Govt sets up website for National Day celebration

The government yesterday launched a website dedicated to news and information in different formats related to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), according to a statement by the Government Information Bureau (GCS).The website, https://guoqing.gcs.gov.mo, features official news and information in three languages – Chinese, Portuguese and English, as well as pictures and videos. The website aims to provide members of the public with

September 20, 2019 | BY admin

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Gongbei Customs stops woman smuggling endangered ‘golden turtles’

A local woman was recently found to have five Chinese box turtles, also colloquially known as “golden turtles” in Cantonese, wrapped around her abdomen and in her trouser pockets when she went through security checks at Gongbei Customs.Also known as yellow-margined box turtles and golden-headed turtles, the reptile formally known as Cuoraflavomarginata is an endangered species, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The

September 20, 2019 | BY admin

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Charity night planting seed for Cantonese opera to grow

More people seem to be taking an interest in Cantonese opera, but without training from professional masters and assessments, enthusiasts fear that the authenticity of the traditional art form will gradually fade, and eventually lose its cultural appeal.Caritas Women Centre representatives Chan Wai Peng made Cantonese opera the main performance for Caritas Macau’s charity night 19 years ago when she urged families to buy tickets to see a Cantonese opera performance and then have dinner as a

September 20, 2019 | BY admin

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Govt to launch preparatory project for flyover from Areia Preta to Zone A: transport chief

Transport Bureau (DSAT) Director Kelvin Lam Hin San said yesterday that his bureau expects to launch a preparatory project next month to relocate underground pipes in the area near the Oriental Pearl roundabout, which aims to facilitate the launch of a flyover project connecting the peninsula’s Areia Preta district and the land reclamation area known as Zone A – which lies off the north-eastern coast of the peninsula.Lam made the remarks while speaking to reporters at Macau Tower on the

September 20, 2019 | BY admin

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Govt formally withdraws ‘sovereign wealth fund’ bill

The government yesterday formally withdrew its controversial bill which proposed the transfer of 60 billion patacas from the government’s financial reserves for the setting-up of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Investment and Development Fund.The bill was to amend the government’s 2019 budget so that it could allocate the 60 billion patacas from its financial reserves and use the amount as the fund’s start-up capital.The Government Spokesperson’s Office (GPV) made the

September 20, 2019 | BY admin

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AMCM lowers base rate of discount window to 2.25 pct

Macau’s base rate of the discount window has been lowered by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent, the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) announced yesterday.Macau’s quasi-central bank noted in a statement that as the pataca is linked to the Hong Kong dollar the movements of policy rates in the two special administrative regions should be basically consistent, and therefore it followed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) decision earlier this week to lower the base rate of the discount

September 20, 2019 | BY admin

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UM forecasts 0.8 pct GDP dip for this year, 0.9 pct drop for 2020

The University of Macau (UM) forecast yesterday that Macau’s economy will shrink 0.8 percent this year and 0.9 percent next year.The forecast was jointly announced by the public university’s Department of Economics and UM Centre for Macau Studies (CMS) during a press conference on the university’s Hengqin campus.Yesterday’s press conference was co-hosted by Patrick Ho Wai Hong, associate professor of the Department of Economics, Kwan Fung, assistant professor of the Department of

September 19, 2019 | BY admin

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Woman threatens to kill herself as loan sharks try to take nude photos: police

A woman early this week threatened to commit suicide after several loan sharks tried to take nude photos of her in a hotel guestroom where she was being held against her will, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said yesterday.The Judiciary Police (PJ) detained six suspects on Monday for alleged casino loan sharking and the false imprisonment of the woman, PJ spokesman Choi Ian Fai said during a regular press conference yesterday.According to Choi, the sextet comprises five men and a woman, aged between

September 19, 2019 | BY admin

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9th Macau Shopping Festival calls for exhibitors

The president of the 9th Macau Shopping Festival Organising Committee, Frederick Yip Wing Fat, yesterday announced that the committee has started the application process for exhibitors, adding that the event will have stalls for over 50 exhibitors, 30 of which will be for outdoor stalls themed “Nordic White Christmas”.Yip made the announcement at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf Exhibition Centre during a press conference yesterday.The application process will end on October 31. The festival

September 19, 2019 | BY admin

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506 apply for Macau & HK tour-guide licence in Hengqin: official

Hengqin New Area government official Zhang Ximin told reporters that by 10 a.m. yesterday, 506 Macau and Hong Kong tour guides had applied to the island’s government for a tour-guide licence in Hengqin, according to a report by government-owned broadcaster TDM.Zhang spoke to the media after yesterday’s press conference about the licensing process for tour guides from Hong Kong and Macau in Hengqin, the report said.The TDM report did not say when the application process started.PLEASE READ

September 19, 2019 | BY admin

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Govt ends term of Pension Fund department chief over IPIM case

According to an order by Secretary for Administration and Justice Sónia Chan Hoi Fan dated September 9, Miguel Ian Iat Chun’s appointment as a department chief of the Pension Fund (FP) was terminated with immediate effect on that day.However, the order was only published in yesterday’s Official Gazette (BO).When a person is unable to perform his or her working duties for more than six months, their appointment shall be terminated, according to Article 16 of Law 15/2009 concerning

September 19, 2019 | BY admin

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90 pct of eligible Pearl Horizon pre-sale buyers apply to buy ‘home swap’ unit: govt

Macau Urban Renewal Limited, a fully government-owned company tasked with the city’s urban renewal process, announced yesterday that 90.8 percent of the Pearl Horizon pre-sale buyers who are eligible to buy a unit in its “home swap” housing project, which will be built on the plot where the ill-fated residential project is located, have filed their applications during the two-month application period which ended in the middle of last month.Peter Lam Kam Seng, who chairs the company’s

September 19, 2019 | BY admin

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Teen loses 14,120 patacas in credit-for-sex scam: police

A teenage boy fell for a credit-for-sex scam last week, losing a total of 14,120 patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lai Man Vai said in a regular conference yesterday at the PJ headquarters in Zape.According to Lai, the victim is a local pupil. The spokesman did not reveal the victim’s age and other personal information. However, Lai said that the age of the teen is under 18.Lai said that the boy befriended a female online on Saturday. She later told him through a social messaging app

September 18, 2019 | BY admin

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Property price reaches 116,856 patacas per m2: official

Macau’s residential property price rose 17.7 percent year-on-year to 116,856 patacas per square metre last month, the highest price this year, the Finance Services Bureau (DSF) announced yesterday.In August last year, the price stood at 99,254 patacas.The average residential property price in Taipa reached 138,110 patacas per square metre, the highest in the whole city. In Coloane, the average price stood at 121,283 patacas. The price on the peninsula fell to 107,810 patacas.A total of 770

September 18, 2019 | BY admin

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