Frozen assets can be used for necessities if CE agrees: bill

A government-initiated bill proposes that the chief executive be given the power to allow “designated individuals” to use “a reasonable amount” of their frozen assets to pay their “necessary expenses”, legislator-cum-unionist Kwan Tsui Hang, who chairs the committee, told reporters yesterday.According to the United Nations, “designated individuals” are persons subject to financial sanctions for alleged involvement in terrorist activity.Kwan, a vice chairwoman of the Macau

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Group to survey women’s health & mental state

The Women’s General Association of Macau (commonly known as Fu Luen) announced yesterday that it will conduct a survey next month on local women and the relationship between their health, mental state and family situation, Wong Kit Cheng, a Fu Luen vice president, said yesterday.Addressing a press conference at the group’s headquarters in San Kio district, Wong also said that since society’s demand for psychological counselling has increased, the government should set up a long-delayed

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Hotel occupancy falls to 76.5 pct

The average occupancy rate of Macau’s 106 hotels and guesthouses fell by 0.9 percentage points to 76.5 percent in March, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) said yesterday. According to a DSEC statement, the number of hotels and guesthouses rose by seven from March last year. The number of guestrooms rose by 4,000, or 13.6 percent, to 32,000 at the end of last month from the same period of last yearGuestrooms of 5-star hotels (20,000) and 4-star hotels (8,000) rose by 11.7 percent

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt ‘striving’ to relaunch tender for LRT depot in Q2: official

The government is “striving” to re-launch a tender for the troubled Light Rapid Transit System (LRT) depot in Taipa within the second quarter of this year, Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) Assistant Co-ordinator Peter Chow Wai Tak said yesterday. Chow made the remarks on the sidelines of a public event at Macau Tower. According to Chow, the government, which expects the construction to be resumed in the third or fourth quarter of this year, is “updating” the design

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt must plan for the long term: Beijing

The Office of Secretary for Administration and Justice said in a statement yesterday that Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Deputy Director Feng Wei has urged the local government to plan with the city’s long-term development in mind.Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan and her team met a number of central government officials in the nation’s capital on Tuesday.The statement said Feng relayed the message from Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Director Wang Guangya,

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Police urge May Day protestors to obey the law

The Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday urged all groups organising Labour Day protests and all those participating in the protests to obey the law when voicing their demands and also to do their best to minimise their activities’ impact on traffic.PSP spokesman Lei Tak Fai made the appeal during a special press conference at PSP Headquarters in Zape.Lei said that by yesterday the Public Security Police and Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) had been informed by eight local groups

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Police prepare May Day crowd control measures

The Public Security Police (PSP) said in a statement yesterday that they will be setting up various crowd control measures in the city’s tourist hot spots as they expect an large influx of mainland visitors during the May Day weekend.The mainland’s three-day Labour Day holiday starts tomorrow. Mainlanders accounted for 63 percent of Macau’s visitor arrivals last month, according to official statistics. The statement said that based on statistics from this year’s Chinese New Year

April 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Operators pledge to meet non-gaming revenue goal

SJM Managing Director Angela Leong On Kei and Wynn Macau Executive Director Linda Chen said yesterday they believe that Macau’s six gaming operators’ revenue from non-gaming business will exceed nine percent of their total income by 2020, 2.4 percentage points up from 2014. The two gaming company executives spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) in Zape.The government laid down the goal for the city’s gaming operators in its proposal

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Cops nab 7 Mongolian shoplifters, 7 more on the run

The police arrested seven suspects from the Republic of Mongolia on Tuesday for their involvement in a number of shoplifting cases in the peninsula and Taipa this year, a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson said yesterday.The spokesperson announced the case during a special press briefing at the PSP headquarters in Zape.According to the spokesperson, while investigating a shoplifting case in a shop near the St Paul’s Ruins last Wednesday, police officers quickly identified the seven

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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11 groups plan to stage Labour Day protest

Political activist Lee Kin Yun said yesterday that his group would join eight other unions for a Labour Day protest on Sunday.Lee, who heads the Macau Democratic Action association, made the announcement during a press conference at the office of lawmakers Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San in Iao Hon.Lee ran in the Legislative Assembly’s direct elections in 2005, 2009 and 2013, but has never won a seat.Political activist Lee Kin Yun talks during a press conference in the office of

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Colleges can run taught PhD courses: bill

A government-drafted bill proposes that Macau’s tertiary education institutions be given the right to offer taught degree programmes at master’s and doctoral levels, legislator Andrew Chan Chak Mo, who chairs the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 2nd Standing Committee, said yesterday.The lawmaker-cum-restaurateur spoke to the media after a closed-door committee meeting with senior officials including Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) Director Sou Chio Fai.According to Chan, it will not

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt vows to improve quality of private notaries

The Government’s top advisory body – the Executive Council (ExCo) – announced yesterday that it has finished discussing the proposed amendments to the law on private notaries, with the main aim of improving the quality of private notaries and increasing their number, Leong Heng Teng, the council’s spokesman, said yesterday.Leong addressed a press conference about the proposed amendments to the law, saying that the changes would be sent to the legislature as soon as possible for debate

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Junkets ‘very positive’ on better regulation: top inspector

The local junket sector is “very positive” about the government’s stance that its operations should be better regulated, Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) Director Paulo Martins Chan said yesterday.The city’s top gaming inspector made the remarks on the sidelines of a seminar at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) in Zape. Chan said there was a “need” to raise the financial requirements needed for the approval of junket operator applications, apart from the

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt vows ‘to meet residents every day’ during 5-year plan consultation

Policy Research Centre Director Lao Pun Lap said yesterday the government was not afraid of listening to the public directly, vowing his staff “will meet residents” every day, if need be, to collect public opinion on the government’s first ever Five-Year Development Plan (2016-2020).The head of the government’s top think tank made the pledge when asked by reporters as to why there were no consultation sessions planned for members of the general public during the two-month long period to

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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