will last till Sunday.

[SeeMacau]

The legislature of China's Macau Special Administrative Region has passed the government's net profit tax bill, local media reported Thursday.
The Macau Post reported that a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly gave a nod to the general outline of the bill, which will lower the maximum net profit tax rate from 15 to 12 percent.
The newspaper quoted Francis Tam Pak Yuen, secretary for economy and finance, as saying that the tax cut will bring about " a string of positive effects" to Macau's business community.
It will hopefully help reduce tax payers' burden, create incentives for enterprises and improve Macau's investment environment, according to the official.
He stressed that Macau's small-and-medium-sized enterprises will benefit most from the tax cut.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macao Special Administrative Region saw a 2.5 percent decrease in April in the number of visitor arrivals in package tours over the same period of last year, according to official statistics issued on Thursday.

The figures from the Statistics and Census Service showed that in April 2005, visitor arrivals in package tours totaled 231,739.

The number of visitors from the Chinese mainland dropped 14.1 percent year-on-year at 180,995, from Taiwan surged 136.3 percent to 28,722 and from Hong Kong decreased 4.4 percent to 6,378.

Meanwhile, the number of Macao residents traveling in package tours totaled 19,372 in April 2005, a year-on-year increase of 49.7 percent.

[SeeMacau]

http://chinastic.chinabroadcast.cn/chinastic/..%5Cimages%5C9325.jpg

A new system allowing Hong Kong and Macao residents with home return permits to pass through customs more quickly, went into trial operation Thursday at Luohu Customs, China's busiest passenger checkpoint.

Residents of the two SARs only need to show their home return permits to an automatic card reader, and have their thumbprint scanned to go in and out of the mainland. Previously they had to hand their permits to checkpoint officers and wait for approval.

The new system allows passengers to pass through customs in around six seconds, and is said to provide an alternative for passengers who feel more at ease with automatic checkers.

Six channels have opened, three for entry and three for exit.

Some Hong Kong and Macao residents who have tested the system gave it a thumb-up, saying it's fast and convenient.

Officials say if the trial proves successful, simliar systems will be installed in other checkpoints.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Red Cross Society is allocating a further 24 million Macao patacas, or 3 million US dollars for reconstruction in countries devastated by last December's tsunamis.

The money comes from a fund collected by the Macao government. It contains 40 million Macao patacas, or about 5 million US dollars, which will all be allocated over the next few months.

The Red Cross Society has already sent out more than 10 million Macao patacas to the disaster-hit areas, which has helped set up ambulance services, restore people's livelihoods and build orphanages.

[SeeMacau]

Macau's garment factories employed around 10 percent of the special administrative region's labor force in the first quarter, according to official statistics issued on Monday.
The figures from the Statistics and Census Service showed that the number of employees in the garment sector reached 24,673, surpassing 21,368, the number of those working in restaurants and hotels.
The trend, local analysts witnessed, is an indication that the garment industry has been gaining the significance in Macau, a city famed for its gaming and tourism businesses.
Macau's work force totaled 240,000 in the first quarter, when its population reached 469,800, the figures showed.

[SeeMacau]

http://images.inq7.net/news/lifestyle/images/2005/jun/20/macao9.jpg

LUTONG Macao" is a Filipino catch-phrase for a done but fishy deal. It is traced to a fatal accident in the '60s met by a Filipino car racer who had been allegedly ditched in a game in Macau. Despite the word's unsavory roots, Macau the place is intensely interesting and picturesque.

A former Portuguese colony, Macau is your dream All-Under-Heaven. Since Western merchants turned it into a trading port like Hong Kong, Macau has been home to Europeans, Latinos, Africans, Indians and, well, Filipinos. Macanese cuisine, spirituality and lifestyle offer as much international spice.

What's common with Matteo Ricci and Sun Yat Sen is that they all stayed in this strategic Chinese place. John Paul II could have graced China with a visit via this Catholic-Buddhist city, where his message of ecumenism and religious freedom would have made no bitter bite. (The Vatican and China have no diplomatic relations)

With Air Macau, the package trip includes hotel accommodation. The tour starts with lunch at Holiday Inn, where an "international buffet menu" is served. A Macanese mix of seafood and home-made desserts and pastries from different cultures are up for smorgasbord.

For a feel of God and nature, there's a side trip to Zhuhai, China's ecological city that has been given the International Award for Best Practice in Improving the Living Environment by the United Nations. The cool breeze from the South China Sea gives the perfect air for Zhuhai's famous Lover's Lane, which has an underground shopping mall.

A visit to the statue of the Lady of Pearl, Zhuhai's legendary fisher girl and pearl catcher, planted along a river, follows the day after. Next comes the walk to Bai Lian Dong Park located at the foot of a hill, where spring water from the hill forms a lake.

Drink and drive

By afternoon, a city tour back in Macau begins with a godspeed to Grand Prix Museum, where cars and motorcycles are on display.

In connection with the annual car race in Macau, on exhibit are memorabilia of the two-time Filipino Formula 3 champion, Arsenio "Dodjie" Laurel. His racing car is included in the exhibit. In a 1967 race, his car crashed against a wall, catching fire and killing Laurel instantly, thus giving birth to the expression "lutong Macao."

Visitors then get treated to a survey of exotic wines at the Wine Museum. The complex exhibits Portuguese and Macanese wine goods and viniculture equipment through the years. The museum presents more than 1,050 wine brands, the oldest being the 1815 Madeira.

The Maritime Museum, built on the spot where the Portuguese first landed, is the next stop. The building is styled like a ship and displays fishing and navigation instruments, weather monitors, and varieties of fishes and shellfish in Macao. Outside the museum are several real-size ships, including a Chinese dragon boat.

Just beside the museum stands the A-Ma Temple, where Macau natives first embraced the Portuguese traders. Macao came from the word A-Ma Gao, meaning "bay of A-Ma," the Taoist goddess of seafarers. The temple has been a popular subject for visiting artists like George Chinnery and Auguste Borget.

Holy indulgence

You've never been to Macau if you miss Leal Senado, a square snaked around by wavy mosaics of cobblestones surrounded by pastel-colored heritage buildings.

Pilgrims can check for a Mass inside the baroque St. Dominic's Church, which is often used for classical concerts. When religious orders were abolished in Portugal in 1834, the church received a great number of sacred art pieces, which it houses in a museum.

At the left of the church is a street and a grand staircase leading to St. Paul's Ruins. The surviving fa‡ade of this church, destroyed by a fire, catechizes in Chinese biblical quotes, Western imagery and Japanese chrysanthemums.

In its crypt lies the bones of Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs, who fled their motherlands and helped build the church in 1602.

Also exhibited are ivory sculptures, silver liturgical pieces, and paintings, including St. Michael the Archangel in samurai suit.

Nearby is Mount Fortress, the city's "Great Wall" that runs to 10,000 sq.m. and is equipped with cannons and ammunition supplies to survive a two-year siege!

Finally, delegates are free to spend the last day going to Hong Kong or buying mementos in Macau. A free port, Macau produces goods that are duty- and tax-free. Offered at bargain prices are Chinese antiques, glassware, porcelain and jewelry.

Meanwhile, Macau is under the "One China, Two Systems Policy" of free market and religious liberty for only 50 years. The countdown has begun. Soon enough, Macau may be cooked up for drastic changes.

[SeeMacau]

Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Cape Verde, an island nation in West Africa, have granted each other visa-free access for a stay not exceeding 90 days.

A press release issued Monday by Macao's Information Bureau said the arrangement has been effective since June 15, 2005.

There are now 65 countries and regions granting visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to the holders of Macao SAR passports, said the release.

[SeeMacau]

Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), on Friday extended his congratulations to Donald Tsang Yam-kuen on his becoming the chief executive designate of the Hong Kong SAR.

Ho, in a letter to Tsang, conveyed the congratulations on behalf of the Macao SAR government, according to a press release issued by the Government Information Bureau.

Ho said in the letter that the co-operation between Hong Kong and Macao has been increasing at a steady pace since the establishment of the special administrative regions and he anticipated the co-operation between the two SARs to develop further with joint efforts.

[SeeMacau]

Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of China's Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), expressed the hope on Monday that Macau may become a platform for Sino-Brazilian economic exchange and cooperation.
The Macau SAR government hopes to promote the friendship between Macau and Sao Paulo to a new stage through the promotion of economic and cultural exchanges, Ho told a luncheon of Macau and Brazilian businessmen.
Sao Paulo plays a significant role in Brazil's economy as well as in the rapidly developing Sino-Brazilian economic exchange, he said.
Ho invited Brazilian entrepreneurs to Macau to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between Macau and Sao Paulo in various fields.
On Monday afternoon, Ho met Claudio Lembo, deputy governor of Sao Paulo, and the two men exchanged views on cooperation between the two sides.
Ho is in Brazil for a six-day official visit to the Latin American country.
He will meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, parliament leaders and government officials during the trip.

[SeeMacau]

The three-day Pan-Pearl River Delta Forum and Exhibition for Chinese Medicine opened here Tuesday at the Macao Tower, a multi-functional convention center.

Some 400 professionals, researchers and governmental officials, mainly from China's Pan-Pearl River region, attended the opening ceremony.

While addressing the opening ceremony, Dr. Yeung Tsun Man, member of Macao's Science and Technology Council, said that the event will hopefully help build an access for traditional Chinese medicine to the international market.

It could also boost Macao's ambition to serve as an international "testing center" for Chinese medicine standards, said Yeung.

The forum with the theme, "innovation and industrialization of Chinese medicine in Pan-Pearl River Delta," will cover events as sessions on research and development of Chinese medicine and presentation of traditional medical products.

Macao has a long history of using traditional Chinese medicine

[SeeMacau]

Brasília - Today the chief executive of the Special Administrative Region of Macau, Edmund Ho, will meet with president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. Ho is a kind of governor of the Macau region, which covers some 16 square kilometers and was formerly a Portuguese colony.

Brazil is interested in strengthening its relations with Macau precisely because a part of the population there speaks Portuguese.

Ho and his entourage of politicans and businessmen will be in Brazil until June 25. They will also visit São Paulo, Manaus and Rio de Janeiro.

[SeeMacau]

Macau was on high alert of flood Friday as the Port Authority has issued an announcement requesting the public to take precautionary measures.
The Port Authority has reportedly been informed by the central government's Ministry of Water Resources that the water level of the Pearl River will reach its peak between 11 am and 1 pm local time.
The water level at near Sai Van Bridge and close to the Cross Border Industrial Park is expected to reach 4.2 meters, one meter above the normal level, the Port Authority predicted.
All schools in Macau, due to the impending warning, have been demanded by the concerned authorities to take measures to ensure the students' safety.
The public is advised to remain vigilant of further announcements and advisories through television and radio broadcasts.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Guangdong province here on Friday sealed a letter of intent on cooperation in the field of education.

Sou Chio Fai, director of the SAR's Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, and Zhang Tailing, director of Education Department of Guangdong province, signed the letter on behalf of each side.

Sou said at the signing ceremony that the cooperation will cover the training for teachers, the promotion of mandarin and the holding of a forum for heads of schools.

Zhang said the signing of the letter of intent will hopefully boost the cooperation in education for the two regions.

[SeeMacau]

Macao recorded 4,605 industrial accidents in 2004, up 12.3 percent over 2003, according to official statistics issued on Friday.

The figures from the Labor Affairs Bureau showed that some 60 percent of the accident victims were male and nearly 48 percent were aged between 25 and 44.

The hospitality and catering sector recorded 900 victims, more than any other sector, followed by the manufacturing industry which reported 749 victims, according to the statistics.

Aside from the two fatalities, nine of the victims sustained permanent incapacity, it showed.

[SeeMacau]

The three-day Pan-Pearl River Delta Forum and Exhibition for Chinese Medicine ended in Macao on Thursday at the Macao Tower, a multi-functional convention center.

Some 400 professionals, researchers and governmental officials,mainly from China's Pan-Pearl River region, participated in the event.

Among them were 48 experts who launched a theme forum on Chinese traditional medication and seven workshops.

Over 20 cooperation agreements have also been inked by representatives of companies at home and abroad.

Yeung Tsun Man, member of the Macao's Science and Technology Council, told a press conference at the conclusion of the event that the forum has cemented a platform for Chinese traditional medicine to gain access to the international market.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao authorities have seized 150 pirated CDs, The Macao Post reported Thursday.

The Post quoted sources from Macao Customs as saying that customs officers, on a tip-off, searched a shop near the Macao-Zhuhai Barrier Gate and recovered the contraband.

Two suspects, a married couple, were arrested, the newspaper said.

Macao, one of the founding members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is legally committed to fight intellectual property rights violations.

[SeeMacau]

Macao was on high alert of flood Friday as the Port Authority has issued an announcement requesting the public to take precautionary measures.

The Port Authority has reportedly been informed by the central government's Ministry of Water Resources that the water level of the Pearl River will reach its peak between 11 am and 1 pm local time.

The water level at near Sai Van Bridge and close to the Cross Border Industrial Park is expected to reach 4.2 meters, one meter above the normal level, the Port Authority predicted.

All schools in Macao, due to the impending warning, have been demanded by the concerned authorities to take measures to ensure the students' safety.

The public is advised to remain vigilant of further announcements and advisories through television and radio broadcasts.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have nabbed 10 suspected illegal laborers at a gourmet center under construction, local media reported Tuesday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that based on a complain letter, the authorities carried out the swoop.

Seven of the arrested were from the Chinese mainland and three from Hong Kong, according to the newspaper.

The employment of illegal workers is a crime that incurs hefty fines and imprisonment in case of repeat offenders, said the newspaper report, adding that illegal employed workers are customarily ordered to leave Macao.

[SeeMacau]

The number of roadside trees in Macao reached 6,591 at the end of last year, an increase of 12.4 percent on 2003, according to official statistics issued on Wednesday.

The government 2004 environmental statistics showed that green areas last year covered 5.9 square km, or 21 percent of the region' s total land area of 27.5 square km.

The level of the air quality and the quality of drinking water were officially classified as "good" last year, according to the statistics.

[SeeMacau]

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau SAR Government Dr. Chui Sai On presided at the opening ceremony of the MGTO Annual Marketing Meeting and Macau Tourism Forum held today (June 29) at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center. Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, João Manuel Costa Antunes reviewed last year’s tourism performance in Macau and outlined future marketing strategies to tourism industry participants and MGTO’s 38 representatives from 17 countries and regions at the Marketing Meeting.

Speaking at the Marketing Meeting, Secretary for Social Affairs & Culture Chui Sai On noted that with the great support from the Central Government and the clear strategies of the Macau SAR Government in the past five years, Macau has been able to achieve very encouraging economic growth and social stability. Macau has also set its objectives to develop into a tourism, gaming, MICE and leisure hub.

He acknowledged the presence of the new MGTO representatives in Los Angeles, New York and Paris, and he believed that, under the guidance of the Marketing Division at the MGTO Headquarters, the representatives from overseas would assist MGTO in carrying out the tourism policy set out by the Macau SAR Government, while at the same time, promote Macau and maintain its international profile of visitors.

He said that the further opening up of the Mainland’s tourism markets had created favorable conditions for the continuous growth of Macau’s tourism industry. Last year, the tourism industry of Macau achieved remarkable growth. Visitor arrivals exceeded 16.67 million, an increase of 40% over 2003. Among the total visitor arrivals, 9.5 million were Mainland visitors, who accounted for 57% of total visitor arrivals, a significant growth of 66%. Other source markets also performed strongly and many achieved significant growth, including Hong Kong, Taiwan China, Japan, the United States, the Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.

Chui Sai On expressed that to be an international destination, Macau has to maintain a balanced market structure and continue to explore more potential source markets. Conscious of the world trend to develop regional tourism, Macau is fostering closer cooperation within the Pearl River Delta and the Pan-PRD regions to enhance the combined competitive advantage by resource sharing and joint promotions.

