Govt consulting public on tourism master plan

The Government Tourist Office (MGTO) said yesterday that it will to collect public opinion over two months on the draft of its Macau Tourism Development Master Plan which focuses, according to the office, on laying the foundation and setting the direction for the development of city’s tourism industry in the next 15 years.Members of the public can submit their suggestions about the draft until July. The consultation process started yesterday. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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Visitor arrivals drop 3 pct in April

Macau’s visitor arrivals fell by 3 percent year-on-year to 2.47 million last month, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.The bureau pointed out that the Easter holiday last year fell in April while this year it took place in March.Month-to-month, the number of visitor arrivals rose by 4.4 percent.Please read the full article in our print edition.

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker wants more directly-elected seats

Veteran grassroots lawmaker Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong yesterday is urging the government to add an additional section to its Legislative Assembly election amendment bill on the possible increase in the number of directly-elected seats.The lawmaker makes the suggestion in a written interpellation submitted to the government. Ng sent copies of the interpellation to the media yesterday.In his interpellation, Ng slams the bill’s consultation document, which was released earlier this month, for

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt to submit bill on central provident system soon: official

The Executive Council (ExCo) has finished discussing the draft of a bill on the establishment of a non-mandatory central provident fund for the city’s employees, Social Security Fund (FSS) President Iong Kong Io said yesterday, adding that after finalising the bill the government will submit it to the legislature for debate and vote as soon as possible.The FSS president made the remarks after attending a phone-in programme run by government-owned broadcaster TDM’s Chinese-language radio

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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Macau should focus on conferences: councillor

Macau should focus on its conference and incentive travel industries rather than the exhibition industry, Hazel Xu Yueying, a member of the government-appointed Committee for the Development of Conventions and Exhibitions, said yesterday. Xu, an associate professor at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), made the remarks during a consultation session on the draft of the government’s first Five-Year Development Plan for advisory body members under Secretary for Economy and Finance

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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Domestic violence law still has room for improvement: group

Macau Domestic Violence Legislation Coalition spokeswoman Cecilia Ho Wing Yin said yesterday her group welcomed the long-awaited passage of a government-drafted domestic violence bill, but lamented that the government had yet to answer some of the group’s concerns in the final version of the bill.Ho made the remarks during a phone interview with The Macau Post Daily.The Law on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence was finally passed by the legislature on Friday. It will take effect 120

May 23, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker calls for more opinions on proposed high-rise

Grassroots lawmaker Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong yesterday urged members of the government-appointed Urban Planning Committee and residents to continue giving their opinions on the proposed development of a plot of land next to the city’s Muslim cemetery.Ng also said that the committee members, who voted against the proposed height limit of 127 metres for the plot because they thought it to be too high for the neighbourhood, should make their positions public and release a joint statement on the

May 23, 2016 | BY admin

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Unionist urges integration of festivals and non-gaming attractions

Macau’s six gaming operators should integrate the promotion of their non-gaming attractions with the city’s festivals and major annual events such as the Macau Grand Prix, Leong Sun Iok, a vice-president of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (Gung Luen), said yesterday. Leong, who heads the Gaming Employees Home, a subsidiary of the federation, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a forum hosted by the Macau Wisdom Convergence Network, a local think tank, in Iao Hon district where

May 23, 2016 | BY admin

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Macau has only about 20 speech therapists: group

There are only 20 or so speech therapists working in Macau, Yan Kam Sum, the vice-president of the Macau Association of Speech Therapists (MAST), said yesterday, pointing out that his sector is facing an acute labour shortage. The therapist made the remarks on the sidelines of the association’s Speech-Language Therapy Promotion Day at the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau’s (DSEJ) Lago activity centre in Taipa.Most of Macau’s speech therapists graduated from Hong Kong, Taiwan and

May 23, 2016 | BY admin

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Group holds debate on gaming industry’s impact on youth

Macau’s young people should have more opportunities to learn about and debate the possible problems caused by the gaming industry’s development, Emily Cheang Ka I, a staff member of the Macau New Chinese Youth Association, told reporters yesterday. The association held a debate at the Macau Science Centre for pupils and students on how the gaming industry affects young people’s development. Cheang spoke to reporters before the debate.Pointing out that many local schools and social

May 23, 2016 | BY admin

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Speakers worry CCTV cameras impinge on privacy

Macau Forum guest speakers Kou Ngon Fong and Mak Heng Ip yesterday raised concerns about possible breaches of residents’ privacy by the proliferation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the city.The forum is a weekly public debate programme run by government-owned broadcaster TDM. About a dozen residents attended yesterday’s forum about the government’s planned 1,600 CCTV cameras for the city and how to protect residents’ privacy.Ella Lei Cheng I (centre), a guest

May 23, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt hopes animal protection law takes effect on Sept 1: lawmaker

The government hopes its animal protection bill will finally become law soon and come into force on September 1, legislator-cum-unionist Kwan Tsui Hang, who chairs the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee, said yesterday.The committee met yesterday to discuss the newly revised version of the bill with senior officials including Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan and Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) President Jose Fonseca Tavares. Kwan briefed reporters on the

May 20, 2016 | BY admin

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Police bust human smuggling gang

The police caught eight people in Coloane on Wednesday, including the suspected head of a human trafficking gang, and seven illegal immigrants, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said after the arrests. The case was announced near a youth hostel at Hac Sa Beach. According to the spokesperson, the suspected head of the gang is a 25-year-old mainland man surnamed Huang. Please read the full article in our print edition.

May 20, 2016 | BY admin

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CE can close failing tertiary institutions: bill

A government-drafted bill proposes to give the chief executive the power to close any local privatelyowned higher education institution if their teaching standards have  “obviously declined”, Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) Director Sou Chio Fai said yesterday. Sou talked to reporters after attending a closed-door meeting of the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 2nd Standing Committee’s about the bill, which proposes that the chief executive should also be able to close

May 20, 2016 | BY admin

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