Lack of govt accountability leads to graft: scholar

Macau Civic Power (ECM) Chairwoman Agnes Lam Iok Fong said yesterday that the lack of an accountability system for senior officials was one of the reasons why so many cases of alleged collusion between businesspeople and officials were mentioned in the 2015 report by the city’s graft buster CCAC. Lam, who teaches media studies at the public University of Macau (UM), made the remarks on the sidelines of a round-table discussion at the group’s office in Rua Nova a Guia.The group

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Overnight visitors rise 14 pct in March

Macau’s visitor arrivals rose by 4.2 percent year-on-year to 2.36 million, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced. While overnight visitors increased by 14.1 percent to 1.17 million, same-day visitors dropped by 3.9 percent to 1.19 million. Overnight visitors accounted for 49.6 percent of all visitor arrivals last month. Most overnight visitors were from the mainland (722,700), Hong Kong (281,700), Taiwan (35,000), and South Korea (22.8 percent). Please read the

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker worries about invasion of privacy from ‘dashcams’

Lawmaker-cum-constructor Mak Soi Kun is concerned about the possible invasion of privacy by videos recorded on dashboard cameras in vehicles, urging the government to look into the matter and see whether any law is in the place to deal with the issue.Mak, a community leader who is a vice-president of the local Jiangmen Communal Society, says in a written interpellation submitted to the Legislative Assembly yesterday that there is no clear regulation in place for the use of videos recorded on

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Young gaming staff group set up to improve upward mobility

The chairman of the newly founded Macau Association of Young Employees in the Gaming Industry (AMTIC), Lei Chu Kwan, said on Saturday that his group was set up with the aim of improving upward mobility for young gaming staff.The association held a swearing-in ceremony at the Macau Science Centre in Nape on Saturday.According to the Chinese-language Macao Daily News, Lei said in his acceptance speech said the group was set up to unite the about 40,000 young gaming employees to prepare them for

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Wushu Grand Gathering to kick-off in Tap Seac: govt

The government has chosen Praça do Tap Seac and the nearby Tap Seac Multi-sports Pavilion as the “main arenas” for its four-day Wushu Grand Gathering in August, Sports Bureau (ID) Vice-President Lam Lin Kio said yesterday.‘Wushu’ is Putonghua for martial arts.Speaking to reporters after attending Macau Forum, a weekly public discussion programme hosted by government broadcaster TDM in Areia Preta Park, Lam said the Wushu General Association of Macau (WGAM), which is the government’s

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Disabled complain about public transport

Attending a public consultation session about rehabilitation services, residents with disabilities yesterday complained about the city’s public bus and taxi services, while parents of people with mental disabilities said they worried their children won’t receive the necessary support when getting older.The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) is carrying out a public consultation on its 10-year plan for rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. The 45-day public consultation period,

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Hit-and-run victim’s daughter disagrees with rulings

A female resident surnamed Fong told reporters yesterday that she did not agree with the rulings by the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) earlier this month and the Court of Second Instance (TSI) last year, which considerably reduced the punishment for a drunk driver who killed her father during a hit-and-run accident in 2013.Fong, accompanied by grassroots legislator Au Kam San, talked to reporters in Avenida da Republica beside Sai Van Lake, where the fatal accident occurred. She sent press

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Chui backs paid paternity leave in private sector

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On says that he backs the introduction of paid paternity leave in the private sector. Chui made the remark during a Q&A session in the Legislative Assembly (AL) on Friday. Chui pointed out that neighbouring regions grant paid paternity leave ranging from three to 14 days. Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On speaks during Friday’s Q&A plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle. Photo: GCS Please read the full article in our

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Group wants law on disabled people’s rights

The newly established Macau People with Disabilities Federation wants Macau to get a law on the rights of people with physical or mental disabilities, Albert Cheong Chi Pong, who heads the group, said before meeting Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng yesterday. Speaking to reporters outside Government Headquarters, Cheong, visually impaired himself, said disabled people have “great difficulties” when using the city’s public facilities, adding that officials

April 22, 2016 | BY admin

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Chui family’s house is not listed: culture chief

Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Guilherme Ung Vai Meng said yesterday that Chui’s family mansion in Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga is neither in the government’s cultural heritage protection zone nor is it included in its protection list.Ung made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of the government-appointed Cultural Industries Council at the Tourism Activities Centre (CAT).According to the website of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), a 30-storey residential

April 22, 2016 | BY admin

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Clean the World collects over 100 tons of soap from local hotels

Ever wondered what happens to the used pieces of soap in your hotel room after you check out? That was the question that lingered in Shawn Seipler’s mind, when he was working as a sales executive for a technology company and spending 150 nights a year in hotel rooms.“I found out they were simply thrown away”, Seipler, who turns 40 this year, told MPD Weekender in an e-mail interview earlier this week, “After learning that hand washing with soap could potentially prevent the deaths

April 22, 2016 | BY admin

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Le French May to bring Degas’ ‘Little Dancer’ to town

The annual cultural event that promotes everything French, Le French May, is bringing just five programmes to town this year, with Edgar Degas’ famous sculpture “The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer” as well as Auguste Borget’s paintings of Macau in the mid-19th century as the highlights of the two-month festival that will see the other two dozen programmes taking place in Hong Kong.The Macau programme was announced yesterday during a press conference attended by Consul General of France

April 22, 2016 | BY admin

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Int’l Museum Day to be celebrated for one month

Marking International Museum Day, the city’s 18 public and private museums, archives and exhibition halls will co-organise a string of activities and events next month.International Museum Day is on May 18.Officials of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and representatives from the 18 entities including Lei Lai Kio, who heads the bureau’s department of museums, and Macau Museum Director Loi Chi Pang presided over a press conference at the Macau Science Centre in Nape to announce details about

April 22, 2016 | BY admin

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‘Passive sting operation’ will follow law: security chief

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said yesterday that police officers will work in accordance with local laws if the government’s proposed “passive sting operation” to collect evidence in its fight against rogue cabbies is to go ahead.Wong made the remarks on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of new Fire Services Bureau (CB) Director Leong Iok Sam at the policy secretary’s office in Cotai.The Transport Bureau (DSAT) has proposed that the taxi-driving licence of a cabbie found

April 22, 2016 | BY admin

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