In order to keep up with the growing competition and challenge, Chui stressed that it is essential and important to increase the range of Macau’s tourist attractions. In the coming few years, a number of tourism facilities and cultural attractions will be opened to the public and are expected to attract more visitors and encourage a longer stay in Macau.

“Apart from new tourism products, we must also showcase our unique tourism characteristics. The successful listing of the “Historic Monuments of Macau” on the UNESCO World Heritage List will further enhance Macau’s image as a cultural destination, and also increase the worldwide exposure of its unique mix of Chinese and Portuguese cultures,” he added.

He also pointed out that Macau is determined to develop the MICE industry and is working towards this aim by actively promoting Macau to international event organisers. The successful hosting of the 54th PATA Annual Conference and the 2005 JCI ASPAC Conference this year proved that Macau is capable of organising international conferences. The upcoming 4th East Asian Games in October will be another opportunity for Macau to express itself to the world and to uplift its profile in the international arena.

The liberalisation of the gaming industry has introduced a brand new era to the gaming and tourism industry of Macau. All these developments will bring not only great opportunities but also various challenges. Macau has to constantly upgrade and enhance its service quality in the face of a large number of visitor arrivals.

In his presentation of the tourism situation, MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes said that the Macau tourism industry has made a strong start in 2005 with arrivals of close to 7.5 million in the first 5 months, a remarkable growth of 16.4% over the same period of last year.

He noted that the importance of the East Asian region has shifted from 96.3% last year to 95.6% this year, signifying a gradual increase of visitors from source markets in other geographical regions.

Antunes said that 50% of all visitors stayed one night or longer last year, and though the share of over-night visitors dropped to 47% for the first 5 months of 2005, in real number terms, it was still 10% up compared with the same period in 2004.

He added that hotel occupancy across hotel and similar establishments in Macau was 72.2% in the first 5 months of 2005, which fell by 5.51 percentage points compared with same period of 2004. The decline was largely due to a 20.7% increase in the supply of hotel rooms, in addition to an increase of the average room rate, while visitors tend to avoid the perceived congestion of the “Golden Week” periods and public holidays.

Antunes also commented that individual visitors from Mainland also showed strong growth. Last year individual visitors accounted for 37% of total Mainland visitors. The ratio has grown to 51% in the first 5 months of this year. The “Individual Visitor Scheme” has caused a shift in visitors’ travel pattern and led to a drop in package tours, especially those from the Guangdong region.

He stressed that MGTO remains committed to achieving a balanced portfolio of visitors and will continue to expand and explore potential markets. “We are studying potential markets such as India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Macau should identify the direction our market is heading to and strive to excel in the 4 Ps, Place, Product, Price and Promotion,” Antunes explained

He continued that Macau is located at a strategic position within the Pearl River Delta. In recent years, the introduction of low cost carriers has enhanced accessibility to Macau and further facilitated the tourism of Macau. The city’s distinctive cultural heritage, together with new tourism facilities and attractions, as well as world-class themed hotels to be opened, are expected to attract more visitors and encourage a longer stay in Macau. It is necessary for Macau to build a brand of quality to ensure it is a value-for-money destination to entice quality visitors, and this will not be possible without a strong cooperation between government and private sectors in promoting the image of Macau as an enchanting destination.

MGTO also invited representatives from governmental departments, event organizers, gaming operators, airlines and theme park operators to give the latest updates on the development of their projects in the “Macau Tourism Forum”, where MGTO’s representatives around the world, travel trade and media learned more about the new developments in Macau which will enhance the promotion of the tourism industry.

[SeeMacau]

BEIJING. June 30. KAZINFORM. /Talgat Baimukhambetov/ Consul General of Kazakhstan to special administrative districts of Hong Kong and Macao Bulat Sarsenbayev considered prospects of cooperation of Kazakhstan and Macao June 29 with Macao administration chair Edmund Ho, China’s MFA commissioner Wan Yangsian and other officials.

The parties noted with satisfaction the positive trends of development of bilateral relations. In conformity with the adopted accord on cooperation in sphere of education the students will have an opportunity to participate in exchange programs. To date a set of Macao companies are taking part in Kazakhstan business-projects.

In the course of the talks with MFA’s commissioner in Macao was highlighted a strategic character of Kazakhstan-Chinese ties. The states dynamically develop bilateral and multilateral political cooperation.

Both states are the founders and active members of SCO. Realization of construction of Kazakhstan –China pipeline and TransKazakhstan railroad main are of great importance for the states.

Meetings with Macao executives were held due to the completion of the diplomatic mission of Bulat Sarsenbayev.

[SeeMacau]

The dead body of a Chinese white dolphin has been found along Macau's beach, local media reported today.
The Macau Post said the case has been reported by local residents to the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), which dispatched a veterinary team to the spot.
The preliminary probe showed that the marine mammal had sustained severe wounds to its abdomen, according to the newspaper.
The dead body was later moved to the IACM facility for further investigations.
The Chinese white dolphin is an endangered species.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have arrested a drugsmuggling suspect, allegedly carrying a quantity of various types of narcotics, local media reported Monday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the 34-year-old mainlander was captured by a street patrol near the land border linking Zhuhai, a neighboring mainland city.

Eighty-six grams of hashish and 29 Ecstasy pills have been recovered from the suspect, who assumedly paid regular visits to Macao for drug trafficking purpose, according to the newspaper.

Further investigations are underway, it added.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have apprehended 21 suspected illegal workers at a garment plant, local media reported Tuesday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the police conducted the raid on a tip-off at the plant, where a number of illegal workers had been caught last year.

Twenty of the suspects were women from the Chinese mainland aged 20 to 43, said the newspaper report, adding that most of them were over-staying visitors and some had previous illegally working records.

The employment of illegal workers carries hefty fines up to 50,000 patacas (6,250 US dollars) for each illegal employee and imprisonment of up to two years.

Non-locals found working illegally in Macao face a fine of up to 20,000 patacas (2,500 US dollars) and a two-year ban on applying for a local work permit.

[SeeMacau]

The Macau Customs have nabbed eight illegal immigrants who attempted to steal construction materials, local media reported Thursday.
The Macau Post quoted sources from the customs as saying that the suspects had been under surveillance by the authorities for several days.
They were caught "red-handed" while shipping stolen iron metals aboard sampans at a casino construction site neighboring the Macau University of Science and Technology, according to the newspaper.
The suspects, among whom were a number of women, illegally came into Macau from the Chinese mainland, it reported.

[SeeMacau]

Macao has set up a hotline for information related to Thursday's terror attack on London, according to an official statement issued here on Friday.

The statement, issued by the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO), said the authorities have contacted its representative office in Britain and local travel agencies to verify whether any Macao resident was affected by the incident.

The MGTO has also revealed the emergency telephone number of the Chinese Embassy in London, said the statement.

Hundreds of Macao citizens are believed to stay in London, it added.

Several bomb blasts rocked the British capital on Thursday, killing over 30 people and injuring hundreds more.

[SeeMacau]

Macao's World Heritage application for 20 of its historic buildings in the old urban center to UNESCO is now complete.

Macao's Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Fernando Chui Sai On said Thursday that the island's World Heritage application to UNESCO is now complete.

Macao has applied for world heritage status for 20 of its historic buildings, in the old urban center.

UNESCO will make its final decision at the 29th World Heritage Conference in South Africa from July 10th to 17th. Around 30 proposals from different countries will be judged. This is China's only application for 2005.

Macao is home to many historic buildings combining eastern and western styles. They form the largest existing complex of ancient buildings in China.

The 20 buildings on the list include China's oldest church, a lighthouse and a western theater, most of which are still in use.

[SeeMacau]

Macao is expecting a rosy ending of its world heritage lobby, Ho Lai Chun, president of the Cultural Institute, has told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"However, whether win this time or not, Macao has achieved its goal of boosting the protection of the cultural heritage," Ho said Thursday prior to her departure for the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in Durban, South Africa.

July 15 will be the earliest possible date for the committee toannounce the new-comers of the World Heritage List, predicted the cultural official, who is among Macao's lobby team.

A total of 42 new sites will be proposed for the inscription onthe World Heritage List during the week-long session, which kicked off Sunday.

Macao's bid boasts "a living representation of the city's historic settlement, encompassing architectural legacies interwoven in the midst of the original urban fabric that includes streetscapes and urban squares."

The bid comprises around two dozen monuments, including the Buddhist Ma Kok Temple, the Catholic Holy House of Mercy, the Old City Walls, the Fortress Hill and a number of churches.

Macao's proposed world heritage sites and monuments "are the products of over 400 years of cultural exchange between the western world and Chinese civilization," Ho said.

She also described Macao as "the single most consistent example of the cultural exchange between Europe and Asia."

Macao's government and people have been in a hard bid for the entry of the World Heritage List, said the official.

The region has spent 150 million patacas (18.8 million US dollars) on some 100 programs for the protection and maintenance of the heritage sites since 1999, when the former Portuguese colony returned to the Chinese reign.

The government formerly launched the heritage bid in 2002 and many cultural forums, functions and conferences have since been hosted here, Ho recalled.

She added that Macao's representatives have never skipped off the annual sessions of the World Heritage Committee since 2002.

Macao's concerned officials have either saved no opportunity to participate in international forums on the heritage protection, said the official.

"Getting into the List is not our final destination. To win or to lose, we will proceed the heritage-protection campaign,"

[SeeMacau]

There has been no Macao citizen injured or killed so far in Thursday's terror attack on London, the Special Commission of the Foreign Ministry in the Macao Special Administrative Region confirmed here on Friday.

Officials on duty told Xinhua through telephone that the commission has contacted the Chinese Embassy in London earlier the day to clinch the fact.

The Macao authorities have set up a hotline for information related to the terror attack, according to a statement issued by the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) the same day.

The MGTO has also made public the emergency telephone number ofthe Chinese Embassy in London for the needed persons, said the statement.

Hundreds of Macao citizens are believed to stay in London, it added.

Several bomb blasts rattled the British capital on Thursday, killing some 50 people and injuring hundreds more.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have arrested a local resident for allegedly attempting to put a number of fake Chinese yuan (RMB) notes into circulation, Macao Post reported Monday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the 51-year-old suspect was apprehended by a routine police patrol while paying a fruit seller with a bogus 100-yuan bill.

A total of 1,080-yuan notes were recovered from the suspect, according to the police sources.

Further investigations are underway.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao authorities on July 11 warned construction companies against hiring illegal labor force.

The government's Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau released here Monday a statement in the wake of the arrest of a number of suspected illegal workers over the past week.

The statement stressed that construction companies are obligated by law to check the identification documents of the laborers before they commence working in Macao.

It warned that legal action will be taken against all companies found hiring illegal construction workers.

Companies violating the employment rules face exclusion from public construction bids for a certain period of time, it said.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

Macao received more than one million travel visits in the first five months of this year, a seven percent increase from the same period in 2004.

The statistics, released Tuesday by Macao Statistics and Census Service, also show that Macao residents travelling in package tours totalled 24,550 in May 2005, an increase of over 60% from last year.

Mainland China, Thailand and Taiwan were the three most popular tour itineraries.

(Photo source: baidu.com)
2005-7-13 10:03:44 CRIENGLISH.com

[SeeMacau]

Macao's upcoming legislature election in September will require a total workforce of 3,000, local media reported on July 12.

The Macao Post quoted Fong Man Chong, president of the Legislative Assembly Election Commission, as saying that the 50-percent increase of the workforce over the 2001 poll is mainly due to the rise of number of registered voters.

The number of polling booths, which stood at 164 four years ago,is expected to reach about 250 booths this year, according to the official.

Each polling room needs to be staffed by at least five persons, according to the Legislative Assembly Election Law.

Fong said his commission had sent a letter to government bureaus to enlist public servants to work for the polling.

The special administrative region with a population of over 460,000 will hold "direct and indirect" legislative elections on September 25.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

Around 77 percent of Macao's middle-ranking public servants feel "medium pressure" on their work, according to a public survey issued here on Tuesday.

The poll, conducted by the Macao Psychology Association, interviewed 157 middle-ranking public servants, ranging from department head to assistant head.

It showed that 21 percent of the respondents are under "excessive pressure" on their work and merely 1.95 percent feel "too little" work pressure.

The psychology group suggested public servants to do more physical exercises to tackle their work pressure and "to develop a positive attitude towards life."

It also appealed to the government to pay close attention to middle-ranking public servants' "job satisfaction" and provide those in need with psychological counseling.

There are around 6,000 of Macao's 17,900 public servants fall into the middle-ranking category covered by the poll and the special administrative region has a population of over 460,000.

www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-12 17:31:44

[SeeMacau]

The Macao government warned employers not to illegally employ teenager students for summer jobs, according to an official statement issued here on Thursday.

The statement released by the Labor Affairs Bureau stressed that it is prohibited by law to employ anyone who under age of 14 and that the employment of teenagers aged between 14 and 16 is only allowed "under exceptional circumstances."

Any employer hiring students for a summer job must fully abide by all labor and tax laws, including payment of social security fund, said the statement.

Those found violating the law face fines of up to 12,500 patacas (1,562 US dollars) for each illegally hired teenager employee, it said.

Around one fifth of Macao's 460,000-strong population are students, thousands of whom seek summer jobs every year at venues covering restaurants, workshops and factories.

[SeeMacau]

Source: Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, July 16 (Reuters) - Biblical-era archaeological remains, the Chinese island of Macau and a war-ravaged Bosnian bridge were among 17 cultural sites added to the U.N.'s World Heritage list this week.

UNESCO, the U.N. environmental and cultural body, also added a Belgian renaissance printing house, archaeological findings in Bahrain dating from 2300 BC, the Albanian Ottoman town of Gjirokastra, and Greek and Roman era tombs in Italy.

The new sites, added at a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage committee in South Africa's port city of Durban, brings the global list of cultural sites to 628. Bosnia-Herzegovina grabbed a spot on the list for the first time with its historic town of Mostar, built as an Ottoman frontier town and revamped during the 19th and 20th century.

The town's Old Bridge -- which includes pre-Ottoman, eastern Ottoman, Mediterranean and western European features -- was destroyed in the Balkans war in the 1990s but recently rebuilt.

"The reconstructed site is a symbol of reconciliation, international cooperation and of the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities," UNESCO said.

Also added to the list were prehistoric settlement mounds in Israel containing substantial remains of cities with biblical connections, as well as Iron Age water collecting systems, the committee said in a statement.

Bahrain also made the list for the first time with remains showing continuous human presence from 2300 BC to the 16th century.

Chinese island Macau, under Portuguese administration until 1999, was added to the list for its mix of Eastern and Western influences.

Cuba's colonial town of Cienfuegos, founded in 1819, gained a place as an example of new ideas of modernity, hygiene and order in urban planning in 19th century Latin America.

UNESCO extended five existing sites including India's colonial-era mountain railways and four buildings by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.

The committee added seven new natural sites earlier this week, including the world's oldest and biggest meteorite crater, part of Japan's northernmost island and two Norwegian fjords.

[SeeMacau]

2005-7-15 16:54:40 CRIENGLISH.com

The Historic Center of Macao has been added to the UNESCO's World Heritage List. The decision was made during the ongoing 29th World Heritage Conference.

he Historic Center of Macao has been added to the UNESCO's World Heritage List

The ongoing 29th World Heritage Conference in Durban of South Africa made the decision Friday.

This is China's only application for 2005. The conference is examing around 30 proposals from different countries.

Macao is home to many historic buildings combining eastern and western styles. They form the largest existing complex of ancient buildings in China.

