Briefs | Winter Games kick off

The 8th Asian Winter Games (AWG) officially kicked off on Sunday in Sapporo, Japan. Led by the president of  the Sports Bureau, Pun Weng Kun, Team Macau comprises 29 participants. Today, local athletes will participate in the ice hockey competition. The 8th AWG is taking place from February 19 until 26. The games consist of a total of five big programs, representing 11 winter sports, including alpine skiing, ski jumping and curling. Prior to the tournament, Macau’s ice hockey team beat Iran 7 – 1 in a friendly match.

Macau Forum with unusual attendance

On Sunday, TDM’s debate show, Macau Forum saw a surge in its audience numbers, including a large number of gaming employees working in VIP rooms or members of the public relations staff, according to a report by Jornal Cheng Pou. The 50 seats were all occupied, with frequent visitors of the Macau Forum standing by the side this time. One VIP room employee said “health is very important, but a stable job […] is more important.”

Taxi drivers call for fare hike

Yesterday, the Macau Taxi Driver Mutual Association visited the Transport Bureau (DSAT) proposing to increase taxi fares, including an increase  to the starting fare from MOP17 to MOP20. In addition, the proposal suggests maintaining the MOP2 increase each time the meter changes, as well as shortening the distance each time the meter changes from 260 meters to 200 meters. Every charge’s waiting period is also proposed to become 55 seconds instead of the current 60 seconds. During the first three days of the Chinese New year holiday, the group suggested charging MOP10 as an additional fee. The association hopes to get the government’s approval on these changes before the summer.

DSAT requires taxis working schedule notes

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) has released a statement calling on the region’s taxi drivers to take notes regarding their working schedule. The bureau said that every single driver must write down the time they start working and the time they get off work on the notebooks officially approved by the local government. The department issued this notification after “considering that there were taxi drivers who didn’t keep records according to regulation, which made it difficult for the authority to process taxi infractions.” DSAT noted that it will, along with the Public Security Police Force, increase actions in relation to the checking of drivers’ notes.

HZMB underwater tunnel progresses

The Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge (HZMB) had a 171.2-meter-long element (E29) connected to its submarine tunnel bridge last weekend, according to a notice published by China Communication Construction Co. Ltd. Following E29’s connection, there is still a 183-meter-long section left to be finished in the submarine tunnel. The HZMB immersed tunnel consists of a design with 33 elements including 28 straight-elements and five curved-elements, spanning a total length of 5664 meters. As of July 2016, constructers had finished the installation of all the straight-elements. According to the company, the only elements left to install are the curved-tubes.