Govt vows to better regulate cross-border drivers

Transport Bureau (DSAT) Vice Director Luis Correia Gageiro said yesterday the government was planning to amend certain pieces of legislation with the aim of improving the regulations for cross-border drivers from the mainland who hold “special driving licences” which allow them to drive in Macau.Gageiro made the remarks when replying to an oral interpellation by lawmaker-cum-unionist Kwan Tsui Hang during a plenary session of the legislature.According to Kwan, Decree Law No. 67/84/M allows

January 24, 2017 | BY admin

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Kai Fong urges govt to tax private idle land

The General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong) yesterday suggested the government impose a tax on privately owned vacant plots of land as a way to push the landowners to develop their plots as soon as possible.Chan Ka Leong, who heads Kai Fong’s social affairs committee, made the suggestion during a press conference at the group’s community service centre in Toi San district.Kai Fong staff visited most plots of idle land from August to December last year, which

January 24, 2017 | BY admin

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Scholars slam govt’s policy implementation system

Macau Civic Power (ECM) Chairwoman Agnes Lam Iok Fong said yesterday that the government’s systemic problems in policy implementation, especially in its “ineffective” consultation system, had caused residents to suffer politics participation “fatigue”.Lam, the assistant dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau (UM) where she teaches media studies, made the remarks at a roundtable discussion held by ECM in the Art Garden in Nape.The group hosts monthly

January 23, 2017 | BY admin

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Liaison chief praises city’s ‘exceptional’ development

Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Wang Zhimin said in his address during a reception on Friday celebrating the Chinese New Year it was “exceptional” that Macau could achieve full employment and economic stability last year amid the ongoing pressure of the global economic slowdown.The event took place at Macau Tower, with more than 1,000 people attending, including Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, senior local government officials, lawmakers, Executive Council

January 23, 2017 | BY admin

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Union protests against non-local drivers

The newly-founded Macau Local Commercial Drivers Union organised a protest march yesterday afternoon against the possible hiring of non-local commercial vehicle drivers.About 30 members of the union started their protest march in Iao Hon Market Park at 2 p.m. They marched along Rua de Francisco Xavier Pereira, Avenida do Coronel Mesquita, Avenida de Sidónio Pais and Rua do Campo, before ending their march outside Government Headquarters in Nam Van, where several representatives of the trade

January 23, 2017 | BY admin

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100 join anti-Trump Women’s March in Macau

About 100 US citizens living in Macau participated in a Women’s March protest against US President Donald Trump on Saturday, after his inauguration in Washington, DC, on Friday (1 a.m. Saturday Macau time), according to local Chinese-language online media All About Macau.According to All About Macau, the protesters urged the Trump administration to ensure that women’s rights in the US will always be protected.The local rally was part of the global anti-Trump Women’s March

January 23, 2017 | BY admin

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Animal rights groups protest over dog abuse case

Six animal protection associations held a joint protest march yesterday to call for the more effective enforcement of the recently enacted Animal Protection Law. The protesters also slammed the government for the “sloppy” handling of a Judiciary Police (PJ) officer’s animal abuse case last week. The incident in which PJ officer Miguel Weng Meng Quintal Chan abused his dog on the verandah of his flat on Tuesday quickly became widely known because someone living nearby filmed the

January 23, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt lists 9 more cultural heritage items

Executive Council spokesman Leong Heng Teng said yesterday that nine monuments and buildings of architectural interest have been newly listed as cultural heritage.Addressing a press conference at Government Headquarters, Leong said the government’s top advisory body had finished discussing the draft of a by-law regarding the evaluation of monuments and buildings of architectural interest, which would take effect the day after the announcement.According to Leong, seven properties have been

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt plans culture & sports for dog racetrack: Chui

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said yesterday that the government would consider building social, cultural, sports and recreation facilities on the plot of land currently leased by Macau Yat Yuen Canidrome Co. Ltd. for its controversial greyhound races, according to a statement by the Office of the Chief Executive (GCE).The government announced in July last year that the company will have to shut down the racetrack within two years. The government also said the operator would need to find

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Debts behind Indian family suicide pact: police

The woman who survived a family-of-four suicide pact in a hotel room in Cotai on Wednesday told the police yesterday that her family decided to take their own lives because her husband could not pay off his debts after his business had failed, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Tam Weng Keong said yesterday during a regular press briefing.On Wednesday, three men and a woman were found unconscious in a Hotel Okura guestroom. Firemen later confirmed that two men had died at the scene, while another

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Dog-abusing cop apologises

Judiciary Police (PJ) officer Miguel Weng Meng Quintal Chan, who abused his dog in public view on Tuesday, posted a video on Facebook and released a statement yesterday, apologising for his “reckless behaviour”.The incident quickly became widely known because someone living nearby filmed the abuse which went viral on various social media such as Facebook, WeChat and WhatsApp.The footage shows a man kicking, beating and throwing the dog around. This screenshot taken from a video posted on

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Banker expects condo prices to fall

Macau Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Association President Stanley Au Chong Kit said yesterday he expected housing prices in the city to drop this year, in the expectation that the US Fed will raise interest rates several times in the year ahead.He also urged local residents to be careful about engaging in investment activities this year due to the possible US Fed interest rate rises.Au made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar about the economic and

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Getting’jiggy: Riverdance taps into town

It doesn’t need to be St. Patrick’s Day to get into the Irish spirit, as performers will be strutting their stuff with fast hops, crosses, jigs and high kicks to traditional Irish music next week in Riverdance, a show that made Irish step dancing world famous.Originally an interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 when the televised competition was held in Dublin, the seven-minute Riverdance show received a standing ovation and was later developed into a full performance that

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Prosperity and treasure at Sofitel

Chinese New Year is everything auspicious and the food eaten during the festival all has meaning that more or less symbolises good health, good luck and good business.At Le Chinois at Sofitel Macau, start the Chinese New Year meal with a “Prosperity Toss”. Originally a tradition for the Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese community, this “Prosperity Toss” is a salad dish with raw salmon and tuna with an assortment of shredded vegetables. The raw fish is considered a symbol of abundance,

January 20, 2017 | BY admin

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