Group petitions govt to support Uber

Members of the grassroots Love Macau Association submitted a petition, addressed to the Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, yesterday, urging the government to support global ride-hailing giant Uber’s continued operation in Macau.Speaking to reporters after handing the petition to an official outside Government Headquarters, Cloee Chao Sao Fong, the group’s president, said an online survey conducted by her group last week showed that more than 90 percent of the respondents supported

September 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Think tank calls for details on ‘land debt’ plots

Local think tank Collective Wisdom Policy Centre yesterday called for the government to announce details of the six plots which originally had been leased to developers but were eventually used by the government for other purposes.A press conference about the issue was held yesterday at the centre in Avenida de Horta e Costa.Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On admitted in July in the legislature that the government has used a total of 88,806 square metres of land which originally had been

September 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt shelves eatery plan for Taipa-Houses Museum

The Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture has shelved its controversial plan to open a Portuguese restaurant in one of the five mansions in the Taipa-Houses Museum complex, according to a statement by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) yesterday.The statement said an inter-departmental working group under the purview of the secretariat had decided to shelve the plan as it triggered a “heated discussion” in civil society, namely because of fears that the environment around the

September 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt may amend noise control law if many complain: official

The Environmental Noise Prevention and Control Law might be amended if residents have many complaints about it, Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Vice Director Ip Kuong Lam said yesterday. Ip made the remarks after a regular meeting of the Northern Districts Social Services Consultative Committee at the Government Service Centre in Areia Preta.Committee member Chio Lan Ieng told reporters before the meeting that many residents work shifts but the law’s noise-protection time frame

September 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Union petitions govt over smoking lounge details

Members of the Macau Gaming Enterprises Staff Association (MGESA) yesterday submitted a petition, addressed to Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng, to voice various complaints by casino workers about gamblers illegally smoking in casinos, urging the government to announce details about casino smoking lounges that it has approved. The association is an affiliate of the influential Macau Federation of Trade Unions (known as “Gung Luen” in Cantonese).Speaking to

September 2, 2016 | BY admin

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No textbooks: Children all excited about e-learning

After their long summer holiday, children are generally happy to be back at school, especially those at Escola Sao Paulo who couldn’t wait to use their own tablet PC for all their classes and homework.About 200 children who are in Primary 4 now were already at school on Monday where they took a one-day training course on how to use their tablet PC.“It’s so slippery,” Eric Mak Kin Wong, who is nine and a half, told MPD Weekender as he tried to write his name on the touch-screen of his

September 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt rents offices for 4 billion patacas in 10 years: audit report

The government spent four billion patacas on leasing office  space in private properties for its bureaus and other public entities between 2004 and 2014, the Commission of Audit (CA) said in a report yesterday.The commission criticised the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) for being responsible for the dilemma by failing to plan for the construction of government buildings.The report points out that the government rents a large number of private properties for its various

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Taiwan uni expels Macau cat killer: reports

A National Taiwan University (NTU) student from Macau, identified by the island’s media as Chan Hou Ieong, who reportedly admitted that he had killed two cats in Taiwan, was expelled by the university on Tuesday, according to Taiwan media reports yesterday. The public university’s decision means that Chan, who was set to graduate in chemical engineering this summer, won’t be able to obtain a degree from the university, NTU Chief Secretary Lin Ta-te was quoted as saying by the

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Car & bike imports drop 56 pct in Jan-July

Macau’s imports of cars and motorcycles dropped by 56.4 percent year-on-year to 700 million patacas, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday. Mobile phone imports fell by 47.4 percent to 2.5 billion patacas. Imports of watches dropped by 42.8 percent to 2.2 billion patacas. Gold jewellery imports decreased by 27.9 percent to 2.9 billion patacas. Construction material imports declined by 33.5 percent to 1.2 billion patacas. Total imports decreased by 21.3 percent

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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IIs caught trying to leave city after gambling

Four illegal immigrants (IIs) were caught leaving the city after gambling, with one of them attempting to swim back to the mainland, according to a statement from the Macau Customs Service yesterday.The statement said that Customs officers spotted a motor launch early yesterday morning in the waters around Zone A of reclaimed land near the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and Friendship Bridge.As the officers stopped the boat, the man who operated the vessel jumped overboard and made his escape and

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt launches first burial under trees

The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) has received 29 applications for tree burials since its launch in September last year, Fong Vai Seng, who heads the bureau’s Environment, Hygiene and Licensing Department, said yesterday.Fong made the comments at the Sa Kong Municipal Cemetery in Taipa where he briefed reporters about the newly introduced burial service.According to Fong, of the 29 applications, 28 people have already been buried under the trees.Two IACM staff members demonstrate

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Rio heroes play with local youths, visit community centres

Team China’s Rio Olympics heroes yesterday afternoon played games and did sports with local youths, during the third of their four-day visit.The Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement yesterday that 2,500 young people attended the interactive sports activity at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, where some of the youngsters selected in a lucky draw teamed up with the athletes to play games.Some young people also played table tennis and badminton with some of the

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Thai & Portuguese pyro teams vow to brighten up sky despite threat of rain

Rain and thunderstorms have been forecast for the opening night of the city’s annual firework contest on Saturday but the pyrotechnic competitors from Thailand and Portugal are confident they will put up a good show neverthelessThese two companies are among the 10 who are competing in this year’s 28th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest organised by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO).The competition will take place near Macau Tower this Saturday, next Saturday, on

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker urges govt to listen to public on Uber row

Lawmaker Au Kam Sun yesterday urged the government to listen to public opinion about the passenger transport service provided by Uber, the global ride-hailing giant. The veteran legislator made the remarks during a press conference about a protest rally slated for Sunday to urge the government to allow Uber to continue its local business. The protest rally is being organised by the grassroots Macau Community Development Initiative (MCDI) group headed by Au and fellow lawmaker Antonio

September 1, 2016 | BY admin

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