A matter of trust, control & responsibility – Editorial

It’s an old habit of mine to reread books that I bought years or even decades ago, sometimes because they are simply too good to not read them again such as one of my favourite novels, “La Colmena” (“The Hive”) by Camilo José Cela, or because of their timeless topicality such as “O Jogo em Macau” (“Gaming in Macau”). I decided to reread the latter in the wake of Dr Stanley Ho Hung Sun’s passing late last month when I was asked by quite a number of journalists and

June 19, 2020 | BY admin

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‘Let him who is without sin cast the first stone’ – Editorial

EditorialThe West’s self-righteous support for Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters by deliberately turning a blind eye to their rioting and vandalism reminds me of one of the best-known utterances attributed to Jesus in the Bible that I learnt during my two years of religious lessons as a Lutheran confirmand in my teens: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” I have been an agnostic for decades now, but some of what Jesus is said to have said

June 1, 2020 | BY admin

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Not the end but hopefully a new beginning for HK – Editorial

     When the central authorities revealed in Beijing last week that they were preparing to legislate on Hong Kong’s long-delayed national security issue, the special administrative region’s “pan-democrat” lawmaker Dennis Kwok Wing-hang claimed apocalyptically that “this is the end of Hong Kong.” Well, I beg to differ. Quite the reverse, I hope that it will be a new beginning for Hong Kong so that after the national security law agenda is finally off the

May 25, 2020 | BY admin

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‘Happy zeros’ show successful fight against COVID-19 – Editorial

Health Bureau (SSM) Director Lei Chin Ion was a bearer of glad tidings this week when he announced on Tuesday what I may call Macau’s “happy zeros” concerning the local fight against COVID-19.  Lei noted that Macau has brought the number of novel coronavirus patients down from 45 to zero and also has been able to keep the number of infected healthcare workers at zero. Most importantly, the number of COVID-19 deaths has remained at zero since the first case was confirmed in Macau

May 21, 2020 | BY admin

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The Lancet editorial shows how the West turns away from the truth

Commentary by Tom Fowdy* On April 18, the peer reviewed medical journal, The Lancet, published an article titled “Sustaining containment of COVID-19 in China.” The piece set out to explore how “The quick containment of COVID-19 in China is impressive and sets an encouraging example for other countries” citing what it describes as “aggressive public health interventions ... early detection of cases, contact tracing, and population behavioral change” as paramount to the

April 24, 2020 | BY admin

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COVID-19 fighters boost civil service image – Editorial

The round-the-clock struggle of Macau’s health care workers, law enforcement officers and other government employees against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has given a big boost to the image of our civil service, the Health Bureau in particular, apart from potentially saving countless lives. All those involved in the local authorities’ battle against the highly infectious virus have shown that Macau’s civil servants can indeed be diligent, competent and efficient,

April 20, 2020 | BY admin

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A matter of gratitude, generosity and pragmatism – Editorial

When asked by the media this week why Macau’s about 190,000 non-resident workers have been excluded from the government’s second round of COVID-19 support measures, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong said it was a matter of weighing up different policy priorities.Lei, widely respected for his down-to-earth attitude, said that the interests of local workers facing unprecedented difficulties continued to be the government’s top priority. However, he was frank enough to

April 10, 2020 | BY admin

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A well-deserved salute to our anti-COVID-19 cleaners – Editorial

I think it’s high time to salute our city’s anti-COVID-19 cleaners and other vitally important support staff, many of them non-resident workers, toiling hard to keep all of us safe. I have great respect for them. Incidentally, I respect all hard-working people, be they medical workers, waiters, sales assistants, rubbish collectors or, last but not least, journalists. I have always held so-called “3-D” workers in high esteem – that is to say all those engaged in dull, dangerous

April 1, 2020 | BY admin

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A timely rap on the knuckles – Editorial

Macau’s six gaming operators got a timely rap on the knuckles yesterday during Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s two-hour press conference about the government’s latest measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. It was the right occasion for the chief executive to remind the operators of their social responsibility as some of them were apparently disinclined to help the government secure more hotel rooms for the hundreds of returnees from overseas, most of them students,

March 25, 2020 | BY admin

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COVID-19 – a matter of ‘existential inconvenience’ – Editorial

I read over the weekend an inspiring article by English writer Geoff Dyer in the prestigious The New Yorker magazine, dated March 16, with the thought-provoking title “The Existential Inconvenience of Coronavirus”. I recommend it to everyone interested in understanding the multifarious – and nefarious – implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.Of course, the novel coronavirus is an existential inconvenience or, to put it blandly, a pain in the backside. And, most importantly, it’s also a

March 23, 2020 | BY admin

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Draconian but necessary -- Editorial

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s order yesterday to impose a blanket ban on foreign visitors appears, at first glance, to be rather draconian but, I am sure, it’s absolutely necessary to protect our city from the novel coronavirus menace.Macau, one of the world’s most densely populated territories (around 20,000 people per square kilometre), must be particularly careful in its response to the COVID-19 threat.  Drastic measures are, in my view, the best way of tackling a virus that

March 18, 2020 | BY admin

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COVID-19 is certainly not surreal -- Editorial

A pedestrian interviewed by a US TV station in New York early last week described the novel coronavirus situation as “surreal”. A local media friend of mine described the lobby of a hotel-casino resort in Cotai left empty by the COVID-19 pandemic as a “surreal” sight. Much to my surprise I have heard the word too many times – almost ad nauseam – in TV reports about the viral threat. Well, COVID-19 is surely not surreal. It is mortally real. The threat is out there, and it’s all

March 16, 2020 | BY admin

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Coronavirus battle highlights importance of collective human rights - Editorial

The ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has shown the vital (quite literally) importance of collective human rights when regions and countries are facing emergency situations, public health crises in particular. Ideally, individual and collective human rights complement each other harmoniously. Realistically, there is a certain tension between both – especially when disasters strike such as the current COVID-19 epidemic. Ultimately, it always depends on the conditions on

March 9, 2020 | BY admin

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Safety first! Editorial

EDITORIAL Macau will turn another page in its successful fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) when the civil service will resume its “normal” functioning today after a nearly month-long hiatus. Moreover, Macau’s non-gaming entertainment businesses such as bars and nightclubs have been allowed to reopen for business since last night after their government-ordered shutdown on February 5 as one of the government’s various measures to prevent the virus from spreading in one

March 2, 2020 | BY admin

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