JANUARY
Lawmaker Sulu Sou and political activist Scott Chiang announced that Portuguese lawyer Jorge Menezes will defend them in their trial. They shared in their announcement that they asked the Court of First Instance to postpone the trial (scheduled to begin in January), to give Menezes more time to prepare.
The Court of First Instance ruled that the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel – formerly known as New Century Hotel – would be fined MOP4.43 million and would have to make additional financial reparations worth over MOP20.7 million to its former workers.
Two facilities from the Light Rail Transit system were robbed over the weekend, causing damage of over MOP500,000, the Judiciary Police reported.
After just over a month at the head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Cecilia Tse resigned on January 29 citing health reasons. Alexis Tam, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, said earlier that he was “worried” about Tse’s health as she had been on sick leave for more than two weeks, but had not provided any details of the illness.
FEBRUARY
Casino mogul Steve Wynn was investigated after sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against him, Nevada gambling regulators announced.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a number of women said they were harassed or assaulted by Wynn, and that one case led to a USD7.5 million settlement with a manicurist.
Beijing’s municipality mulled allowing foreign professionals to bring their own domestic workers to Beijing this year. Under this amendment, domestic workers holding foreign passports, including those who are working in Hong Kong and Macau would be allowed to work in China’s capital.
The Times reported that donation boxes have been placed at eight Filipino-run stores along Rua da Alfandega, as well as in Macau’s three remittance centers, to request financial aid for migrant workers in dire straits.
Even as the number of tourists in Macau swelled – boosting the economy in the process – their satisfaction with local services and amenities is declined. The Consumer Council received a total of 58 complaints and inquiries during the Chinese New Year holiday. Around two-thirds of the cases were filed by tourists, mainly regarding taxi fares and restaurant prices.
The Macau Jockey Club was granted a 24-year concession in a surprise move that appeared to catch off-guard the company’s own director.
MARCH
The phrases “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” and “Macau People governing Macau” were not mentioned in this year’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) work report, which was delivered by Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of CPPCC.
China’s rubber-stamp lawmakers passed a historic constitutional amendment abolishing a presidential two-term limit that will enable Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely.
The president of the Legislative Assembly, Ho Iat Seng, revealed that the mainland government has a system which allows it to closely monitor the gambling habits of mainland civil servants in Macau’s casinos.
The Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries – Macao (Forum Macau) is, “after 15 years and in resemblance to humans, in maturing stage,” said the organization’s Secretary-General Xu Yingzhen.
Macau is no exception with respect to phone scams, the chief executive officer of Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau said at a press conference. Vandy Poon was replying to reporters’ questions about what the Judiciary Police (PJ) deemed “a new wave of phone scams” targeting Macau phone users.
APRIL
Alarm bells sounded over the apparent drift of a large quantity of concrete structures intended to protect the edges of two artificial islands that form an undersea link along the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
Former Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau director Fong Soi Kun and former deputy director Florence Leong were found accountable for failing to exercise their managerial responsibilities during Typhoon Hato, according to the results of the special investigation commissioned by the Chief Executive.
Stanley Ho became the latest Hong Kong billionaire to step away from the empire he built, passing along the top roles at casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd. to his heirs. A statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange indicated that the 96-year-old Macau casino tycoon would retire as chairman and executive director of SJM after a June 12 shareholders meeting.
After lengthy debates, a significant increase in bus fares was introduced. At a press conference, the director of the Transport Bureau, Lam Hin San, announced that every trip on public buses would cost MOP6. The adjusted fares do not include a discriminatory fare for non-residents, an idea previously thought likely.
MAY
The White House has pushed back against China’s efforts to control how U.S. airlines refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau in promotional materials, calling the push to make them comply with Chinese standards “Orwellian nonsense.”
Royal Flight Airlines started offering a regular weekly service between Macau and Moscow. A re-launch ceremony of the Macau-Moscow route was held at the Macau International Airport.
A local billionaire was sentenced to four years in prison for bribing United Nations officials to buy their support for a proposed UN center in Macau that was never built. Ng Lap Seng, one of China’s richest men, had no visible reaction to the sentence imposed in federal court in Manhattan.
The Judiciary Police was criticized over the investigation methods employed during the ongoing investigation of sexual abuse allegedly committed by a staff member against several children at D. Jose da Costa Nunes Kindergarten. During a press conference, lawmaker Agnes Lam and parents of reportedly abused children, criticized the PJ for the staff’s lack of knowledge in questioning children regarding this matter, as too many repetitive questions were posed to the children.