The 20 buildings on the list include China's oldest church, a lighthouse and a western theater, most of which are still in use.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau launched on Saturday a two-day free postcard mailing campaign to promote the region's new status as a world-heritage city.

The free postcards will be available till Sunday at special booths in the Taipa area, where residents and visitors can collect them and mail to any destination in the world.

The Macao Post Office has also launched a special four-stamp collection to commemorate the city's entry into the World Heritage List.

Macao's historic community project formally entered the World Heritage List Friday at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in Durban, South Africa.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, July 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao cheered for its newly grasped world heritage status, as the city's entry into the United Nations World Heritage List donned the headlines of Saturday's newspapers.

The Macao Daily, the top Chinese newspaper, in its headline article hailed the success as "the pride of Macao people" and reviewed every step which the city has followed since it formally launched the heritage bid in 2002.

The article urged the residents to enhance the effort to protect the cultural heritage.

The Macao Post, the sole English newspaper in the town, released a special edition on the day to promote the city's world heritage status.

The Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau launched a two-day free postcard mailing campaign to mark the city's new status as a world-heritage site.

The free postcards will be available till Sunday at special booths in the Taipa area, where residents and visitors can collectthem and mail to any destination in the world.

The Macao Post Office also launched a special four-stamp collection commemorating the city's entry into the World Heritage List.

Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), delivered a message to the public on Friday to "share the honor with everyone in Macao."

Ho said it has great and profound significance for the HistoricCenter of Macao to be listed as World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

"Ever since the beginning of the application, the central government has fully stood by the Macao SAR government by putting the Historic Center of Macao as the sole item in this year's list," Ho recalled.

He pledged that the SAR government will continue to protect andpromote these precious heritages, which belong to Macao and the whole country.

The liaison office of the central government in Macao sent an congratulation letter to the SAR government on Friday.

The letter said the success of Macao's world heritage bid helpsthe Macao government gain world-wide recognition of its effort to protect the culture treasury.

"The Historic Center of Macao, being a unique gem of Macao, thecountry and the world, will surely have its shiny future," the letter said.

Macao's historic center project officially entered the World Heritage List Friday at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in Durban, South Africa.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- A total of 238 illegal workers have been netted in Macao in the first six months of the year, a year-on-year rise of 51 percent, according to an official statement issued here on Friday.

The statement released by Macao's Public Security Police said 48 illegal laborers were apprehended in June alone.

It said in the first six months the police have conducted 768 raids on 830 businesses, resulting in identification checks of 7,474 workers.

The swoops led to the transfer of 132 illegal workers to the Public Prosecution for possible arraignment, it added.

Anyone in Macao found guilty of illegally offering gainful employment to a non-resident worker faces a prison term of up to eight years and a fine up to 50,000 patacas (6,250 US dollars) foreach illegally hired one.

Anyone found illegally working in Macao faces a fine of up to 20,000 patacas (2,500 US dollars) and a two-year ban on seeking legal employment in Macao.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Law enforcement agencies from Macao and neighboring Zhuhai city have jointly netted 92 illegal sampans on the water, local media reported Friday.

The Macao Post quoted sources from the Macao Customs as saying that all the 92 boats were branded as "three Nos" -- no registered name, no anchorage registration and no wharf registration.

Those boats and the crews on board violated the current fishing moratorium imposed by the central government in the South China Sea, the sources told the newspaper.

The annual fishing moratorium has been implemented since 1999, taking place between June 1 and August 1 every year, in a bid to conserve fisheries resources and promote the sustainable development of the fishing industry.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao's world heritage bid clinched the rosy ending on Friday, as its historic community project entered the World Heritage List at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in Durban, South Africa.

Macao's government and people have been in a hard bid for the entry of the List since 1999, when it returned to motherland.

The Chinese special administrative region has since spent 150 million patacas (18.8 million US dollars) on some 100 programs for the protection and maintenance of the heritage sites.

The government formerly launched the heritage bid in 2002 and many cultural forums, functions and conferences have since been hosted here.

Macao's representatives have never skip off the annual sessions of the World Heritage Committee since 2002.

Macao's concerned officials have either save no opportunity to participate in international forums on the heritage protection.

In 2001 the Cultural Institute hosted a forum on Asian architecture in Macao, inviting many internationally-famed expertshere to evaluate Macao's historic architectural community.

In 2002 the special administrative region hugged in hundreds ofexperts in cultural heritage field here for a forum on protection of civic cultural relic.

The general public including school and university students also displayed enthusiasm in the heritage bid, as many publicity activities have been held non-stop in the city since the bid kicked off its start.

Macao's world heritage bid boasts a living representation of the city's historic settlement, encompassing architectural legacies interwoven in the midst of the original urban fabric thatincludes streetscapes and urban squares.

The bid comprises around two dozen monuments, including the Buddhist Ma Kok Temple, the Catholic Holy House of Mercy, the Old City Walls, the Fortress Hill and a number of churches.

Macao's proposed world heritage sites and monuments "are the products of over 400 years of cultural exchange between the western world and Chinese civilization," Ho Lai Chun, president ofthe Cultural Institute, told Xinhua prior to her departure for Durban.

A total of 42 new sites have been proposed for the inscription on the World Heritage List during the week-long session, which kicked off on July 10.

[SeeMacau]

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[SeeMacau]

DURBAN, South Africa, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- China was on Friday officially awarded its 31st World Heritage Site, the Historic Center of Macao, during the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee, being held in Durban, South Africa.

Macao's bid under the name of Historic Center of Macao has been designated as China's only nomination this year to apply for the inscription on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Macao preserves China's largest clump of urban historical properties, as it had nearly five centuries of uninterrupted contact between East and West, after the Portuguese navigators settled in Macao in the mid-16th century.

The Historic Center of Macau embraces 12 priceless cultural heritage sites, including China's oldest church, Christian cemetery, lighthouse and western theater.

The Macao Special Administrative Region has spent 150 million patacas (18.8 million US dollars) on some 100 programs for the protection and maintenance of the heritage sites since 1999 when the Chinese government resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Macao.

With the support from the Chinese government, the Macao Special Administrative Region officially launched the procedures for the world heritage bidding in July 2002.

The relics, most are still in use, have witnessed the earliest pervasion of western religious culture in the oriental continent as well as its ensuing co-existence with the local culture.

Joining UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China now has 31 sites on the World Heritage List, the third most next to Italy andSpain, and it is now playing an active role in protecting the world heritages.

During the Durban meeting, China has pledged 30,000 US dollars to support a feasibility study of setting up an African World Heritage Fund for protecting the African sites.

The 29th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee is being held from July 10 to 17 in South Africa, the first ever in sub-Saharan Africa and it will decide new sites out of the 42 that have filed their application for inclusion on the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

[SeeMacau]

DURBAN, South Africa, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Old City of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Historical Center of Macao, and Biblical vestiges in Israel are among the 17 new cultural sites inscribed Friday on the World Heritage List.

With the inscriptions, Bahrain, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina enter the List for the first time, during the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee currently meeting in Durban, South Africa.

The sites inscribed this year include three trans-boundary sites and extensions to six sites that were already on the list. One of the sites listed Friday, Humber stone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works in Chile, was also inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The historic town of Mostar, spanning a deep valley of the Neretva River, developed in the 15th and 16th century as an Ottoman frontier town and during the Austro-Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Mostar has long been known for its old Turkish houses and old Bridge, Stari Most, after which it is named. The old Bridge area, with its pre-Ottoman, eastern Ottoman, Mediterranean and western European architectural features is an outstanding example of a multi-cultural urban settlement.

Old Bridge and Old City of Mostar is a symbol of reconciliation, international cooperation and of the coexistence of diverse, cultural, ethnic and religious communities, said the United Nation's cultural arm, UNESCO.

Macao, a lucrative port of strategic importance in the development of international trade, was under Portuguese administration from the mid 16th century until 1999, when it came under Chinese sovereignty.

With its Historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic center of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West, according to UNESCO.

Tells, or pre-historic settlement mounds, are characteristic of the flatter lands of the eastern Mediterranean, particularly Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Eastern Turkey. Of more than 200 tells in Israel, Megiddo, Hazor and Beer Sheba are representative of tells that contain substantial remains of cities with biblical connections.

The three tells also present some of the best examples in the Levant of elaborate Iron Age, underground water collecting systems, created to serve dense urban communities.

The World Heritage List now numbers 812 sites in total, which includes 628 cultural sites, 160 natural sites and 24 mixed sites in 137 state parties.

However, Francesco Bandarin, director of the World Heritage Center, in a press briefing late Friday expressed his worries that a number of world heritage sites are still facing threats of wars, human activities and pollution.

"Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was in very difficult situation, and those in Afghanistan and Iraq also face threats of potential wars," said Bandarin.

Five natural heritage sites in the DRC are currently on the list of world heritage sites in danger due to long-time conflicts.

The 21-member World Heritage Committee has been meeting in Durban since July 10. On Thursday, it added seven new natural sites to UNESCO's World Heritage List, and earlier in the session, the Committee removed three sites from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

[SeeMacau]

Edmund Ho Hau Wah says the government will continue its support for the heritage protection and making the culture spread.

All parties in Macau celebrate the Historic Center addition into the World Heritages List of UNESCO.

Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah gave his address, saying the government will continue its support for the heritage protection and making the old culture spread.

Meanwhile, experts from Macau's business community said the inclusion of the Historic Center would help the region attract more investment.

The site, centering on the 400-year-old urban area of Macau, was selected into the World Heritage List at the 29th World Heritage Conference on Friday in Durban, South Africa.

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[SeeMacau]

Biblical-era archaeological remains, the Chinese island of Macau and a war-ravaged Bosnian bridge are among 17 cultural sites added to the UN's World Heritage list.

UNESCO, the UN environmental and cultural body, also adds a Belgian renaissance printing house, archaeological findings in Bahrain dating from 2300 BC, the Albanian Ottoman town of Gjirokastra, and Greek and Roman era tombs in Italy.

The new sites, added at a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage committee in South Africa's port city of Durban, brings the global list of cultural sites to 628.

Bosnia-Herzegovina grabs a spot on the list for the first time with its historic town of Mostar, built as an Ottoman frontier town and revamped during the 19th and 20th century.

The town's Old Bridge, which includes pre-Ottoman, eastern Ottoman, Mediterranean and western European features, was destroyed in the Balkans war in the 1990s but recently rebuilt.

"The reconstructed site is a symbol of reconciliation, international cooperation and of the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities," UNESCO says.

Also added to the list are prehistoric settlement mounds in Israel containing substantial remains of cities with biblical connections, as well as Iron Age water collecting systems.

Bahrain also makes the list for the first time with remains showing continuous human presence from 2300 BC to the 16th century.

The Chinese island of Macau, under Portuguese administration until 1999, is added to the list for its mix of Eastern and Western influences.

Cuba's colonial town of Cienfuegos, founded in 1819, gains a place as an example of new ideas of modernity, hygiene and order in urban planning in 19th century Latin America.

UNESCO extends five existing sites including India's colonial-era mountain railways and four buildings by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.

The committee added seven new natural sites last week, including the world's oldest and biggest meteorite crater, part of Japan's northernmost island and two Norwegian fjords.

[SeeMacau]

BEIJING, July 18 -- The 29th World Heritage Conference closed on Sunday in Durban of South Africa.

During the eight-day event, 17 items, including historical Chinese center of Macao, and seven natural wonders were added to the U.N. list of protected World Heritage Sites.

The additions bring the total number of protected sites to 812.

Chile's Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. While three sites in Ecuador, Mali and Albania were withdrawn from the endangered list.

So far, there are 33 on the list of endangered heritage sites.

In addition, world conservation leaders decided to set up World Heritage Fund for Africa to help the continent better protect its cultural and natural sites.

The next world heritage conference is scheduled to be held in Lithuania in 2006.

[SeeMacau]

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso arrived in Macao on July 17 to continue his five- day official visit to China.

Barroso, who is expected to stay here for two days, is to meet with Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and to visit the local community having Portuguese ancestry.

The EU chief on July 14 kicked off his China tour, which covers the country's major political and economic power houses of Beijing, Shanghai, Macao and Hong Kong.

This is Barroso's first visit to China as president of the EU Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

Macau Celebrates Historic Center Entering Heritage List

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[SeeMacau]

Anthony Tam and Angus Ho
2005-07-20 06:48



A June 13, 2005, amendment to the rules governing the operations of Macao offshore companies (MOCs) will have a significant impact on newly established MOCs and likely will have far-reaching implications for investors planning to set up MOCs in Macao. The amendments severely restrict the scope of allowable business activities (from 20 activities (Table 1) to only eight (Table 2)) that may be conducted by an MOC. Now missing from the list of permissible activities are trading, commercial and service agents, management and business consultants, which have been the primary reasons that investors have set up MOCs.

The introduction of the amendment is a major development since the Macao government first introduced the MOC regime before its handover of sovereignty to China in 1999. MOCs are governed by the Offshore Law of Macao (Decree-Law No 58/99M) which was signed on October 18, 1999, and was effective from November 1, 1999. The Offshore Law provides the regulatory framework for various offshore business activities to be conducted by MOCs, including offshore banking and insurance activities, offshore trust and asset management, offshore commercial activities and offshore auxiliary services activities. The law also provides a number of incentives to qualifying MOCs, including an exemption from income tax, business tax and stamp duty.

The Offshore Law of Macao was enacted to boost the development of the Macao economy and to attract more foreign investment. Although the establishment of MOCs was somewhat slow to take off (with only 17 applications lodged in 2001), the number of applications has been increasing steadily since 2002 with 84 applications received in 2002, 127 in 2003 and 176 in 2004. Recent figures show that before the June amendment approximately 520 offshore companies were established in Macao, and about 70 per cent of those were set up by Hong Kong investors.

To set up an MOC, an investor must first apply to the regulatory body, the IPIM (Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute), for a permit and registration. The investor must submit an investment plan that provides details about the mode of operations, investment amount, number of local staff to be employed for the first two years, the ratio of local and non-local staff and their job duties, size of the office, the nature of products or services to be provided, and projected income and expenditure statement and balance sheet (the first two years) for the MOC.

Unlike offshore companies set up in other jurisdictions (for example, offshore companies established in the British Virgin Islands), the operations of MOCs are governed by various regulatory requirements under the Offshore Law. According to the law, the core business transactions of MOCs may not be conducted in Macao currency. In addition, MOCs may not participate in Macao markets and their customers must be non-Macao residents. An MOC is required to have an independent office in Macao. It is also critical that an MOC have local staff to operate its business, notwithstanding that non-local staff may participate in the MOC's business operations. The MOC should have substantial business activities and all transactions must be supported by documentation. An MOC is required to submit annual audited accounts to the IPIM for review.

Violations of the regulatory requirements may give rise to penalties imposed by the IPIM. Common violations include carrying on business activities that are different from the original investment plan, lack of proper office premises, insufficient documentation records for its business transactions, delay in filing audited accounts, etc. Penalties for violation of regulatory requirements can be in the forms of fines or deregistration of the MOC's business licence.

The June amendment does not affect existing MOCs or applications for new MOCs that were lodged with the IPIM on or before June 13, 2005. In view of the restricted scope of allowable business activities, investors considering setting up MOCs may now have to seek other alternatives and are advised to seek professional advice for a proper structuring of their offshore business.

