11 groups plan to stage Labour Day protest

Political activist Lee Kin Yun said yesterday that his group would join eight other unions for a Labour Day protest on Sunday.Lee, who heads the Macau Democratic Action association, made the announcement during a press conference at the office of lawmakers Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San in Iao Hon.Lee ran in the Legislative Assembly’s direct elections in 2005, 2009 and 2013, but has never won a seat.Political activist Lee Kin Yun talks during a press conference in the office of

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Colleges can run taught PhD courses: bill

A government-drafted bill proposes that Macau’s tertiary education institutions be given the right to offer taught degree programmes at master’s and doctoral levels, legislator Andrew Chan Chak Mo, who chairs the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 2nd Standing Committee, said yesterday.The lawmaker-cum-restaurateur spoke to the media after a closed-door committee meeting with senior officials including Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) Director Sou Chio Fai.According to Chan, it will not

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt vows to improve quality of private notaries

The Government’s top advisory body – the Executive Council (ExCo) – announced yesterday that it has finished discussing the proposed amendments to the law on private notaries, with the main aim of improving the quality of private notaries and increasing their number, Leong Heng Teng, the council’s spokesman, said yesterday.Leong addressed a press conference about the proposed amendments to the law, saying that the changes would be sent to the legislature as soon as possible for debate

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Junkets ‘very positive’ on better regulation: top inspector

The local junket sector is “very positive” about the government’s stance that its operations should be better regulated, Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) Director Paulo Martins Chan said yesterday.The city’s top gaming inspector made the remarks on the sidelines of a seminar at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) in Zape. Chan said there was a “need” to raise the financial requirements needed for the approval of junket operator applications, apart from the

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt vows ‘to meet residents every day’ during 5-year plan consultation

Policy Research Centre Director Lao Pun Lap said yesterday the government was not afraid of listening to the public directly, vowing his staff “will meet residents” every day, if need be, to collect public opinion on the government’s first ever Five-Year Development Plan (2016-2020).The head of the government’s top think tank made the pledge when asked by reporters as to why there were no consultation sessions planned for members of the general public during the two-month long period to

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Security chief slams US human rights report

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said yesterday that the local government strongly objected to a human rights report published by the US government recently, describing it as “irresponsible gossip”.Wong made the remarks on the sidelines of an awards ceremony for firefighters at the Fire Services Bureau (CB) headquarters in Nam Van.The US State Department recently published its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015. Concerning Macau, it says that there were “prominent”

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Hotel Central closes for ‘internal adjustments’

The history-laden Hotel Central in Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro has announced its “temporary closure” for “internal adjustments”. Last night, a notice could be seen on the wooden boards erected over the hotel’s entrance, which reads “internal adjustments, temporarily closed” in Chinese.A court notice was also posted at the entrance, stating that the property was subject to a civil case, though no additional details were provided.Pedestrians walk past the boarded-up Hotel

April 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt hopes its first 5-Year Plan will become ‘joint action agenda’

Think tank head Lao Pun Lap said yesterday he hoped the government’s first ever Five-Year Development Plan will become a “joint action agenda” for the government and the community at large, adding that the government would adopt “more open, transparent and interactive” ways to collect public opinion on the plan. Lao, who heads the government’s Policy Research Office, made the remarks during a press conference at Government Headquarters. Government officials – Lao, Lei

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt working closely with at-risk shipyard: official

Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) Director Susanna Wong Soi Man said yesterday the government was working closely with the owners of a dilapidated shipyard in Coloane.Wong was attending a meeting of the Macao Water Customers Liaison Group at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where she made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines.According to media reports on Monday, a crack appeared in a dry dock pillar in the shipyard in Lei Chi Vun Village in Coloane. Residents living in the village

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Summer fun registration to kick off tomorrow

From tomorrow until May 9, residents aged four to 25 can register to join the government’s annual Summer Activities, which will include over 400 kinds of classes and other activities in July and August, senior officials of the Sports Bureau (ID) and Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) announced yesterday. Applicants under the age of 18 must include their legal guardian’s signature on their enrolment form. Enrolment in most classes and activities costs just 20 patacas.

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Police bust pawnshop thief from Mongolia

The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced yesterday the arrest of a 28-year-old man from the Republic of Mongolia for stealing about HK$440,000 worth of jewellery from a pawnshop in Zape last month with a Mongolian accomplice, who is still on the run.PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam announced the case during a special press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape. The man, surnamed Ishnamjil, told the police that he was a construction worker, Ho said, adding that the owner of the pawnshop reported the

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmakers propose 29.25 pct as top rent increase

Lawmaker-cum-banker Cheang Chi Keong said yesterday that a committee meeting reached an agreement that a rent control bill initiated by nine lawmakers should include a specific rent adjustment control measure.According to Cheang, the initiators of the bill also proposed that the bill should include a special clause limiting the maximum legally allowed rent increase to 29.25 percent.The outline of the bill was passed by the legislature in November. The legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee,

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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EU says local governance needs to be ‘modernised’

The 28-nation European Union (EU) says in its annual report about Macau that “the functioning of the Macau government needs to be modernised and made more efficient.”The European Commission also says in its Annual Report 2015 that “the EU encourages the Macau authorities to consider ways to promote greater public involvement in the election of the chief executive, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the position and contributing to good governance.”The report was released in Brussels on

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Taipa & Coloane see rapid rise in water usage: utility

Macao Water Executive Director Nacky Kuan Sio Peng said yesterday that in the face of the rapid development in Taipa and Coloane, the two islands had seen a double digit percentage increase in the use of water over the first three months of the year.Kuan made the remarks on the sidelines of a Customers Liaison Group meeting with government officials at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. According to Kuan, the city’s highest water demand is concentrated on the two islands, with an average daily

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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