Lawmaker labels calls to amend Land Law ‘ridiculous’

Outspoken lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho yesterday described the current calls to amend or “interpret” the Land Law as “ridiculous”, adding that the law had curbed land lease holders from “easily” transferring their plots to others or leave their land undeveloped within the legal development period.Coutinho also said that he and fellow lawmaker Leong Veng Chai will not support any bill proposing to amend or interpret the law, which took effect in March 2014. Coutinho, who heads

July 14, 2016 | BY admin

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Local sculptors hold summer exhibition

The Macau Sculpture Association is holding a summer-themed exhibition of metal sculptures at 10 Fantasia.The “Summer x Metal Sculpture Exhibition” comprises about half a dozen exhibits from members of the association on display at the gallery in Calçada da Igreja de S. Lazaro.According to a statement by the gallery, the association specialises in holding sculpture exhibitions.Please read the full article in our print edition.

July 14, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt asks Wynn Palace how many tables it wants

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday that while the government had received a document from Wynn Resorts Macau about gaming tables for Wynn Palace in Cotai, the US gaming company had not specified the number of gaming tables and slot machines it was applying for.Leong said that therefore he had told the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) to contact the company for information specifying “actually how many gaming tables and slot machines it is

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Survey finds 21 pct respondents used ‘Uber service’

A survey conducted by local think tank Collective Wisdom Policy Centre shows that 21.7 percent of 1,012 respondents said that they had used the –formally illegal – Uber service, and about 50 percent of the respondents who used the service said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with it. Ho Weng Hong and Chan Ka Leong, both key members of the group affiliated to the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong), presided over a press

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker labels criticism of Land Law ‘unfair’

Grassroots lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang said yesterday the current criticism of the Land Law was unfair and unacceptable.Kwan also said that the law, which took effect in March 2014, had met civil society’s call for transparency and limits on administrative discretion when dealing with land concessions, reasonable land premiums and better management of the city’s scarce land resources.Kwan also said that during the whole process of reviewing and debating the articles of the Land Law in 2013 no

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Mainlander sexually assaults mentally disabled girl: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a 22-year-old mainland man on suspicion of sexually assaulting a local girl with a mild intellectual disability on Monday, a PJ spokesperson said yesterday.The spokesperson announced the case during a regular press briefing at the PJ headquarters in Zape.According to the spokesperson, the unemployed suspect, surnamed Huang, met the victim, who is also aged 22, on Sunday in a shop at a hotel-casino resort in Cotai. The spokesperson said Huang had chatted with

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Li Gang’s remarks turn developers into ‘quails’: ex-legislator

Claiming that the Land Law was not in line with “the spirit of the Basic Law” and thus needed to be amended or further interpreted, developer-cum-former lawmaker Ung Choi Kun said yesterday that Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Li Gang’s remarks on the Land Law last year had turned many of his fellow developers into “quails”. According to recent media reports, Li is slated to be replaced by Wang Zhimin, currently a deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Air Macau Bangkok flight returns to base due to ‘strange smell’

A flight from Macau to Bangkok had turn around on Monday night after a “strange smell” was detected in the cabin yesterday.According to a report by government-owned broadcaster TDM yesterday morning, the flight took off at 10:15 p.m. on Monday. After flying for about 20 minutes, the pilot smelt something strange and decided to return to the local airport.The report said none of the passengers became unwell due to the incident, adding that the airline arranged for another flight to Bangkok

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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First CCTV cameras being tested: police

Unitary Police Service (SPU) Commissioner-General Ma Io Kun said yesterday the police had finished installing over 200 CCTV cameras around the city’s border control areas, and they were currently adjusting the angles of the cameras during testing.Ma made the remarks on the sidelines of an award ceremony commemorating the 56th anniversary of the Judiciary Police (PJ) at the PJ headquarters in Zape.Ma said the installation of the 219 CCTV cameras as well as the setting-up of the monitoring

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Gaming crimes rise 33 pct in Jan-May PJ chief

Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Chao Wai Kuong said yesterday that gaming-related crimes increased by 33 percent in the first five months year-on-year. Chao made the remarks while addressing an award ceremony commemorating the 56th anniversary of the Judiciary Police at the PJ headquarters in Zape.Chao said that despite the gaming revenue slump, there hadn’t been an increase in public security issues. However, there was a 33 percent increase in the number of reported gaming-related cases

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Floral design meets bridal dress design

A wedding dress exhibition is being held to highlight the successful collaboration of four local floral designers and four local bridal dress designers.The exhibition titled “The Flower Ripple Wedding” is being held at the Macau Fashion Gallery until August 21. It is co-organised by the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM) and Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC).It features wedding dresses and flower arrangements by bridal dress designers Stella Tang, Dora Un, Akina Lei and

July 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt hires consultancy for study on 2 Macau-Taipa tunnels

The Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) said in a statement yesterday that the government has hired CCCC Highway Consultants Co. Ltd. Macau Branch to carry out a feasibility study on the construction of two tunnels either on the west or the east side of the old Macau-Taipa bridge, or a tunnel on either side.The statement also said the study was expected to cost the public coffers 7.2 million patacas. The feasibility study is to be completed within 260 days. CCCC refers to

July 12, 2016 | BY admin

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IPM to publish new Portuguese textbook: head

Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) President Lei Heong Iok said yesterday he expected his institute to publish a new Portuguese textbook, the fourth in a series of books, for Chinese-speaking students in the whole nation in September.  Lei made the remarks after the opening ceremony of a six-day training course for local and mainland Portuguese-language teachers on the IPM campus in Zape. According to Lei, there are around 30 higher education institutions in the mainland running

July 12, 2016 | BY admin

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Scholar urges govt to reveal details of Nam Van projects

The government should give the public more details of its previous contacts with the over 10 Nam Van Development Company Ltd. subsidiaries about their planned construction projects on 13 leased plots, social commentator Larry So Man Yum said yesterday. So, a former associate professor of social work at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM), made the remarks during a group interview on the tertiary institute’s campus in Zape.The 13 undeveloped plots’ 25-year provisional concessions are

July 12, 2016 | BY admin

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