Anthony Tam is Deputy Tax Managing Partner and Angus Ho is Tax Director of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

[SeeMacau]

The scorching summer heat today keeps rattling Macau for the third straight day, as local residents swamped shops for cold drink and power demand hit new high.
"I feel like being squeezed into an oven in Macau," Yep Leung, a 41- year-old construction worker, yelled to this reporter from his scaffold at a building venue in the New Port, one of Macau's busy commercial districts.
The sweltering Yep and his workmates had to decrease their regular shift hours "to survive."
Yep is hardly the only one in Macau, having a population of nearly 470,000, who were sweating and choking in the heat-wave attributing to the Typhoon Haitang, which is battering the southern coastal parts of China.
Macau on the previous day recorded its hottest day in history at 39 degrees Celsius, according to the figures from the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau.
The weather watch dog predicted that the temperatures Wednesday are to "decrease a bit," to which local residents felt uneasy to nod their agrees.
"I don't believe that the mercury is merely staying between 29 and 33 degrees Celsius, as the weather forecast stated," Chan Chi Fong, a 38-year-old ice-cream vendor said.
As an out-door stander, Chan got her chance to observe many ways in which locals countered the heat.
People who failed to get a taxi promptly had to gather under pedestrian bridges for shade and those without air conditioning at home had to flock into supermarkets and stores to cool off.
Macau Electricity Company (CEM) logged the highest demand for power in history on Tuesday at 468 MW against the previous record of 430 MW on June 30 last year.
The CEM said that its peak capacity could reach 488 MW.
A power blackout stunned the crowded Fai Chi Kei district on late Tuesday and according to the Macau Daily News, the top local Chinese newspaper, nearly 1,000 households have been affected by the power off.
"No aircon, no shower, no TV and no anything," Lau Ron Lam, a 53-year-old grocery owner recalled.
"It was a nightmare, literally," he said.
The Social Welfare Institute opened a make-shift summer shelter on Monday and so far merely two persons have taken refuge there.
Meanwhile, local hospitals have recorded no case of heat stroke so far, another relief to the city which will battle the heat test for at least one more day.
A rainy weather will hopefully storm the city Thursday, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau predicted.
Back to Chan Chi Fong's ice-cream stall, the sweating woman lamented, "My business is hot now yet I rather prefer a quick cool- off."

[SeeMacau]

Eight HIV infection cases were recorded in the second quarter of this year in Macao, according toan official statement issued here on Wednesday.

The statement released by the Health Bureau said four of the affected persons are intravenous drug users, an indication that the HIV infection situation among injection drug users is still serious.

The four other cases are concerned non-locals, including two temporary residents working in the entertainment industry, both ofwhom were infected with the virus through heterosexual contact, said the statement.

A total of 327 HIV infection cases have been recorded since 1986 in Macao, which has a population of nearly 470,000, it said.

[SeeMacau]

Australian-born Horse trainer Bruce Hutchison has died of an unspecified illness at age 63, the Macau Jockey Club said Sunday.

Hutchison died early Saturday, the MJC said in a statement on its Web site. A newspaper report said he is suspected of dying after a heart attack in Macau.

Hutchison fell ill Friday after supervising training of his horses at Macau's Taipa racecourse, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday.

Hutchison trained horses in Hong Kong for 23 seasons until June 2001, producing more than 300 winning horses before moving on to Macau, located 64 kilometers (40 miles) west of Hong Kong, the Post reported.

He counts two Macau winners among his results so far, the report said.

Before Hong Kong, Hutchison was a trainer at Caulfield racecourse in Melbourne, according to the Post. His hometown wasn't immediately clear.

Hutchison narrowly escaped death in a car accident in Hong Kong in 1996 when a steel railing tore off part of his cheek and jaw, the newspaper report said.

His wife Lana, a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren survive him, the Post reported.

[SeeMacau]

A key mission that Macao should serve in the cynosural pan-PRD (Pearl River Delta) cooperation and development framework should be strengthening multi-layer links between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, said a senior trade official from the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) here on Sunday.

Lee Peng-hong, president of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, made the above remarks on the sideline of the Second Pan-PRD Regional Cooperation and Development Forum scheduled to start Monday in Chengdu City of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Defining Macao as a "small and free economic entity", Lee voiced confidence in his region's 400-years-strong connections with eight Portuguese-speaking countries, and said Macao will makethe best use of the pan-PRD framework to help more small and middle-sized Chinese enterprises tap the 200-million-people Portuguese-speaking market.

"Macao SAR is very likely to create a win-win situation while connecting China with the Portuguese-speaking countries particularly as an integral part of the pan-PRD arrangement encompassing nine mainland provinces and the two SARs," said Lee while briefing media on Macao's participation in the upcoming four-day pan-PRD event.

While continuing to take tourism and service industries as bulkof its economy, Macao is ambitious to promote Chinese enterprises in varied Portuguese-speaking countries and glad to accommodate anincreasing number of mainland provinces seeking business opportunities in Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, said Lee.

According to the trade official, the Macao SAR Government has already teamed up with the central government organizing a string of promotional activities, seminars and forums to facilitate closer trade links between China and the eight Portuguese-speakingcountries.

Trade ministers from China and Portuguese-speaking countries gathered, for the first time, in Macao to discuss better ways to strengthen links between each other on a special conference jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Macao SAR Government in 2003. The conference has located a long-standing secretariat in Macao, employing staff from all relevant countries.

The second gathering of the ministerial-level conference will convene in Macao next year, widely expected to further improve trade and business links between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in a more concrete way, said Lee.

The Macao official also highlighted a likely Chinese penetration into markets such as the European Union and South America by introducing more Chinese enterprises to countries like Portugal and Brazil.

The pan-PRD arrangement was first launched last year, seeking closer economic ties between Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces in south China's Pearl-River region as well as Hong Kong and Macao SARs.

[SeeMacau]

College students from Hong Kong and Macao expressed their wishes to find jobs on the mainland after their visit to China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) on Saturday.

"We were deeply impressed by the advanced technology of our space center yesterday," said Huang Xiuqing, a sophomore from Macao, "I would like to do further studies here in the future."

Delegates from Hong Kong and Macao were attending a three-day meeting held by All-China Students Federation in Beijing started on Friday.

"We must be well aware of the respective regulations and policies here," Chen Tianhong, who majors in applied youth study, said, "we also need to understand the custom of the region where we would find a job on the mainland."

Yuan Haofen, president of the Hong Kong Tertiary Student Forum, said that after Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) was started, the mainland's market has been larger to Hong Kong. He told the reporter that he want to be employed by mainland's company or work in mainland as a representative of Hong Kong's company after graduation.

A voluntary serving program sponsored by Amway and Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association will commence in the middle of August, which will recruit Hong Kong graduates to serve in central-south Hunan Province and northern Shanxi Provinces of the mainland for one year, according to delegate Zhou Zhenzhao, president of a Hong Kong students' association.

The Hong Kong and Macao delegates paid a quick tour to the CAST in suburban Beijing on Saturday.

At invitation from the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League, the delegation, comprising 28 college students from Hong Kong and Macao, were attending the 24th cession of All-China Students federation as non-voting delegates from July 22 to 24 in Beijing.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have nabbed nine suspected illegal laborers at a downtown building under decoration, The Macao Post reported Tuesday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that based on a tip-off, the authorities carried out the swoop.

All of the arrested, aged between 22 to 49, were from the Chinese mainland, the newspaper said.

The employment of illegal workers is a crime that incurs hefty fines and imprisonment in case of repeat offenders. Illegal employed workers are customarily ordered to leave Macao.

[SeeMacau]

The fourth UNESCO Children's Performing Arts Festival of East Asia kicked off here on Thursday.

Some 500 child performers from the China's mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, Japan, South Korea, The Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Mongolia attended the carnival to display various forms of arts including singing and dancing.

Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of Macao Special Administrative Region, He Xiaowei, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government, and other local and international guests attended the opening ceremony.

Ho expressed while addressing the gathering gratitude to the UNESCO for choosing Macao as the host of the activity and extended "the warmest welcome" to all the participants.

The festival will conclude on Saturday.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

An exhibition opened Friday at the Macao Maritime Museum to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Chinese legendary navigator Zheng He's epic voyages around the world.

The 15th-century navigator made a total of seven epic voyages, spanning over 30 countries throughout the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and Africa.

Aside from details of his voyages, the exhibition features model ships from several Chinese dynasties.

Made according to professional blueprints, the model ships took architects three years to create. Some of them are on show for the first time.

[SeeMacau]

Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), hailed here on Friday Macao's entry into the World Heritage List earlier this month.

He wished the region would further enhance its cultural protection campaign while meeting with Bai Zhijian, director of the Liaison Office of the Chinese Central People's Government in Macao.

The UNESCO chief said the development of Macao in both the economic and social sectors is "impressive" and the entry into the World Heritage List will hopefully boost the region's tourism industry.

Bai expressed gratitude to Koichiro for his contribution to Macao's success in the heritage bid and said he believed the special administrative region will strengthen its cultural protection efforts.

The Macao Historic Center project entered the World Heritage List on July 15 at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in Durban, South Africa.

The UNESCO chief arrived here on Thursday to address the opening ceremony of a three-day UNESCO Children's Performing Arts Festival of East Asia, which is scheduled to conclude on Saturday.Enditem

[SeeMacau]

Eight years ago, Macao-based businessman Louis Ng purchased 50 cases of a legendary wine: Chateau Palmer 1961. The provenance of the wine was excellent, and Ng assumed that, properly stored, it would give pleasure for the rest of his lifetime. But a threat to the longevity of the wine soon became apparent, leading to a highly unusual rescue mission.

The classic 1961 vintage has a pulse-quickening reputation among Bordeaux lovers. Palmer, a third-growth property in the Margaux appellation, outdid itself that year, producing an intense, balanced, long-lived wine that contains an unusually high 60 percent Merlot. The estate produced only 2,900 cases in 1961, less than one-third the production of a typical vintage. At auction, Palmer 1961 recently has been selling for around $1,000 a bottle, according to Wine Spectator's Auction Index, and it often fetches higher prices than the 1961s from first-growths such as Lafite and Margaux. Palmer 1961 hit a recent high at a Zachy's auction in April in New York, when a case sold for a heady $23,500, or $1,958 a bottle.

Ng bought his wine from London merchant Farr Vintners, which in 1997 offered select customers a substantial quantity of Palmer 1961 directly from the cellars of Mahler-Besse, a Bordeaux negociant that co-owns Palmer with the Sichel family. By then, the chateau's own stock of the wine was long gone. Because of its impeccable provenance, Farr Vintners put a premium of one-third over the normal price on this lot, Ng said.

In Macao, the wine was stored at an ideal 54F in a wine vault deep within Hotel Lisboa, the island's premier casino. Ng, a wine buff since 1988, is COO of the conglomerate that controls the casino, as well as many other local businesses, including the world's largest fleet of turbojet ferries.

Soon, it became apparent that all was not well with Ng's collection. Each year, he had been marking the fill level on the neck of each bottle with a white line. "What alarmed me," he said, "was that the level of many of the bottles was dropping pretty quickly." Other wines bought from Farr Vintners at the same time, including Chateau Margaux 1961, were stable. "I called Farr and asked them what happened with the Palmer," Ng said. "They said I could ship it back, but I said no."

In May 2004, Ng met Bernard de Laage, Palmer's development director, at a wine dinner in Shanghai. "I told Bernard about my concerns, and he offered to come to Macao and check out my wine," Ng said.

When de Laage arrived a month later, he was stunned at the size of Ng's cache. "Here was two percent of the entire 1961 production in one place," de Laage said. "It was unbelievable."

Over dinner, Ng opened three bottles of the wine. De Laage brought the corks back to the chateau for tests, which showed that they had deteriorated. "Bernard said he would send his boys over," Ng said.

It took a year to work out all the details of the operation, but De Laage arrived at the Hotel Lisboa on May 22 with Palmer general manager Thomas Duroux and technical director Philippe Delfaut. While bottles reconditioned by a chateau often sell over market price at auction, some experts say that recorking can actually encourage counterfeiting and hurt wine quality (see The Perils of Recorking). Palmer took exceptional care with the 548 remaining bottles of Ng's Palmer 1961. While 20 were set aside for a celebratory dinner, the rest were delivered to a specially chilled room at the hotel and lined up in phalanxes on a banquet table. Over two and a half days, the team opened and tasted each of the bottles "to be sure they respected the quality of 1961," Delfaut said.

Standard waiter's corkscrews were used to pull the old corks, but the job proved to be messy, since the necks of the bottles were slightly conical and the base of the corks had expanded. They were too wide to pull through the tops of the bottles without breaking off. Bit by bit, the corks had to be removed and the remnants strained out. Each bottle then received a "transfusion" through a tube from donor bottles of Ng's Palmer 1961 that had been lightly sulfured and sealed under a carbon dioxide layer. Sixteen donor bottles were used to fill the others.

Remarkably, only four bottles were judged not to be up to standard. "We'd expected around five percent, or 25 bottles, to be rejected," de Laage said. The rejected bottles were resealed with unmarked corks.

At age 44, the rest of the 1961 was as potent as ever. "Five minutes after I tasted a bottle," Duroux said, "I took a sip of water, and even after that, the taste of the wine was still in my mouth. And yet, the wine is barely 12 percent alcohol. It proves that a wine doesn't have to be high in alcohol or very darkly colored to be filled with flavor and to last long."

An ancient hand-corking machine-the same one that was used to bottle the 1961 vintage in 1963-had been air-shipped from the chateau to Macao. Along with its worn wooden bench and long pull-lever, the machine now has an attached system to infuse inert gas into the neck of each bottle just before the cork is driven in, leaving an oxygen-free void under the cork. "You could say that this equipment is typical of Bordeaux," Delfaut said. "It's something old onto which we've grafted something new."

In all, 508 bottles were resealed with new corks (marked on each end "Rebouch?[recorked] en 2005") and got new foil capsules. A few dozen damaged labels were also replaced. De Laage suggested that the recorked wine be allowed to rest for at least six months to recover.

"Several times a year, we recork our old wines at the request of owners," de Laage said. "At most, there might be a few bottles of the 1961 vintage. In honor of what has been done here in Macao, we will recork no other Palmer this year."

With the recorking completed, Ng held a dinner to celebrate at Robuchon a Galera, Hotel Lisboa's flagship restaurant. The aperitif was Dom Perignon Rose 1990 in magnum, followed by Marquis de Laguiche Montrachet 1997, then Chateau Palmer 1970 and 1961, and finally, Chateau La Tour Blanche 1996. Despite the glorious competition, the Palmer 1961 stood apart. It was an inspired wine.

"That's why I bought so much of it," said Ng, smiling broadly. "I wanted it to be my house wine. For a time, I was concerned about its future. Now, after the recorking, this wine is like a baby reborn, and I can relax. I hope it will be inherited by my children and grandchildren. I'd love to pass on to them this great wine."

[SeeMacau]

Taiwan's National Association of Travel Agents ROC, has been entrusted by the government to negotiate with Beijing on Chinese tourism to Taiwan, it was announced yesterday.

The association also denied a local Chinese-language newspaper report which claimed that its representatives will hold talks with China in Macau later next month.

"The report was far from the truth," according to a statement issued by the association yesterday.

According to a local Chinese-language newspaper report yesterday, Taiwan and China will discuss a framework for talks on Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan in Macau on Aug 27.

"The two sides have tentatively agreed to hold the first round of talks on Aug. 27 in Macau," the United Daily News quoted an unidentified source as saying.

China has agreed to deal with Tseng Sheng-hai (曾盛海), director of the association, but China rejected the association's title because it has ROC in it, the newspaper said.

China has demanded the association change its name to the "Association of Travel Agents of Taiwan," but the Mainland Affairs Council has refused to do so, saying the name would indicate that Taiwan is a province of China.

The council said on Friday it will hold a background briefing today on issues concerning Chinese tourists.

In official contacts, Beijing and Taipei have already reached an agreement on the logistics of Chinese tourism. These include the deportation of Chinese tourists who stay on after their visa have expired, penalizing Chinese travel agencies if members of tour groups they arranged stay behind to work illegally in Taiwan, according to the Untied Daily News.

