The Macau Post Daily celebrated its 13th anniversary yesterday.
Incidentally, 13 is a lucky number in Chinese numerology which can mean “definitely vibrant” and “assured growth”. Well, we are definitely a “vibrant” newspaper and as eternal optimists always hope that our business will grow, even though newspaper publishing has never been easy, particularly today.
We will stick to our proven editorial principles, based on the so-called ABC of professional journalism (accurate, balanced and concise reporting), apart from clearly separating news from views and attributing all our news and crediting all our photos.
Besides, we will continue to support the ‘One China’ and ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principles that have been the foundation of Macau since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) in 1999. We will also continue to support Macau’s multiculturalism, its socio-economic development in accordance with the Basic Law, and its role as a world tourism and leisure centre, and a business-service hub between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. We are the world’s only English-language newspaper that publishes a daily general news page about the Lusophone world.
We continue to be one of Macau’s most widely read newspapers. Our list of subscribers reads like a Who’s Who of Macau. Our very diverse readership includes local and foreign residents, businesspeople, executives, teachers, scholars, students, pupils, lawyers and other professionals, government officials, tourists and staff at consulates, research institutes, business consultancies, universities and libraries in Macau, Hong Kong and elsewhere.
Unlike other newspapers, The Macau Post Daily is not given away free of charge. We take pride in being one of Macau’s top-selling subscription newspapers, which guarantees our advertisers a stable readership.
Our relationship with the city’s important casino operators is one of “equidistance” and mutual respect. We do not seek a “special relationship” with any of them to the detriment of the others.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers, advertisers and distributors in Macau, Hong Kong and elsewhere for their support over the past 13 years. We also thank all those who chose to publish special advertisements to congratulate The Macau Post Daily on its 13th anniversary.
Special thanks to PLA garrison
Our anniversary took place a few days after Typhoon Hato wreaked havoc in Macau, resulting in death, devastation, destruction and despair. I agree with Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On that the immediate response to the disaster was “not enough”. His decision to ask the local garrison of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for help was absolutely right. I am sure that the great majority of the population – locals and foreigners alike – welcomes the move and is grateful for the soldiers’ assistance. I am sure that most residents share my view that the garrison deserves our special thanks.
Concerning the local authorities’ admittedly insufficient response to the onslaught, finger pointing gets us nowhere. We should all learn from our mistakes. Self-criticism and self-reflection are, in my view, the best way of learning from the calamity.
We should turn bad times into good lessons.
