Carpenters hope to pass down traditional woodworking skills

Mechanical production has replaced traditional woodworking skills, Macau Seong Ka Mok Ngai Association President Kong Chit Sang told reporters yesterday, adding that wood artistry has its historical value and it’s worth retaining.“Seong Ka” means “construction industry” and “Mok Ngai” means “wood art”. The grassroots association has been in operation for more than 70 years and comprises local woodworkers.The association held a press conference at its premises in Rua de Camilo

September 5, 2019 | BY admin

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Macau is one of world’s best places for fireworks by sea: Malaysian pyrotechnician

Malaysian fireworks company Blastmaster pyrotechnician Krishna Moorthy said yesterday that Macau is “one of the best” venues for fireworks by the sea offering a very good photo-opportunity.Moorthy made the remarks at a press briefing about the two companies that will start the 30th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest at Macau Tower on Saturday.According to a statement by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Moorthy’s company and its rival firework company Platinum

September 5, 2019 | BY admin

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19 smugglers busted with drugs worth HK$5.5 million: HK & Macau Customs

Hong Kong Customs said in a statement yesterday that it recently conducted a joint operation codenamed “Turbine” with the Macau Customs Service (AF) to fight cross-border drug trafficking activities between Hong Kong and Macau, seizing narcotics with an estimated market value of HK$5.5 million and arresting 19 suspected drug smugglers.According to the statement, the six-week operation was held between July 20 and August 31, involving 18 drug-trafficking cases and resulting in the arrest of

September 5, 2019 | BY admin

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HK schoolboy nabbed for selling drugs for ‘fast money’: police

A 16-year-old schoolboy from Hong Kong was hired by a gang to sell drugs in Macau, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lun said during a special press conference yesterday.According to Leng, the suspect surnamed Yip was detained in front of a hotel in Zape on Tuesday nightHe told the police that he’s a secondary school pupil in Hong Kong.Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded 16-year-old drug-trafficking suspect from Hong Kong to a vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape

September 5, 2019 | BY admin

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Overall crime rate drops in H1 but violent crimes up 8.4 pct: Wong

The total number of crimes reported in the first half of this year dropped 2.8 percent year-on-year to 6,920, but the number of violent crimes rose 8.4 percent, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said yesterday.Wong announced the city’s crime statistics for the first six months of the year during a press conference at the S. Francisco Barracks yesterday. The Macau Public Security Forces are headquartered at Macau’s erstwhile Portuguese garrison barracks.Wong said that the major kinds of

September 4, 2019 | BY admin

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Mobile phone imports fall 54 pct in July

Macau’s mobile phone imports fell 54.4 percent year-on-year to 151 million patacas in July, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced.According to a DSEC statement last week, mobile phone imports in the first seven months of the year dropped 37.3 percent to 2.55 billion patacas.July’s total imports fell 3.2 percent to 7.2 billion patacas, while those between January and July dropped 2.2 percent to 49.4 billion patacas.PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN OUR PRINT EDITION.

September 4, 2019 | BY admin

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3 cross-border drivers smuggle US$1.7 million: Gongbei Customs

Gongbei Customs said in a statement yesterday that its officers busted three currency smuggling cases at the Cotai-Hengqin border checkpoint last week, involving a total of US$1,725,000 (13.9 million patacas) in cash.According to the statement, the joint operation was conducted by two of its subordinate departments –Hengqin Customs and the Anti Smuggling Bureau of its Hengqin Division – at about midnight on August 27. During the operation, customs officers checked cross-border drivers and

September 4, 2019 | BY admin

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Mainlander nabbed for stall investment scam: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a mainland man on Sunday for cheating a fellow mainlander by claiming he was a former member of the management staff of the local wholesale market who could arrange for the victim to be put on a priority list to buy a stall in a future wholesale market in Ilha Verde, PJ spokesman Leng Kam Lun said during a regular press conference yesterday.According to Leng, the 38-year-old suspect is surnamed Zhou. He told the police that he is unemployed. The personal

September 4, 2019 | BY admin

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Auditors slam govt’s public servant central recruitment method

In a hard-hitting report published yesterday, the Commission of Audit (CA) criticises the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) for its “unreasonably low efficiency” in recruiting public servants for the public administration through its centralised recruitment method which has undergone various changes since 2011.The commission slams the bureau for failing to foresee the possible difficulties in implementing its centralised recruitment rules over the past decade.The report

September 4, 2019 | BY admin

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17-year-old tourist nabbed after losing fake entry permit: police

The Public Security Police (PSP) have caught a teenage tourist after he lost a bogus entry permit that he had bought on the mainland with the intention of gambling in Macau’s casinos, PSP spokesman Choi Iok Kin said during a regular press conference in Zape yesterday.According to Choi, the 17-year-old suspect surnamed Wu is from the mainland. He told the police that he is unemployed.The incident was reported by the security management of a casino-hotel resort in Cotai on August 25. According

September 3, 2019 | BY admin

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Motor vehicles rise to 238,383 in July

Macau’s number of licensed motor vehicles rose by 152 year-on-year to 238,383 at the end of July, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.Light automobiles increased by 0.9 percent to 108,258, while heavy motorcycles rose by 1.8 percent to 98,136.New registrations of motor vehicles in July increased by 0.8 percent to 1,130, with new registrations of light automobiles rising by 1.1 percent to 537 and those of heavy motorcycles dipping by 0.4 percent to 537.PLEASE READ THE

September 3, 2019 | BY admin

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New radio channel on air in GBA

BEIJING – A radio channel covering the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) started broadcasting at 7 a.m. on Sunday.The channel, airing on FM 101.2 and MW 1215, will broadcast 21 hours a day mainly in Cantonese but also include programs in Hakka, Teochew and the Shantou dialects, its operator China Media Group said in a statement, adding that it will also have accounts on social media platforms.The move aims to promote the GBA’s comprehensive advantages, enhance cooperation

September 3, 2019 | BY admin

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Hotel guests rise 1.8 pct to 8.1 million in Jan-July

Macau’s 1,190 hotels and guesthouses recorded 8.16 million guests in the first seven months of the year, up by 1.8 percent year-on-year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced.The average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouse rose by 1.1 percentage points to 91.4 percent in the seven-month period. Guests’ average length of stay remained unchanged at 1.5 nights.In July, the hotel sector recorded 1.25 million guests, a year-on-year growth of 3.5 percent. Mainlanders,

September 3, 2019 | BY admin

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CE election result published in Official Gazette

The result of Macau’s fifth chief executive (CE) election, which had already been verified by the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) last month, was published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.Macau’s top court verified the result and confirmed Ho Iat Seng as the Chief Executive-elect, the gazette announced.Since no judicial appeal against the election process was filed within the statutory period, the Court of the Final Appeal verified the election result and the name of the elected

September 3, 2019 | BY admin

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