"Once the political obstacle has been removed, the two sides can launch talks in Macau on Aug. 27," the unnamed source said.

Since the 1980s, China has been calling on Taiwan to lift the ban on direct air and sea links and for Chinese tourists to be allowed to visit Taiwan -- a move regarded as a step toward eventual unification.

Taiwan has previously rejected the idea based on security concerns, but recently the government said it could hold tourism talks with China if Beijing showed respect by referring to the negotiations as "official talks."

[SeeMacau]

The Red Cross Society of Macao has given 200,000 yuan in aid for flood relief in north Sichuan Province.

The organization has also called for public donations in Macao to aid emergency relief and homeland reconstruction in the flood-stricken areas.

So far, the Red Cross Society of Macao has donated 800,000 yuan for Sichuan, Hunan, and Heilongjiang Province, and sent three relief teams to the mainland along with their Hong Kong and mainland counterparts.

Torrential rains have swept 27 provinces and municipalities around China since May, causing many casualties and loss of property.

[SeeMacau]

Macao , a lucrative port of strategic importance in the development of international trade, was under Portuguese administration from the mid 16th century until 1999, when it came under Chinese sovereignty. With its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West. The site also contains a fortress and a lighthouse, which is the oldest in China. The site bears testimony to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West based on the vibrancy of international trade.

[SeeMacau]

The number of new vehicle registrations in Macau totaled 8,347 in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent, according to official statistics issued on Tuesday.
The figures from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the number of licensed vehicles in Macau was 147,237 at the end of June 2005, of which 51 percent (74,921) were motorcycles and 45 percent (66,003) were light vehicles.
The special administrative region has a population of 469,800.

[SeeMacau]

Macau's Health Bureau has recalled two diet products from the market in a bid to protect the public health, the Macau Post reported Thursday.
The paper quoted sources from the Health Bureau as saying that the Bureau has ordered all pharmacies, drug stores, beauty parlors and importers to stop selling the Spirulina Health Nutrition and the Third Generation Sea-weed Diamond Cellulose.
The two products, reportedly manufactured by a plant in Hebei Province of the mainland, contain the Sibutramine and Phenolphthalein that may lead to side effects including high blood pressure and breathing troubles.
The Health Bureau has opened hotline telephone numbers for the public to check information.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have arrested nine suspects allegedly possessing bogus Macao identification cards, local media reported Monday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the four male and five female suspects were captured on late Saturday following an anonymous tip-off.

The suspects have been transferred to the Public Security Police, facing criminal charges, covering manufacturing, possessing and using forged ID cards and travel documents, the sources told the newspaper.

The nine detained are believed to be part of a large forged-document network, said the newspaper report.

[SeeMacau]

Macao has seen 838 companies newly incorporated in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 48.6 percent, according to official statistics issued here on Monday.

The figures from the Statistics and Census Service showed that the total registered capital of the new companies recorded 227.36 million patacas (28.42 million US dollars).

These newly incorporated companies were mostly in the wholesaleand retail sectors (224), followed by the construction (185), realestate (156) and business services (132), the figures showed.

Fifty-five companies, in the meanwhile, were dissolved in the second quarter, according to the statistics.

[SeeMacau]

The Macau government has received 3, 000 applications so far for the old-age subsidy which is scheduled to be paid in October, local media reported Tuesday.
The Macau Post quoted Iong Kong Io, acting president of the Social Welfare Institute (IAS), as saying that 16 local banks are to handle the subsidy payment on behalf of the IAS.
Under the newly launched scheme, permanent Macau residents aged 65 or above, will be offered a yearly subsidy of 1,200 patacas ( US$150).
The government estimates that the subsidy will cost the Treasury some 48 million patacas (US$six million) this year, according to the newspaper.

[SeeMacau]

The Commission against Corruption (CCAC) in Macao launched a new page on its website Wednesday for the public to report corruption during the selection of legislative assembly members.

Macao citizens can log in at www.ccac.org.mo and click on the link ‘Assembly Election’ to report any wrongdoings. Member selection begins on September 25.

On the special event web page, it gives details of how assembly members should be selected according to the SAR’s Basic Law as well as information about the candidates and relevant electoral laws.

The CCAC was formed in December 1999 to promote good governance and social justice. Since setting up, it has combated many types of corruption and fraud.

(Photo Source:Baidu.com)

http://en1.chinabroadcast.cn/mmsource/image/2005-8-11/img467536_1.jpg

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have nabbed 36 suspected illegal laborers at a downtown casino construction site, local media reported Wednesday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that based on a tip-off, the authorities carried out the swoop.

Twenty-five of the arrested, aged between 19 and 52, were from the Chinese mainland, according to the newspaper.

The employment of illegal workers is a crime that incurs hefty fines and imprisonment in case of repeat offenders. Illegal employed workers are customarily ordered to leave Macao.

(Source: Xinhua)

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Police have arrested a female drug dealing suspect, local media reported Thursday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that the 38-year-old woman was pinned down "red-handed" while selling drugs to three men at a park near the border linking Zhuhai, a neighboring city in the Chinese mainland.

A quantity of Triazolam pills were recovered from the suspect, the newspaper reported.

Further investigations are underway, the report added.

Under Macao's local law, the trafficking in and possessing of drugs are illegal and may result, if convicted, in several years of imprisonment.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have arrested eight suspects allegedly using bogus Macao identification cards, the Macao Post reported Friday.

The Macao Post quoted police sources as saying that two male and six female suspects were captured following an anonymous tip-off.

The suspects might face criminal charges, covering manufacturing, possessing and using forged ID cards to stay and work in Macao, the newpaper report said.

The eight detained are believed to be part of a large forged-document network.

[SeeMacau]

A Shanghai delegation launched here Friday a press conference to promote a series of cultural, touris mand sports activities to be held in Shanghai this fall.

Yang Xiaodu, who is the vice-major and head of the delegation, told reporters that the activities covering the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Seventh China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the F1 China Grand Prix, are all at the international level.

He, on behalf of the Shanghai government and the people, gave "the warmest welcome" to Macao residents to visit Shanghai for the carnivals.

Shanghai and Macao, an economic powerhouse and a special administrative region of China respectively, have long been enhancing the mutual cooperation

[SeeMacau]

A seminar was held here on Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of China's victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

Three veteran soldiers gave lectures to an over 100-strong audience. Liang Lingguang, former governor of China's Guangdong province, shared with the audience his experience in fighting Japanese aggressors as a cadre with the New Fourth Army.

He also recalled the historic background of the Japanese aggression and called on the people to keep in mind the history for ever.

Liang, 89, with the other two old soldiers, both aged 87, are all white-haired. Their stories deeply impressed the audience as the lectures were stopped by applause for many times.

Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, attended the seminar, which was organized by the Overseas Chinese Association Macao.

[SeeMacau]

A Shanghai delegation launched in Macao Friday a press conference to promote a series of cultural, tourism and sports activities to be held in Shanghai this fall.

Yang Xiaodu, who is the vice-major and head of the delegation, told reporters that the activities covering the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Seventh China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the F1 China Grand Prix, are all at the international level.

He, on behalf of the Shanghai government and the people, gave " the warmest welcome" to Macao residents to visit Shanghai for the carnivals.

Shanghai and Macao, an economic powerhouse and a special administrative region of China respectively, have long been enhancing the mutual cooperations.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

A Shanghai delegation launched in Macao Friday a press conference to promote a series of cultural, tourism and sports activities to be held in Shanghai this fall.

Yang Xiaodu, who is the vice-major and head of the delegation, told reporters that the activities covering the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Seventh China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the F1 China Grand Prix, are all at the international level.

He, on behalf of the Shanghai government and the people, gave " the warmest welcome" to Macao residents to visit Shanghai for the carnivals.

Shanghai and Macao, an economic powerhouse and a special administrative region of China respectively, have long been enhancing the mutual cooperations.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Daily News published an editorial saying China's resistance war against the Japanese aggression made a great contribution towards ending the Second World War.

The Overseas Chinese Association in Macao held a lecture Saturday entitled "Remember History and Love Peace". The personal accounts by three war veterans of their fight against Japanese invaders drew rapturous applause from the audience.

A senior member of the Association said Asians, including the Chinese people, will never allow a small number of Japanese to distort history and whitewash Japan's atrocities during World War Two.

[SeeMacau]

Two fake ID-card selling suspects nabbed in Macau 15/8/2005 15:32

Macau police have arrested two suspects allegedly manufacturing and selling bogus Macau identification cards, local media reported Monday.
The Macau Post quoted police sources as saying that the two female suspects were captured in two separate police swoops over the past week.
The two detained are believed to be part of an ID card and travel document forgery and selling racket, according to the newspaper.
The police arrested 17 people last week in separate cases and most of them were over-stayers using fake documents to seek gainful employment in Macau.

Xinhua News

[SeeMacau]

Macao held an evening performance Sunday to mark the 60th anniversary of China's victory of the War Against Japanese Aggression.

A senior member of local trade union hailed the Chinese Resistance War Against Japanese Aggression as a historical epoch.

He noted the commemoration event was designed to learn from history and look forward to a better future and Chinese people should be proud of their history and build confidence to make the country stronger.

Various civilian organizations in Macao have held memorial celebrations including exhibitions, lectures and movie parties to remember the war.

2005-8-15 11:57:34 CRIENGLISH.com

[SeeMacau]

By Brad Newnham

Palm has announced that along with CTM they are bringing the Treo 650 smartphone to our users in Macau.

"The Treo 650 smartphone provides CTM's customers with increased mobility and a way to simplify their business and personal lives with an all-in-one device," said Paul Blinkhorn, vice president for Palm Asia Pacific.

"We are delighted to work with Palm in bringing the award-winning Treo 650 smartphone to our users in Macau," said Windus Lam, director of mobile business for CTM. "The quad-band-capable Treo 650 on CTM's GSM network brings strong data network capabilities and voice clarity to users."

August 16, 2005 at 11:19 AM

[SeeMacau]

The Macao authorities have lifted the ban on import of frozen pork from Henan province in the Chinese mainland, local media reported on Wednesday.

Macao Daily News, the leading Chinese newspaper in town, quotedsources from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau as saying thatthe bureau made the move after contacting the central government.

The bureau has been informed by the State Quality and Quarantine Administration that no pig-borne disease has been detected in the pork products from Henan.

Hong Kong and Macao imposed the ban on Henan frozen pork on Monday.

Pork products from Sichuan and Henan provinces dominate nearly 50 percent of the Cacao pork market, according to Macao Daily News.

[SeeMacau]

Ticket sales of the 4th East Asian Games started here on Thursday, 72 days prior to the commencement of the sports event.

The tickets are priced from 300 to 1,300 patacas (37.5 to 162.5US dollars) for the opening ceremony and between 300 and 700 patacas (37.5 to 87.5 US dollars) for the closing ceremony.

Tickets for the Game's 17 events priced between 40 to 250 patacas (five to 31.25 US dollars).

A total of 15,817 seats will be available for the opening ceremony and 6,808 for the closing ceremony, the organizers told apress conference on Wednesday.

The tickets for the 17 events will not be assigned to specific seats, said the organizers.

The tickets cover security features and bar codes for statistical purposes.

China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, the United States Pacific Island of Guam, South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan and Mongolia will contest in the Games scheduled for October.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao government will begin to crack down unlicensed satellite TV transmissions in September, the Macao Post reported on Friday.

The Macao Post quoted Tou Veng Keong, director of the Telecommunication Technology Development Office (GDTTI), as saying that the GDTTI inspectors will start checking buildings for illegal television signal receivers on Sept. 12.

Tou said his office had received complaints about the pirating situation from a number of satellite television operators.

Those channels on show without proper copyright arrangements will be banned, said the official.

A number of local signal providers, dubbed "antenna companies" will be affected, Tou said.

"Macao must respect international copyright rules," Tou stressed

[SeeMacau]

China's October 1 National Day celebrations in Macau from this year will be organized by the special administrative region government, local media reported Monday.
The 55-year Preparatory Committee for the National Day Celebrations of Macau Compatriots, that has hosted the celebrations since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, disbanded itself over the weekend, the Macau Post reported.
Ma Man Kei, leader of the civic group, told the newspaper that the members of the committee have long been considering to hand over the celebration hosting to the government since the region returned to the motherland in 1999.
Ma, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee as well, said the group is to publish a book to review its history.

[SeeMacau]

A reunion for people born in southern China's Zhongshan city and now living overseas will be held next April in Macao.

The organizing committee of the meeting, the sixth of its kind, said Monday in Macao that the meeting aims to help the city's former townsmen catch up and do business. It also said this venue will showcase Macao's favorable investment and living environment as well as the implementation of the "one China, two systems" policy in the special administrative region.

Zhongshan city, located in southern China's Guangdong Province is very near to Macao and Hong Kong and many of its successful residents pursue careers in the SARs and abroad.

It's also famous as the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, known as the forerunner of China's 1949 revolution. It is home to more than 800,000 Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as foreign expatriates from around the world.

The fifth Zhongshan reunion meeting was held in Sydney last October and was attended by over 1,500 people.

2005-8-22 20:22:09 CRIENGLISH.com

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government is to raise the school fee subsidies by 20 percent in the 2005-06 term, local media reported Monday.

The Macao Post reported that the Executive Council, a consultative arm of the SAR chief, has given the nod to the new subsidy scheme.

The newspaper quoted sources from the Council as saying that under the scheme, primary school students will receive a school fee subsidy of 3,500 patacas (437.5 US dollars) and secondary school students 5,200 patacas (650 US dollars) for the term.

The increase is expected to cost the government some 36.5 million patacas (4.5 million US dollars) for the new school term, said the newspaper.

[SeeMacau]

Macao's Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has received 300 fraud complaints prior to the September legislature elections, local media reported Monday.

The Macao Post quoted Commissioner Against Corruption Cheong U as saying that 10 alleged pre-election corruption cases have been transferred to the Public Prosecution for further investigations.

Over 100 registered voters might face criminal charges, the anti-corruption chief added.

He reportedly vowed to "do the very best" to ensure that the elections will be free of rigging.

The official also urged the voters to protect "their highest democratic tool" by keeping the elections clean.

The special administrative region, with a population of nearly 470,000, will hold "direct and indirect" legislative polls on Sept. 25.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

A total of 788 public space infringers have been fined in Macao since July 25 this year, according to an official statement issued here on Tuesday.

The statement released by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau(IACM) said since July 25 when a stricter regulation was implemented, the IACM inspectors have collected a fine totaling 66,700 patacas (8,338 US dollars).

The statement said the 788 fines comprised 452 cases of dripping air conditioners, 18 of spitting, 145 of littering, 109 of illegal occupation of public areas by eateries and shops, nine of dogs fouling public spaces and 55 of other sorts.

Under the tightened rules imposed in July, anyone, resident or visitor, found littering, spitting, defacing public property or letting their dogs foul public spaces face a penalty between 600 and 10,000 patacas (75 and 1,250 US dollars).

Over 6,000 public space violators were fined last year in the region with a population of nearly 470,000, according to the IACM statement.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have nabbed 29 suspected illegal laborers at a construction site here, the Macao Post Daily reported Thursday.

The Macao Post Daily quoted police sources as saying that based on a tip-off, the authorities carried out the swoop.

Ten of the arrested, aged between 31 and 54, were from the Chinese mainland, according to the report.

In Macao, the employment of illegal workers is a crime that incurs hefty fines and imprisonment in case of repeat offenders. Illegal employed workers are customarily ordered to leave Macao.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

Macao recorded the world highest population density of 17,309 per square kilometer on June 30, according to official statistics issued here on Thursday.

The figures from the Statistics and Census Service showed that the region's resident population reached 476,000 on the date, a year-on-year increase of 4.1 percent.

