Lawmaker calls for direct election to future municipal organs

Grassroots lawmaker Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong said yesterday that all members of the city’s future non-political municipal organs should be elected directly by popular vote, adding that only directly-elected members would “automatically” reflect the public’s concerns and opinions.Ng, a founding member of the grassroots New Macau Association (NMA), made the appeal during a meeting held by the association at its office about the possible setting-up of non-political municipal organs as stated

April 11, 2016 | BY admin

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Group vows to step up Basic Law promotion

The Macau Basic Law Promotion Association (ADLBM) will work with community organisations and the government to step up their effort to promote the Macau Basic Law, legislator-cum-auditor Chui Sai Cheong, who heads the association, said yesterday.The association and several government organs jointly hosted a bazaar in Praça do Tap Seac yesterday to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the promulgation of the Macau Basic Law. The activity included dance performances by children and 18 game booths

April 11, 2016 | BY admin

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Repossession of power plant plot makes progress: Rosario

Asked by reporters about the government’s plan to build public housing on the plot of land in Avenida de Venceslau de Morais where power utility CEM’s former power station is located, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said yesterday that “progress has been made”.The policy secretary made the remarks on the sidelines of a bazaar jointly hosted by the Macau Basic Law Promotion Association (ADLBM) and several government organs in Praça do Tap Seac.“There

April 11, 2016 | BY admin

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Group calls for free college education for ‘residents in need’

The Workers’ Self-Help Union is collecting residents’ signatures until April 22 to urge the government to provide all “residents in need” with subsidies so that they can enrol in bachelor’s degree programmes locally for free, Lei Kit Meng, a veteran racing driver who heads the union, told The Macau Post Daily yesterday. Lei made the demand beside the union’s signature campaign tent in Praça do Tap Seac. According to Lei, his group received over 2,000 signatures on

April 11, 2016 | BY admin

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Founding Editorial

CONNECTING MACAUOur director working at his desk on April 5, 2016. Photo: Simon WangAfter prolonged and relatively intense labour pains, Macau's first post-handover English-language daily was born without major complications this morning (August 27, 2004).From now on, The Macau Post Daily will vigorously strive to become YOUR newspaper. We are a locally-owned and locally-made publication that fully identifies with Macau's unique way of life. After all, there is no place like Macau.This

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Macau isn’t a tax haven: Leong

No application for casino in Coloane Responding to media reports that 25 local businesses are allegedly involved in the Panama Papers case, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday that while he had no information on the matter, he wished to point out that “Macau isn’t a tax haven.” According to the unconfirmed reports, the 25 local companies involve 22 beneficiaries and 233 shareholders whose identifies are slated to be announced by the leakers of

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Taxi drivers’ Taiwan tour axed by officials: media

Responding to enquires by the local media about a news report in the Hong Kong edition of the Apple Daily yesterday that the Macau Taxi Business Federation had cancelled its planned trip to Taiwan because both the central and local governments “had given orders that Tsai Ing-wen’s authority must be penalised”, Wong Peng Kei, who heads the federation, told the local media last night that the report was not true.Wong said that considering “the recent changes in the cross-Strait political

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt proposes higher fines for smuggling endangered species

Executive Council spokesman Leong Heng Teng said yesterday the government was proposing to increase the maximum fine for smuggling endangered species from the current 5,000 patacas to 500,000 patacas.Leong made the announcement during a special press conference at Government Headquarters. Leong said the Executive Council (ExCo) had completed discussing a bill on the local enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), also known

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmakers question govt’s ‘late’ submission of bills

Lawmakers asked the government yesterday why it is often submitting urgent and important bills to the legislature “so late,” not giving legislators enough time to debate them, Kwan Tsui Hang, who chairs the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee, said yesterday.Kwan, vice chairwoman of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen), made the remarks after presiding over a meeting of the committee about a government-drafted bill on the freezing of terrorism-related

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Cabbies protest against ‘unfair’ law enforcement

Several dozen taxi drivers protested outside the Public Security Police (PSP) Traffic Police Department in Avenida de Sidonio Pais and the Central People’s Government’s Liaison Office in Zape late last night, accusing the police of abuse of power and “selective” enforcement.The cabbies blocked part of the road in their protest, and during a brief kerfuffle between police officers and taxi drivers, a man was seen lying on the ground. According to media reports, over a dozen taxis were

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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19-year-old nabbed for pimping 15-year-old girl: police

A 19-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for pimping a 15-year-old girl, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said yesterday.A special press briefing about the case was held at the PJ headquarters in Zape.According to the spokesperson, Public Security Police (PSP) officers first learnt of the case when they stopped the victim in Zape during a regular patrol on March 23, as they suspected that she was working as a prostitute. The case was later transferred to the Judiciary Police for further

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Committee wants clean coastal waters for northern districts

A member of the government-appointed Northern Districts Social Services Consultative Committee urged the government yesterday to hurry up and deal with the coastal water pollution problem that has been plaguing the city’s northern districts for years.Leong Ka Hong made the appeal during a regular meeting of the committee in the government’s service centre in Areia Preta.  Leong said that for many years residents of the northern districts had been complaining about the coast’s

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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Committee wants clean coastal waters for northern districts

Resort to feature banana-grabbing King Kong  US casino mogul Steve Wynn has told his company’s first-ever investor day that he is considering a “lucky 8/8” opening of Wynn Macau in Cotai. Wynn made the remarks at the event in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “We hope to open [Wynn Palace] in July or maybe the first week of August,” Wynn said, adding: “We are thinking of 8/8 [August 8] – sort of lucky numbers.” The magnate also revealed details of the Wynn Palace

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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‘Inadequate’ No. of legal translators creates bottlenecks: official

Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) Director Liu Dexue said yesterday that the inadequate number of legal translators had created a bottleneck in the efficient drafting of bills and regulations.He also said that it could take two or three years for the bureau to recruit enough legal translators proficient in Portuguese and Chinese to overcome the bottleneck.Liu made the remarks after attending a meeting of the Legislative Assembly 1st Standing Committee. Government representatives including Liu

April 8, 2016 | BY admin

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