Forum divided over off-duty gaming staff casino entry ban

Guest speakers and members of the audience at yesterday’s Macau Forum were starkly divided over a government-proposed ban on off-duty gaming staff entering local casinos.The weekly open-air debate is hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM in Areia Preta Park every Sunday.The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) launched a one-month public consultation period late last month on the proposed ban on off-duty gaming staff entering all local casinos, with the aim of reducing the

October 9, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Consultation attendees call for more maternity leave

A number of those attending yesterday’s public session for the ongoing public consultation on proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Law said that the government’s proposed 14 unpaid days in addition to the current 56 days paid maternity leave were insufficient.The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) launched a 45-day public consultation late last month on proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Law, which proposes three to five days paid paternity leave and 14 unpaid days in addition to

October 9, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Govt rejects ‘irresponsible comments’ by US

The Macau government has strongly rejected the “irresponsible” and “unfounded” comments about Macau in the 2017 Annual Report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, released by Congress in Washington, DC, last week.According to a statement by the Government Spokesperson’s Office on Friday, the government “categorically repudiates” the report. The statement reaffirms that “no foreign country has the right to interfere” in China’s internal affairs.As in previous

October 9, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Health Bureau probes Wynn for skirting smoking ban

The Health Bureau (SSM) has announced that it is investigating Wynn Macau for allegedly skirting the government’s casino smoking ban in an area known as Pit 96 on its ground-floor premises.According to the statement, the US gaming operator also failed to put up clearly visible non-smoking signs in the area.The statement said that officials of the Health Bureau and Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) recently inspected the casino after receiving a telephone complaint about illicit

October 9, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Macau passport holders can enter UK faster

The Identification Services Bureau (DSI) has announced that the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong has confirmed that Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) passport holders are eligible to join the UK’s Registered Traveller Service (RTS).Successful applicants do not need to fill in a landing card anymore. Instead, they can use the ePassport gates or the UK and EU entry lanes at designated airports when they enter and exit the country, according to a DSI statement on Friday.An RTS

October 9, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Golden Week visitors rise 11.6 pct

Macau recorded 844,522 visitor arrivals during the mainland’s National Day Golden Week holiday from October 1-7, an increase of 11.6 percent year on year, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a statement yesterday.According to the statement, mainlanders accounted for 76.6 percent of the total number of visitor arrivals, or 647,352, up 9.6 percent.This time, the Golden Week included the Mid-Autumn Festival.

October 9, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

16 Eastern, Central European states to attend tourism forum

A total of 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) will participate in Macau’s two-day 2017 Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) later this month, the co-organisers announced in a press conference at Macau Tower yesterday.The press conference also revealed that the forum’s budget is 46 million patacas, of which about half will be borne by the government, said Ip Peng Kin, chief-of-cabinet of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture, which hosts the annual event in conjunction

October 5, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Duo nabbed for running fake base station: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two men from the mainland on Monday for operating a fake base station in a car, PJ spokesman Choi Ian Fai said during a special press conference yesterday.Choi identified the two suspects, both surnamed Ouyang, as a 30-year old and a 32-year-old. They are not related.A fake base station is telecom equipment which sends out a signal, disconnecting mobile phone users in an area from their legitimate base stations and who then receive messages from the bogus one

October 5, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Non-resident worker dies after gas explosion

A non-resident worker who suffered serious injuries in a gas explosion last month died on Sunday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a regular press conference at the PJ headquarters in Nape yesterday.Ho identified the victim as a 42-year-old worker from the mainland surnamed Li, who shared a flat with a friend at Va Pou Garden in Avenida Olímpica in Taipa.According to Ho, his friend on hearing a loud noise coming from the living room on the morning of September 9 rushed

October 5, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Union calls for casino shuttle bus area to be used for public buses

The Macau Federation of Transportation yesterday urged the government to use the casino shuttle bus area west of the Barrier Gate Plaza for public buses.The union held a press conference about the matter at its headquarters in Iao Hon district yesterday.The union is an affiliate of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen).The Transport Bureau (DSAT) announced in a press conference last month that the government will undertake major work to improve the ventilation in

October 5, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Local authorities ‘pay close attention’ to casino security after Las Vegas massacre

The Macau authorities are paying close attention to Sunday’s massacre in Las Vegas and have requested that security measures at local casinos and other gaming venues are strengthened, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said in a statement yesterday. The bureau said that after the shooting in Las Vegas it immediately contacted Macau’s six gaming operators, asking them to stay alert and increase security measures on their premises. The bureau also said it had

October 4, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Ambrose So ‘confident’ Golden Week can recover Hato losses

Gaming operator SJM’s CEO Ambrose So Shu Fai said yesterday he was confident that the mainland’s eight-day “Super Golden Week” holiday will help his company pick up the business lost due to Super Typhoon Hato in August that temporarily shut down several of its gaming venues.The “Super Golden Week” comprises the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival.So made the comments while speaking to the media at Macau Tower on the sidelines of his company’s cocktail reception to mark the 68th

October 4, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Liaison chief vows to boost Macau-mainland ties

Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Director Zheng Xiaosong says that he will further promote and enhance exchanges and cooperation between Macau and the mainland. Zheng also says he believes that Macau will be more prosperous with the strong backing of the central government.Zheng made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Sunday after attending a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate National Day in Praça de Lótus Dourado in Zape.Zheng said that he visited Macau several

October 4, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Ex-weather chief’s pension bid returned to observatory: Chan

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan has confirmed that the Pension Fund (FP) has returned the retirement application of former Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) Director Fong Soi Kun to the weather bureau – after she had rescinded the announcement on Fong’s pension request as the latter had not applied to retire at least 90 days in advance as required by public service regulations.The Pension Fund is under Chan’s portfolio.Chan made the remarks while

October 4, 2017 | BY admin

Comment: 0