The special administrative region's population has risen 46,400,or 10.8 percent, since 1999 when it returned to the motherland, according to the statistics.

Some 96.5 percent of Macao's residents are ethnic Chinese and the remainder includes some 8,000 local-born people of mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry, 2,000 ethnic Portuguese and 6,000 Filipinos, the figures showed.

[SeeMacau]

MACAU, China (UPI) -- Two Asian men accused of smuggling weapons and counterfeit bills into the United States laundered $1.15 million in Macau bank accounts, U.S. investigators said.

Co Khanh Tang and Jyimin Horng are among 87 alleged members of a criminal syndicate accused by the U.S. government of smuggling weapons, counterfeit money, drugs and fake cigarettes into the country, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday.

Agents arrested 59 people last weekend, most of them in a New Jersey sting operation that lured suspects to a mock wedding party aboard a luxury yacht.

Tang and Horng reportedly received $1.15 million from undercover law enforcement agents in exchange for $3.35 million of high-quality counterfeit dollars.

The men also received a $50,000 deposit toward a $1 million shipment of arms, including 75 anti-tank missiles, 50 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 1,200 AK-47 assault rifles and various other firearms, the newspaper said. Horng allegedly planned to smuggle the weapons into the United States with the help of two military generals in two unnamed countries.

Tang and Horng had payments deposited into a Bank of China account in Macau and an International Bank of Taipei account in Taiwan, the report said. Spokesmen at both banks declined to say whether the accounts had been frozen.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

[SeeMacau]

The World Brand Summit 2005 and the 2nd global Chinese competitive brands summit, jointly sponsored by the World Union of VIP Enterprises, US-China Economic Trade & Investment General Chamber of Commerce, World Brand Organization and Chinaamousbrand.com will be held from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30 in Macao.

Jiangshanjun Zhou, chairman of WUVE and chairman of the summits noted that the summits are not only parts of the activities bringing China's brands to the world, but also an event of epoch-making significance for communications and exchange between world famous brands.

The major events of the summits include world leaders forum; release meeting for China's top ten brands in 2005; release meeting for China's top ten most influential brands in 2005, and top ten entrepreneurs; award presentation ceremony for China's top ten brands and top ten entrepreneurs; declaration ceremony of the World Brand Summit, etc.

Representatives from the world top 500 enterprises, China's top 500 enterprises will give keynote speeches at the conference. About 1, 500 guests from the top enterprises are to attend the conference.

By People's Daily Online

[SeeMacau]

1/9/2005 15:17

Macau police have nabbed 11 suspected illegal laborers at a restaurant under decoration, local media reported today.
Macau Daily News, the leading local Chinese newspaper, quoted police sources as saying that based on a tip-off, the authorities carried out the swoop.
The 11 detained are all from the Chinese mainland.
The employment of illegal workers is a crime in Macau that incurs hefty fines and imprisonment in case of repeat offenders. Illegal employed workers are customarily ordered to leave Macau.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Sept. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The Macao government is to postpone the crack-down on unlicensed satellite TV transmission till Nov. 7, local media reported on Thursday.

The Macao Post Daily quoted Tou Veng Keong, director of the Telecommunication Technology Development Office (GDTTI), as saying that the GDTTI will spend the two-month period after the previously scheduled date of Sept. 12 to do more promotion among the public.

Tou said his office has received "a large number of opinions and suggestions" since it announced the crackdown decision two weeks back.

Many residents are seemingly not well informed of the satelliteTV copyrights, said the official.

A number of local signal providers, dubbed "antenna companies,"dominate some 90 percent of Macao's households with access to TV channels, according to Tou.

Without proper copyright arrangements, the antenna companies are able to offer TV channel services at a cheap price.

[SeeMacau]

A taste of Macanese delights


By LAI SUAREZ–REYES

When a Macanese invites you for lunch, don’t show up at 12 noon... that’s too early! Lunchtime in Macau starts at 1 p.m., and surprisingly this was observed during the media launch of the “Macau Food Festival” at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.

Well, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) Philippines had good reasons to keep their guests in waiting.

For one, the Macanese culinary delights (which taste so good) were whipped up fresh by chefs Chon Kin Kei, Wong Man Su and David Wong of the Macau Institute of Tourism Studies.

"These culinary geniuses are in Manila to give Filipinos a ‘taste’ of Macau," said Narz Lim, MGTO Phils. general manager, while digging into chef David’s salad with pig’s ear and coriander.

This dish is of Portuguese origin and very popular in Macau.

"The dressing is made of fresh lemons marinated in salt for over a month (then washed off and finely chopped) with extra virgin olive oil," explained chef David.

There are three distinct cuisines in the former Portuguese colony — Chinese, Macanese and Portuguese.

The Chinese cuisine is pretty much as we know it although it tends to be spicy, mostly likely influenced by flavors and spices common to Portuguese dishes.

Macau’s cuisine is heavily influenced by Portugal, having been its colony for many centuries before it became a Special Autonomous Region in 1999 of the People’s Republic of China.

According to chef David, a signature Macanese dish is the Caldo Verde.

The thick green broth, which is made of pureed potatoes and kale, gets its distinct flavor from the Portuguese chorizo.

"This soup is served in practically all restaurants in Macau," noted chef David.

Another popular appetizer is the deep–fried bacalhau balls... salted codfish with potatoes, corriander, and other spices.

"We brought in pints of Portuguese chorizo and 50 kilos of Bacalhau from Macau especially for this food festival," he relates.

Main course is the flavorful African Chicken. This dish betrays its inspiration, lavished with plenty of herbs and spices from Mozambique and Angola.

A fresh spring chicken is marinated in coconut juice, herbs and spices and grilled to perfection. This dish is best relished with Portuguese wines.

"The famous wines of Portugal, widely found and enjoyed in Macau, will be served during the Macau Food Festival," says Thomas Naegeli, F&B director of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.

Portuguese egg tartlets capped our meal. The small, round flaky pastry tart filled with a sweet egg cream is simply irresistible.

You too can have a taste of Macau as Edsa Shangri-La Hotel lays out an array of superb culinary specialties for lunch and dinner for the "Macau Food Festival" on Sept. 2 to 8, at the Garden Cafe.

The celebration carries on to the atrium at the Shangri-La Plaza, Sept. 24, where a Macau Roadshow unfolds, to afford visitors a closer look at the sights, sounds and tastes of Macau.

There will be film showings, performances of the 24-member Macau Dance Troupe, artisans demonstrating various arts and crafts, and free samplings of Macanese delicacies (recipes below) and wines.

BAKED CRAB MEAT IN SHELL

Ingredients:

1.2kg crab meat

350g onion

4 pcs sliced ham

420g mushroom

40g red pimentos

25g butter

700ml Bechamel sauce

4 pcs egg

cheese

bread crumb

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Separate crab meat from shell. Clean the crab meat and boil together with ginger, onion, bay leaf and lemon.

Coarsely chop onion, garlic, ham, mushroom and red pimentos.

Sautee the chopped veggies and then add crab meat to fry, put in salt, pepper and cheese, stir until cheese dissolve. Pour in Bechamel sauce to mix.

Portion the mixture onto a crab shell, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with bread crumb and cheese.

Put in the oven and bake until golden brown.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Sept. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The Macao police have nabbed three male suspects allegedly involved in a casino feneration case, local media reported on Friday.

Macao Daily News, the leading local Chinese newspaper, quoted police sources as saying that the police conducted the raid on late Thursday after observing the suspects through the TV surveillance system at a local casino.

The trio, two Hong Kong citizens and one Macao resident, reportedly offered a gambler from the Chinese mainland a loan of 200,000 patacas (25,000 US dollars) at an interest rate of 10 percent.

Further investigations are underway, according to the newspaper. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

3/9/2005 8:37

The standoff between Macau's telecom watchdog and the ubiquitous "antenna companies" has turned worse, as the latter cut the service of a number of channels late on Thursday.
The wrangle dates back to August 18, when the governmental Telecommunication Technology Development Office announced a crackdown on local TV signal providers, dubbed "antenna companies," for unlicensed transmission.
Tou Veng Keong, GDTTI director, said that the office made the decision following complaints from a number of international TV channels and Macau Cable TV, the government-authorized signal provider.
The "antenna companies," dominating some 90 percent of Macau's households with access to TV channels, allegedly offer TV channel services "without proper copyright arrangements."
The crackdown, initially scheduled for September 12, triggered a harsh backlash from "the antenna companies" and their subscribers.
Tou told a press conference on Wednesday that his office has received "a large number of opinions and suggestions" since it announced the plan.
The providers argue they have been in service since the 1970s and the suspension of certain channels will harm their business.
The subscribers, meanwhile, grumble that the transmission war will affect their couch-potato enjoyment.
If a package of TV channels is wiped off from the menu of "the antenna companies," the subscribers, possibly 400,000-strong in a region with a population of 470,000, will have to turn to the much more expensive MCTV.
How big is the difference? Subscribers pay an average 20 patacas (US$2.5) a month to one antenna company while MCTV's cheapest package costs 160 patacas per month.
The GDTTI chief, under pressure, rescheduled the crackdown date to November 7, saying on Wednesday, "We have to have time to inform the public clearly about the copyright issue."
The postponement, however, failed to put a lid on the volatile situation, as six of the "antenna companies" yanked a number of channels on Thursday.
The companies announced in a statement faxed to local media that they cut the service to "let the residents and society understand the value of the existence of the antenna companies."
Many local observers view this as the antenna companies' brinkmanship in their bid to pressurize the government to cease the monopoly of MCTV in legitimate broadcasting of listed channels.
Yesterday Tou urged the companies not to hurt the public but failed to offer a solution to the dispute.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Sept. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Macao Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has apprehended two suspects allegedly involved in an election rigging case, local media reported on Sunday.

Macao Daily News, the leading Chinese newspaper in the special administrative region, quoted CCAC sources as saying that the two men were caught red-handed while paying cash to a voter at a local restaurant late Friday.

The two, one gambler and the other serving at a local hotel, reportedly pledged to pay 500 patacas (62.5 US dollars) for each vote.

The pair has been transferred to the Prosecution and is expected to face a maximum jail term of five years, according to the newspaper.

The special administrative region, with a population of nearly 470,000, will hold direct and indirect legislative elections on Sept. 25.

[SeeMacau]

5/9/2005 16:19

A bomb attack happened in Macau on early Monday, causing no casualty, local media reported.
Macau Daily News, the leading local Chinese newspaper, quoted police sources as saying that a home-made bomb exploded at a downtown property company building, breaking the gate.
Police rushed to the scene and started the investigations, the newspaper reported, adding that the cause of the incident has not been clinched so far.

[SeeMacau]

7/9/2005 15:40

The Macau Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has apprehended 21 suspects allegedly involved in an election rigging case, local media reported on Wednesday.
Macau Daily News, the leading local Chinese newspaper, quoted CCAC sources as saying that the suspects, among whom was an election candidate, assumedly offered potential voters bribes.
The CCAC launched the investigations three months back on complaints from voters and cracked down the gang of 21 over the past week, according to the newspaper.
The suspects, acting as middlemen, reportedly pledged to pay 500 patacas (US$62.5) for each vote.
All the 21 have been transferred to the Prosecution and are expected to face a maximum jail term of five years, the sources told the newspaper.
The special administrative region, with a population of nearly 470,000, will hold legislative elections on Sept. 25.

[SeeMacau]

By Michaela Fenix
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on Page D3 of the September 8, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

IT WASN’T MY FIRST TIME TO TASTE the cooking of Macau, now a special autonomous region of the Republic of China but historically a Portuguese colony for over 400 years.

But my first glance at the menu card for a tasting of Macanese cuisine at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel made me excited. At last, I was going to taste the dishes I’d longed for, caldo verde and African chicken. Could you believe I’ve been through three Portuguese food festivals and had never tasted caldo verde, perhaps the dish that is so identified with the cooking of Portugal?

Caldo verde is literally green soup mainly because it’s made of sliced kale, a variety of cabbage, and thickened with potatoes. It’s a hearty, creamy soup and, this day when the sky was threatening to unleash heavy rain, it was a comforting dish.

African chicken or galinha a cafreal was the other dish I awaited after tasting it eons ago at an African food festival. It uses the chili mix called piri piri from Mozambique, a Portuguese outpost; turmeric from Goa, a Portuguese colony before being transferred to India; and coconut milk, a Malay influence. It looks very much like the Ilonggo chicken inasal with the chili quite tempered and the coconut milk very pronounced.

Fusion

Many of those who have written about Macanese cuisine agree on one description—fusion. While that has become an undesirable culinary word, the fusing of cuisine did happen in all countries that have interacted with other countries either through trade or colonization.

Even the limited interaction with foreigners in Japan has produced the tempura with flour brought in by, yes, the Portuguese. Apart from Goa and Mozambique, Macau cuisine also includes dishes from another former Portuguese colony, Brazil, such as the feijoada, pork trotter with red bean stew.

Portuguese influence is also in the bacalhau, shredded dried codfish made into patties we know as the Spanish croquetas . And, of course, it is in the famous pasteis de nata or egg tart as we call it here. The crust is flakier than that of the commercial version of Lord Stowe’s.

Our Macau lunch was completed by a Portuguese white wine that was light and cool and complemented the food. The only distributor in the country is Ralph’s Wines and Spirits.

Familiar

Macanese cuisine is easy for a Filipino to understand because our cooking has fused Malay, Chinese and Spanish as well. Some Macanese dishes are similar to our cooking such as the pig’s ear salad, our first dish that day, pig’s ear cut into thin slices then flavored with olive oil and coriander (wansuey). We joked that it was tokwa’t baboy without the tokwa, ours more Chinese with the addition of soy sauce.

One of the recipes given was for stewed duck with blood vinegar sauce (pato de cabidela) that read like dinuguan.

But perhaps it is the balichão (pronounced bali-chung) that makes Macau very Southeast Asian as well. It’s their shrimp paste, like our bagoong alamang, except that it’s more like a sauce than a paste. The old way was to cook it from scratch using shrimp, salt, bay leaves, chili, lemon, peppercorns and rice wine. Balichão flavors dishes like the feijoada, their fried rice and the lacassá, a noodle dish similar to the Malay laksa. The shrimp sauce must give those a decidedly Macau touch.

That, however, was not on the list of what was hand-carried by the chefs for this festival. Only the bacalao and the chorizos (sausages) were included.

Chef David with two other chefs, Wong Man Su and Chon Kin Kei, have been cooking the Macau dishes for the festival buffet which ends today. They are instructors at the Macau hotel and tourism training school (Instituto de Formação Turistica) that aims, among other things, to preserve Macanese cooking through lessons, serving the dishes in a buffet dinner every Friday in the restaurant run by students.

Macau understands only too well that food is very much a part of culture and preserving it by cooking will mean that Macanese cuisine will not end up as just a memory, like the Ruins of St. Paul where only the façade and stone steps remain of the church it once was.

[SeeMacau]

It’s all systems go for Macau, judging from the enthusiastic crowd that trooped to the cocktail and dinner reception at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, officially launching Macau Week here in the metropolis. It was a well-attended affair graced by the many corporate clients, travel trade personages and friends of Macau. The Macau Food Festival, which opened at the hotel’s Garden Café the next day, likewise attracted several clients in search of adventures of the palate.

A former Portuguese colony and now a Special Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, Macau enjoys cookery that is an amalgam of the tastes of the mother country as well as of Portugal’s former colonies in India and Africa, among others. At the crossroads of seafaring traders from Europe and China, the island enclave inevitably incorporated the spices, herbs and vegetables of the Old World and Asia into what has become its unique cuisine today.

For authenticity, three chefs from Macau’s famed tourism school, Instituto de Formacao Turistico (IFT), were flown in, supervised by EDSA Shangri-La’s Food and Beverage director, Thomas H. Naegeli. Thus, clients were regaled with such Macanese delights as Salad of Pig’s Ear with Coriander; Bacalhau or Portuguese cod, Caldo Verde — Potato and Kale soup; African Chicken; and the famed Portuguese Egg Tartlets, washed down with an array of Portuguese wines.

The real numbers, however, were at the Atrium of the Shangri-La Plaza, where the Macau Roadshow was held. An interactive exhibit of the varied attractions of Macau and its islands of Taipa and Coloane, it was supplemented by all-day free samplings of delicacies, such as almond cookies, egg tartlets, soy bean curd and wine while artisans demonstrated different arts and crafts. Film showings and performances of the 24-member Macau Dance Troupe were held at regular intervals, attracting even more crowds.

Macau Week – a project of the Macau Government Tourist Office-Philippines, in cooperation with EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Shangri-La Plaza and Ralph’s Wines and Spirits – was a delightful portrayal of the sights sounds and tastes of Macau.

Only one hour and 45 minutes from Manila, the island-city charms with its combination of modernism and the past, blending booming, new Las Vegas style casino-hotels with historic ruins, churches, museums and parks, not to mention shopping and restaurants galore!

[SeeMacau]

By KRISTINE KWOK and FREDA WAN

Macau's anti-graft watchdog yesterday arrested a Legislative Assembly poll candidate and 20 other suspects in a vote-rigging network ahead of the September 25 poll.

The Macau Commission Against Corruption said it had transferred the 21 suspects to the prosecutor's office last night. After tip-offs in May, the commission launched an investigation into a network of individuals illegally retaining voter registration cards - necessary identification for voters in the election.

It is suspected the network had been offering 500 patacas for each voter card. The commission found a large number of voter cards and a database of electors' information in a company office. Cake coupons were also used as gifts of enticement.

Investigators found that when a voter sold a card under the scam, the person would be asked to encourage other members of his family and friends to do the same.

Authorities say four of the suspects had formed an alliance which has formulated contingency plans in case their scheme was discovered.

The Legislative Assembly candidate is the first to be arrested in this year's election.

Those convicted of withholding voter registration cards can receive up to a five-year sentence, while those guilty of selling the cards can be jailed for up to three years without parole.

Incumbent legislator Au Kam-san said more vote-rigging cases had been found this year than for the 2001 elections, but the corruption was much more blatant in 1996.

"Those arrested this year are less intelligent," he said.

"Nowadays more clandestine methods have been developed to buy votes.

"If they don't withhold the voter's cards, they are not so easily found."

Previously, 37 suspects have been arrested for withholding voter registration cards.

Last month, the anti-graft body cracked another vote-rigging network by arresting 18 suspects, who were accused of buying votes with a similar tactic.

[SeeMacau]

LABOR Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas warned Filipinos planning to go to Macau as tourists with the intention of looking for jobs not to be enticed by disreputable recruiters or agencies. They could end up as sex workers, she said.
Sto. Tomas cited a report by Macau-based labor attaché Carlos Sta. Ana, who said more Filipinos were arriving there as tourists and were finding it difficult to find jobs in the Chinese peninsula.

According to Sta. Ana's report, tourists are allowed to stay in Macau for 30 days. During this time, they become vulnerable to people offering to look for jobs for them in exchange for money. But the jobs seldom materialize.

Sta. Ana said those who run out of money are forced to sell their passports and unused return tickets to overstaying Filipinos.

Some resort to theft or the sex trade, while others go to mainland China to get a 37-day visa extension and look for jobs there, he said.

Sto. Tomas explained that despite the booming economy of Macau, Filipinos would have a hard time finding jobs there because the Chinese prefer to hire workers from the mainland.

"It is very risky for tourists to look for employment in Macau since they can easily be eased out by mainlanders," she said in a statement.

Filipinos who want to work in Macau should also verify the existence of the job offers with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, she said.

Macau is a former Portuguese colony that became the Macau Special Administrative Region of China in 1999. China's socialist economic system is not practiced there, but the "one country, two systems" policy is observed. It is an open economy and is enjoying rapid growth with the expansion of its tourism industry.

Leila B. Salaverria

[SeeMacau]

IF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE packing your bags for Hong Kong Disneyland opening tomorrow, consider a side trip to Macau.

Only one hour and 45 minutes from Manila, the island-city charms with its fusion of the old and new, blending booming, new Las Vegas-style casino-hotels with historic ruins, churches, museums and parks, not to mention shopping and restaurants galore.

Macau (derived from the name of a Chinese goddess, popular with seafarers and fishermen, known as A-Ma or Ling Ma) is at the southeastern coast of China. The territory comprises a peninsula and two islands in the Pearl River delta of Guangdong Province. Some 60 kms to the northeast, across the mouth of the river, is Hong Kong.

The city of Macau is built on the peninsula; two bridges of 2.5 kms and 4.5 kms respectively link it to its nearest island of Taipa, which in turn is joined to Coloane by a 2.2 km-long causeway. At the extreme northern end of the peninsula, on a narrow isthmus, is the imposing gateway (Portas do Cerco, or Border Gate), which leads to the Zhuhai and Zhongshan areas of China.

Several fleets of high-speed vessels serve the 40-mile route between Hong Kong and Macau: jetfoils, turbo-cats, jumbo-cats and hover ferries. There are more than 100 sailings throughout the day and evening, with all-night service by jetfoils.

Travelling to and from China is also very convenient. There are scheduled jetcat and boat services between Macau and different cities of Guangdong Province. There is also a helicopter service linking Zhuhai and Guangzhou (capital of Guangdong Province), allowing visitors to arrive at the destination within half an hour. The Zhuhai Special Economic Zone is at walking distance, immediately across the Border Gate from Macau.

Most tour operators in Macau offer packages to China including application of visas, booking of tickets, luggage handling, hotel reservations, transfers and other related services.

Recently, the Macau Government Tourist Office-Philippines hosted Macau Week featuring a trade exhibit and food festival. At the food festival, three chefs from Macau's famed tourism school, Instituto de Formacao Turistico (IFT), were flown in.

They regaled the guests with authentic Macanese delights including Salad of Pig's Ear with Coriander; Bacalhau or Portuguese cod, Caldo Verde - Potato and Kale Soup; African Chicken; and the famed Portuguese Egg Tartlets, washed down with an array of Portuguese wines.

A former Portuguese colony and now a Special Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, Macau enjoys cookery that is an amalgam of the tastes of the mother country as well as of Portugal's former colonies in India and Africa, among others. At the crossroads of seafaring traders from Europe and China, the island enclave inevitably incorporated the spices, herbs and vegetables of the Old World and Asia into what has become its unique cuisine today.

The Macau Roadshow featured an interactive exhibit of the varied attractions of Macau and its islands of Taipa and Coloane. Guests enjoyed samplings of delicacies, such as almond cookies, egg tartlets, soy bean curd and wine while artisans demonstrated different arts and crafts. Film showings and performances of the 24-member Macau Dance Troupe were held at regular intervals, attracting even more crowds.

[SeeMacau]

By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: September 11, 2005

IT is 3 a.m. on a humid Sunday in Macao in late July, and hundreds of people, most of them Chinese, are still filing into the gigantic new Sands Macao hotel and casino, making their way up the escalator to the building's main gallery.

Under a 100,000-pound chandelier, on a carpeted floor nearly three times the size of a football field, people stand shoulder to shoulder around the baccarat tables, gambling the hours away.

Across the Avenida de Amizade, a sprawling theme park called Fisherman's Wharf is going up; the neon lights from the Sands illuminate such park features as an artificial 130-foot volcano that rises above a replica of the Roman Colosseum.

Just a few blocks away, construction has begun on the Las Vegas tycoon Steve Wynn's $700 million hotel and casino project, the Wynn Macao, which is scheduled to open in 2006. In addition, Macao is awaiting the opening of a MGM Grand Paradise hotel and casino, and Stanley Ho, whose name has long been synonymous with gambling in Macao, is trying to update his own casino empire by building the Grand Lisboa on the Avenida Infante D. Henrique.

Perhaps the most stunning building projects are going on about four miles away, on what is called the Cotai Strip, Macao's expensive and hyperambitious answer to the Las Vegas Strip. By 2007, one of the world's largest and most extravagant building complexes, the Venetian Macau hotel and casino, is expected to open.

It's easy to see why Macao, a small island territory 37 miles southwest of Hong Kong, is already being called Asia's Las Vegas.

Over the last few years, Las Vegas and Hong Kong entrepreneurs have been promising to transform this tiny former Portuguese colony into the entertainment capital of Asia, full of Vegas style. They have already earmarked billions of dollars to invest in dozens of new hotels, shopping malls, theme parks, convention centers and super-sized casinos. In fact, this year, Macao's casinos could bring in about $6.3 billion by December, and some analysts expect they will surpass the Las Vegas Strip in casino revenues. Such an increase in casino revenues, which were $5.33 billion last year, would represent an increase of nearly 20 percent . "It's the real deal," says Nick Cashmore, an analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, which compiled the comparative data.

For decades, Macao was a sleepy Portuguese colony that offered little more than a taste of European architecture in Asia and an array of smoke-filled casinos catering to gamblers from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But soon after Portugal returned Macao to China in 1999 after nearly 450 years of colonial rule, the territory's 40-year-old gambling monopoly, controlled by Mr. Ho, ended. Bids for new gambling licenses were accepted, and some of Las Vegas's biggest names started planning for a big invasion.

Now Macao is racing to build bridges, tunnels, railways and airports. There are even plans to spend $3.8 billion to build a 17-mile bridge across the Pearl River, connecting Macao and the city of Zhuhai to Hong Kong by the end of the decade, making it possible for visitors to Hong Kong's new Disneyland to also make a quick drive south to the Venetian in Macao.

Last year, a record 16.7 million people visited Macao. This year, tourism officials are forecasting close to 20 million visitors.

But there are some problems. Macao has about 10 square miles of land for 470,000 people. And about four square miles of that land was reclaimed from the sea over the past few decades.

Though Macao has some beautiful old neighborhoods - in fact, in early July, Macao was added to the World Heritage List - it has found it hard to attract visitors with more than gambling on their agenda. Most people just come for the day, traveling by car or bus from the neighboring Guangdong Province through a tunnel that connects the Chinese mainland to the Macao peninsula. Those who stay overnight tend to skip the few five-star hotels on the island in favor of more modest accommodations.

Las Vegas businessmen, however, are betting that all that is about to change. And no one is betting more than Sheldon G. Adelson, chairman and chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Mr. Adelson has already rounded up some of the world's biggest hoteliers; together with the Sands, they have agreed to spend about $15 billion over the next decade to create a Las Vegas-style strip on a huge parcel of land, most of it reclaimed from the sea.

The creation of the Cotai Strip - named after the islands Coloane and Taipa - opens up a second front for gambling and entertainment in Macao, several miles away from the casinos downtown. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation alone plans to invest about $4 billion to build a group of hotels and condominiums on the Cotai Strip centered on the Venetian Macau, which Mr. Adelson says will be one of the world's largest buildings, a 10.5 million-square-foot hotel, casino, shopping mall and entertainment complex.

Mr. Adelson says this is all part of his effort to help transform Macao into a convention and resort destination packed with dazzling hotels, celebrity chef restaurants, casinos, big-time theaters and golf courses.

His confidence comes, in part, from the success of the Sands Macao, which opened in May 2004 at a cost of $265 million. Nearly 30,000 people showed up on the first day, he says, and profits have been so enormous that a year after opening, the Sands has already paid off its loan, he says. Indeed, profits are so fat that the Sands is now adding 200 more gaming tables to its flashy complex, which will make it the world's biggest casino with 600 tables.

"This is a no-brainer," Mr. Adelson said. "If you build it will they come? In my mind, not only will they come, but they'll come in droves."

Mr. Wynn and Kirk Kerkorian - two other Las Vegas entrepreneurs - also have ambitious plans for Macao. And Mr. Ho, one of the richest men in Asia, is under pressure to upgrade his casino holdings aggressively in hopes of keeping pace with his new, flashy competitors from Las Vegas. He has hired the French architect Paul Andreu to design the boat-shaped Oceanus, a $780 million office tower, "six-star hotel," casino and entertainment complex that is planned for what is now a Macao ferry terminal.

He is also teaming up with Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, to build a $1 billion City of Dreams along the Cotai Strip. The pair are promising a resort that "will appear to float above a crystal lake" and even feature an "underwater casino."

Mr. Ho and his family of companies have also made a deal to bring the MGM Mirage Company to Macao to open the MGM Grand Paradise casino and hotel. And the Ho companies have plans to build several other huge projects, including a Park Hyatt Hotel and Fisherman's Wharf, the theme park that features replicas of a Tang Dynasty fortress, the Italian Riviera and an "erupting volcano."

Much of the boom, of course, is driven by China's soaring economy, and by the expectation that Macao could draw over 35 million visitors by 2010. Today, largely because the Chinese government has loosened travel restrictions on mainland residents, millions of Chinese are entering Macao, the only place in China where gambling is legal. And they are, for the most part, hard-core gamblers, spending far more in Macao than the average gambler in Las Vegas,. Macao's revenue per table is about $18,000 versus about $2,500 in Las Vegas, according to Aaron Fischer, an analyst at CLSA.

"You rarely see anyone drinking at the table," said one local tourism official. "They only order tea. They don't want to lose focus."

But questions remain about Macao's future. Will old Macao and its Portuguese charm disappear or be swallowed by the tourist onslaught in Asia's new sin city?

Almost certainly, observers say, old Macao will become a quiet backdrop to the main games in town, gambling and entertainment, as the city is transformed into the ultimate playground for the rich and risky at heart.

[SeeMacau]

15/9/2005 11:58

The Macau police have arrested one male drug dealing suspect, local media reported Thursday.
The Macau Post Daily quoted police sources as saying that the suspect, aged 40, was captured during a routine anti-drug patrol at the downtown Mong Ma Sports Center.
The police seized from him 4.5 grams of heroin and 60 Triazolam pills.
The confiscated drug was reportedly worth around 40,000 patacas (US$5,000), the sources told the newspaper.
The suspect has been transferred to the Public Prosecution for further investigations, according to the newspaper.

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Sept. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The Macao Commission Against Corruption (MCAC) has cracked down an election fraud network with 485 suspects being allegedly involved in the case, an MCAC press release said on Thursday.

The release said the authorities launched the investigations in May based on a tip-off.

MCAC officials raided three subsidiaries of a business agency in the recent past and recovered from the offices a number of cash, copies of identification documents and lists of constituencies, said the release.

The MCAC summoned 485 suspects, it said, adding that certain members of the management of the agency wooed employees to cast votes for a member of the board.

The constituencies will get 500 patacas (62.5 US dollars) in return for one vote, said the release.

The case was transferred to the Public Prosecution on Thursday for further investigations, said the MCAC release.

The Macao Special Administrative Region, with a population of nearly 470,000, will hold direct and indirect legislative elections on Sept. 25. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

By FREDA WAN in Macau

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/mmsource/image/2005-9-16/Voter.jpg

Journalists last night inspect the voter registration cards seized during the investigation into massive vote buying in Macau.

An unprecedented case of vote-buying in Macau was revealed yesterday as anti-corruption authorities arrested 485 suspects for organised crime and illegally withholding voter identification cards.

The case involves three subsidiaries of one company. One executive director of the parent company is a candidate in the September 25 Legislative Assembly election.

In April, a memo was sent to staff of two subsidiaries, demanding the support of all employees.

"Since our boss is running in the election this year, naturally the company should rigorously support him," stated the memo, addressed to all department heads. "Would all colleagues please get the support of your friends and families. Attached is a form for your use ... If you already have a voter card, please provide a copy."

The human resources departments of the three subsidiaries asked all staff to provide voter data of 10 family members or friends.

"At first, staff were asked to provide data on three other people, but later, that was increased to 10," said Pedro Wong Chi-hou, acting chief of the Commission Against Corruption of Macau.

In return for providing the voter registration cards, each voter received 500 patacas, Mr Wong said. On three occasions in May, the department heads submitted more than 400 voter identification cards to the parent company's executives, receiving more than 205,000 patacas in return. The department heads then distributed the payment to their staff.

Of the 485 suspects, 120 allegedly played the role of middleman, distributing payment and collecting voter cards. Mr Wong said the strategy was to withhold voter cards until election day, when designated vehicles were to be arranged to shuttle the bribed voters to a polling station.

The investigation started in May when a resident tipped off anti-corruption authorities, leading to the arrest of a man at a restaurant in Taipa. Voter cards belonging to several other people were found in his possession.

Competition is fierce in this year's direct election for the Legislative Assembly. A total of 18 candidate lists, comprising 127 candidates, are vying for 12 seats.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao police have arrested two drug dealing suspects, a spokesman for the Judiciary Police told a press conference here on Saturday.

Suen Kam Fai, the spokesman, said the police launched the raid Friday on a tip-off that two Taiwanese were planning to smuggle drugs to the Chinese mainland using Macao as the transit.

The police seized from them 11 kg of Ketamine, which was dubbed"K powder" by the drug addicts, Suen said.

The contraband, worth 11 million patacas (1.37 million US dollars), was packed as food and beverage, the officer detailed.

Further investigations are under way, he said.

[SeeMacau]

2005-09-23 Beijing Time
THE Macau Special Administrative Region, with a population of nearly 470,000, will hold its third legislative elections on Sunday.

The Legislative Assembly is chosen by both direct election and indirect selection.

Voter registration increased dramatically, the candidates are younger than in the last election and the region is cracking down on possible vote rigging and electoral fraud. Earlier this month, 485 people were arrested in a suspected electoral fraud ring.

In a sign of enthusiasm for the contest, the number of registered voters increased by 60,840 to 220,653 for the polls.

Local analysts said the principle of "Macau people governing Macau" is on the right track, with an enlarged Legislative Assembly and electorate.

This year, the number of LA members chosen by the direct election increases from 10 in the current, standing assembly to 12 in the forthcoming body.

The numbers of LA members chosen by indirect selection and by the designation of the chief executive of the region are 10 and seven, respectively.

Serving four-year terms, the Legislative Assembly members have the right to enact laws and supervise government work in line with the Basic Law, Macau's constitution.

A total of 125 candidates from 18 social groups are contesting the direct election; 96 candidates from 15 groups contested the last election in 2001.

The candidates kicked off their campaigns on September 10, including advertisement on television, in newspapers and posters.

The Election Committee has issued extensive campaign regulations, and the region has been pressing to ensure "a clean election." The region's anti-corruption commission said "money for votes" would not be tolerated.

[SeeMacau]

The Macao Commission Against Corruption (MCAC) has cracked down on an election fraud network allegedly involving 28 suspects, a MCAC press release said on Friday.

The release said the authorities launched the investigations earlier this month based on a tip-off.

MCAC officials detained five of the suspects for illegally obtaining voters' cards to ensure that the holders would vote for "a certain candidate," according to the release.

The rest of the suspects are believed to have accepted "illegal advantages" for handing over voter cards to the election fraud ring.

The case has been transferred to the Public Prosecution for further investigations, said the MCAC release.

The Macao Special Administrative Region, with a population of nearly 470,000, will hold direct and indirect legislative elections on Sept. 25.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

Zhang Jian, a 41-year-old teacher from Beijing, on Thursday completed his swimming across the Ling-Ding sea linking Hong Kong and Macao.
Zhang plunged into the water from Lantau Island, Hong Kong, at 7:30am local time, and reached the Black Beach in Macao at 6:13pm.

The route was about 40 kilometers, according to the staff memebers of Zhang's security team.

"I feel good so far," Zhang told the welcome gathering approaching the beach. "The harsh waves imposed a challenge on me but I tackled the difficulties."

Zhang had successfully crossed the English Channel in 11 hours 56 seconds in 2001.

[SeeMacau]

Elections for the third term of theLegislative Assembly (LA) of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) started in Macao Sunday morning.

The LA is Macao's legislature. Under the Basic Law of the MSAR of the People's Republic of China, the main functions of the LA are to enact laws, examine and approve budgets, taxation and public expenditure, and monitor the work of the government.

The first LA consists of 23 members, with eight members from the direct elections, eight members from the indirect elections, and seven members being nominated by the chief executive of the MSAR.

The LA in the second term was composed of 27 members, with 10 members from the direct elections, 10 members from the indirect elections, and seven members being nominated by the chief executive.

The LA in the third and following terms will be composed of 29 members, with 12 members from the direct elections, 10 members from the indirect elections, and seven members as nominated by thechief executive.

This year, a total of 125 candidates from 18 social groups contested in the direct elections.

In the region with a population of nearly 470,000, 220,653 haveregistered for the direct election poll.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

THE Macau Commission Against Corruption has cracked down on an election fraud network allegedly involving 28 suspects, an MCAC official said yesterday.

Polling and selection for the legislative assembly will be held on Sunday.

Authorities launched the investigations earlier this month based on a tip-off. MCAC officials detained five of the suspects for illegally obtaining voters' cards to ensure that the holders would vote for "a certain candidate."

[SeeMacau]

Plagued by almost daily drive-by shootings, arson and murders, Portuguese-run Macau was a wayward, problem child when it returned to China in 1999.

Just five years later, this Asian gambling mecca has become China's poster child, boasting big jumps in economic growth, a fall in violent crime, a tripling of real estate prices and a rising number of construction projects.

But as Macau heads for legislative assembly elections tomorrow, politicians and analysts say all is not so rosy in the enclave of 476,000 people.

"Before, everyone was poor. But now, a few have become rich. The income disparity is worsening and, for the poor, they are suffering more because of rising home and food prices," said Eilo Yu, social science professor at the Macau University.

"Those 20,000 to 30,000 people who work in the gaming industry have improved their lot. But not the rest."

Macau's economy staged a strong comeback after years of recession when, in 2002, the government ended a casino monopoly that had been held for 40 years by businessman Stanley Ho.

Three licenses were given out, two of them to casino moguls in the United States. Billions of investment dollars have since poured into Macau, fuelling an unprecedented boom in construction, retail and other related industries.

An ambitious plan is underway to fashion a slice of reclaimed land in Macau after the famous Strip in Las Vegas. Called the Cotai Strip, it will be packed with casinos, resorts, hotels, and convention and exhibition centers. More than half of the 16.7 million people who visited Macau in 2004 were mainland Chinese, and new casino owners here have made it clear that they are eyeing the vast Chinese market.

But all of that, along with the rising number of expatriates who have flocked to the tiny enclave to work for new casinos and other projects, have led to a higher cost of living.

"All this hasn't really improved my business. The Chinese take tour buses and at night, it's quiet like anything," said Lu Mingway, a taxi driver of 20 years.

Au Kam Sen, a pro-democracy legislator who is running for re-election, is pressing the government to give more welfare.

"We have so much in surpluses from gambling revenues. More money should be put into education, including free college education," Au told Reuters this week.

There are also worries about the territory's over-reliance on its gaming industry, which saw a dive in business this year when China cracked down on gambling to put a stop to government officials misappropriating and frittering away public funds.

"It shouldn't just rely on tourism and gambling. Look at SARS, or the H5N1 (bird flu virus): if there's an epidemic and we have to stop tourists from coming in, what will happen to our casinos?" said Ngan In Leng, a prominent businessman in Macau.

"We should move into the hi-tech and high-value industries."

Unlike in nearby Hong Kong, where democracy demands have been an irritant for Beijing, people in Macau are mostly apolitical.

Of the 29 seats in the legislative assembly, seven are allotted by Macau's chief executive and 10 are handed out in a vote by special interest groups.

And most of the 125 people vying for the 12 directly elected seats tomorrow are pro-business and pro-establishment figures who are only too happy to keep to the political status quo.

[SeeMacau]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/09/25/macau.election.reut/story.edmundhoafp.jpg
Macau chief executive Edmund Ho casts his vote in the legislative poll.

MACAU, China (Reuters) -- A moderate pro-democracy group emerged as the biggest winner in Macau's legislative polls after residents of the former Portuguese-run enclave defied heavy rain to cast their ballots, provisional results showed on Monday.

The New Democratic Macau Association of Ng Kuok Cheong won 23,472 votes, or 18.2 percent of all the votes cast in Sunday's election to garner two seats, allowing himself and his running mate, Au Kam San, to retain their place in the legislature.

The group also won the most votes in the last 2001 election.

"I am not the king of votes, but I am satisfied with the result. We are not a big organisation and we thank our supporters," Ng said on Monday after the results were declared in the city which returned to Chinese rule in 1999.

More than 58 percent of Macau's registered voters, or 128,830 people, voted in the election, up from 52 percent in 2001. Observers were expecting a higher turnout despite heavy rain.

The participation of Angela Leong On Kei, the fourth wife of casino mogul Stanley Ho, had drawn intense media interest especially in nearby Hong Kong, but her Macau Development Alliance won only one seat with 11,642 votes. The government ended Ho's 40-year gaming monopoly in 2002.

The elections came at a time when the city's 476,000 residents are hoping for a fairer distribution of wealth as the enclave enjoys robust economic growth after years of recession.

A total of 125 candidates contested for 12 directly elected seats in the 29-member strong legislative assembly. Ten were picked by professional and business groups, while seven are to be appointed by Edmund Ho, the enclave's chief executive.

The enclave was wracked by violent crime and recession before the handover but has since enjoyed a change in fortune.

But despite robust economic growth of 8.2 percent in the second quarter of this year, things have not all been rosy.

Some of the candidates and local academics have complained about a widening "rich-poor gap", saying most residents were still not benefiting from the boom that was sparked by the liberalization of the gaming industry.

The Macau United Citizens Association, a community group led by businessman Chan Meng Kam, came in second with 20,695 votes or 16 percent of all the votes cast, securing two seats. Chan's business interests include gaming.

The Development Union headed by popular labour unionist Kwan Tsui Hang and her running Leong Iok Wa finished third with 16,588 votes, or 12.8 per cent of all votes cast.

Macau's proportional representation system favours small groups.

[SeeMacau]

Elections for the third term of the Legislative Assembly (LA) of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) ended in Macao on Sunday evening.

The following are a batch of figures and facts worth of memorizing:

-- The largest number of the registered voters: in the region with a population of nearly 470,000, 220,653 have registered for the direct election poll.

-- The largest voter turn-out: the number stood at 128,829, accounting for 58.39 percent of all the registered voters.

-- The largest number of candidates: 125 vied for the direct elections and 10 for the indirect elections; 96 and 10

respectively in the 2001 elections.

-- The largest number of directly elected seats: the number stood at 12; 10 and 8 respectively in the second term and the first term of the LA.

-- The largest number of LA members: the number stood at 29; 27 and 23 respectively in the second and the first term.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

MACAO, Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Voters engulfed the 228 voting booths for Macao's third legislative elections on Sunday, though the No. 3 typhoon warning has been hoisted in the region for the second day.

The voter turn-out reached 128,829 at the conclusion of the poll on Sunday evening, hitting a new record in the history, seemingly not hampered by the gloomy weather as many observers have expected.

"It will take four years waiting for another legislative poll, how can I miss this one due to the bad weather? " an 87-year-old Chan Yat-man told Xinhua in the morning at the voting booth at the Public Administrative Building.

Chan, a retire factory worker, has voted for all the three terms of the Legislative Assembly (LA) since Macao returned to the motherland in 1999 and he will by no means quit his voting right.

"How many four years are left in my hands?" the gray-haired chuckled joyfully.

Chan was hardly the only voter displayed the un-stoppable zeal for the voting.

At another voting booth in Instituto Salesiano, a local middle school, this reporter saw Chou, insisting on disclosure of merely the surname, with her mother, 65, and daughter, five, waiting in along queue for the voting.

"My mother and I both want to vote and we could not leave the child at home alone," the 32-year-old widow told this reporter.

Chou, a middle-school maths teacher, said in order to implement well the policy of "Macao people governing Macao", voters have to weigh cautiously before casting votes.

Chou said she has carefully looked over all the campaign themes of the 18 groups for the direct elections.

"I have to be responsible for Macao and for myself," she said.

The typhoon, however, did produce troubles for the voting, as around 2,600 volunteers had to exert more efforts to aid the voters.

The volunteers, organized by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, could be seen at every voting booth tackling the bad weather to check voters' documents, to guide the way for the aged and to lend helping hands to the disabled voters.

Lau Yuen-kung, a 16-year-old volunteer and a student of Hou Kong middle school, told said that he felt honorable to serve in the election poll.

"Although I am not qualified for the voting due to the age, I got the chance to observe the elections closely," said Lau, all washed-up by the downpour.

Observers said Macao has embraced "a young election," as the younger generation is showcasing more endeavor to participate in political and community affairs.

The young Lau's election zeal could be seen as just one more indication of the blossoming "younger political forces."

Both candidates and voters showed off younger faces in the legislative elections.

Among the 125 candidates, vying for the 12 directly-elected seats, 54 are under 45; Among the 18 election lists, one thirds of the No. 1 candidates of each list are under 45.

Among the 6,0840 newly registered voters, 14,186 aged between 18 to 24.

The LA in the third term will be composed of 29 members, with 12 members from the direct elections, 10 members from the indirect elections, and seven members as nominated by the chief executive.

This year, a total of 125 candidates from 18 social groups contested in the direct elections.

In the region with a population of nearly 470,000, 220,653 have registered for the direct election poll. Enditem

[SeeMacau]

The Association for New Democratic Macao led by Ng Kuok Cheong was at the head of the poll in Sunday's elections for the third-term Legislative Assembly (LA) of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), according to the provisional results announced on early Monday morning.

Following is the list of 12 winners of the direct elections: Ng Kuok Cheng, Au Kam San, Kwan Tsui Hang, Leong Iok Wa, Chan Meng Kam,Jose Maria Pereira Coutinho, Angela Leong On-kei, Fong Chi Keong, Leong Heng Teng, Ung Choi Kun, Iong Veng Ian and David Chow Kam Fai.

Following is the 10 winners of the indirect elections: Susana Chou, Ku Hoi In, Chang Chi Keong, Ho Teng Iat, Lau Cheok Va, Lee Chong Cheng, Chui Sai Cheong, Leonel Alberto Alves, Victor Cheung Lup Kwan and Chan Chak Mo.

The two lists will be sent to the Court for final approval within five days and the chief executive of MSAR is to appoint the rest seven LA members within 15 days.

In line with the Basic Law, the new LA will be composed of 29 members including 12 from direct elections, 10 from indirect elections, which are conducted by community representatives, and seven appointed by the MSAR's chief executive.

A total of 125 candidates from 18 social groups contested in the direct elections, and 10 candidates, in the indirect elections.

The number of registered voters reached 220,653, or nearly half of the region's population.

A total of 228 voting booths were set up in the city, 222 for the direct elections and six for the indirect elections.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

2005-09-26 Beijing Time
A MASS vote kicked off yesterday to generate the third Legislative Assembly of the Macau Special Administrative Region.

In line with the Basic Law, the new LA will be composed of 29 members: 12 from the direct elections, 10 from the indirect elections, which are conducted by community representatives, and seven appointed by the MSAR's chief executive.


A total of 125 candidates from 18 social groups will contest in the direct elections, and 10 candidates, in the indirect elections. The number of registered voters has reached 220,653, or nearly half of the region's population.