The Court of First Instance found suspended lawmaker Sulu Sou and activist Scott Chiang guilty of a co-authored act of unlawful assembly, which was charged under the framework of aggravated disobedience. The two defendants were sentenced with a 120-day fine each. That amounted to a fine of MOP40,800 for Sou and MOP27,600 for Chiang
JUNE
Lawmaker Sulu Sou declared his conviction to be unlawful, arguing that his prosecutorial immunity protects him from standing trial for any crimes other than the one for which he was suspended. Sou says that his lawyer, Jorge Menezes, has described the judgment as both “null and void.”
The government has pledged the absolute security of Macau’s public money that will be allocated to the Guangdong- Macau Cooperation and Development Fund.
Thousands of residents joined a protest criticizing the government’s proposal to amend road traffic rules, particularly on the surge in parking fees. Although the government suspended public consultation on the proposed amendment, the rally went on with many demonstrators calling for some government officials to step down while they marched from Vasco Da Gama Square to Nam Van.
The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), has decided to suspend the arrangements currently being made regarding the establishment of a crematorium at Taipa’s Sa Kong Municipal Cemetery. “We asked the DSSOPT to suspend the project as the government needs to hear the population,” IACM president José Tavares said.
The government launched a Public Consultation on the new rules that aim to shape the “Civil Protection Basic Law.” The proposal, which the authorities submitted for public scrutiny, includes the establishment of a new crime of “false social alarm.”
JULY
The Commission Against Corruption has released an investigation report into investment immigration and technical immigration requirements, as managed by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. The report noted that the process has lacked stringent vetting for years.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) refused the request made by the Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome Company to extend its concession contract in order to continue exploring the facilities for another five years, even if greyhound racing has ceased. Last year, the Canidrome asked the government for permission to continue using the facilities to host the greyhounds.
Wanted businessman Low Taek Jhow, also known as Jho Low, was reportedly able to enter Hong Kong and Macau despite an Interpol notice, because neither Malaysia nor Singapore requested his arrest from the two SARs.
It was announced that the Macau International Airport’s passenger volume in the first half-year of 2018 reached 4 million, an increase of 20 percent compared with that of the same period last year.
The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau concluded the investigation of the D. José da Costa Nunes kindergarten case of alleged pedophilia, in which seven complaints were made by parents to the police. The school has been fined and asked to submit a plan to prevent sexual abuse from reoccurring.
AUGUST
Representatives of Seac Pai Van residents, along with few lawmakers, have delivered a petition with some 7,426 signatures requesting that the draft plan of building two warehouses storing hazardous materials near the Cotai residential area be withdrawn.
Over 70 local residents were involved in an alleged cryptocurrency scam, where they invested a total of over HKD20.1 million, following promises they would receive a monthly return of 25 percent.
The government said it would not abide by a ruling of the Court of Final Appeal that a construction tender be recalculated after officials committed a mathematical error. The Court of Final Appeal ruled that the tender for the construction of a depot for the Light Rail Transit system needed to be reassessed, after one of the interested parties claimed that there had been an incorrect assessment of the company’s points performance in the bid.
A new regulation will allow residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to apply for residence permits in the Chinese mainland. According to Xinhua, the document said residents from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan who hold a China residence permit will enjoy more rights, basic public services and other conveniences related to study, work, business operations and life on the mainland.
Veteran legal advisers of the Legislative Assembly Paulo Cardinal and Paulo Taipa were dismissed by the board of the AL. Their contracts expire at year-end. The revelation caused a generalized sense of incredulity and shock in the community, particularly within the legal fraternity.
SEPTEMBER
Many flights between Macau International Airport and western Japan’s Kansai International Airport were canceled due to the impact and damage caused by super typhoon Jebi.
The President of the Legislative Assembly, Ho Iat Seng, has said that the dismissal of two AL legal advisers, Paulo Cardinal and Paulo Taipa, was not due to political reasons, nor due to the advisers’ ethnicity, but instead to allow them to pursue other careers.
The government undertook several preventive measures in response to this year’s Typhoon Manghkut to avoid casualties similar to the scale seen during Typhoon Hato last year. Government authorities said that they were satisfied with the response of civil protection teams and that pre-disaster preparation had been improved.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected as head of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a landslide election, paving the way for up to three more years as the nation’s leader and a push for his long-awaited plan to bring recently-approved integrated resorts to Japan.
The Macau Civil Aviation Authority probed a decision made by a control tower at Macau International Airport on August 28, when it authorized an EVA Air flight to land on the runway after a Capital Airlines performed a “hard landing” maneuver, leaving wreckage before diverting to Shenzhen. The flight from Taiwan was carrying 180 people on board and landed five minutes after the Capital Airlines’ “serious incident” occurred.
OCTOBER
The previous president of the New Macau Association, Scott Chiang, and association member Alin Lam were fined after they were found guilty of trespassing the Hotel Estoril, the Court of First Instance ruled.
New offshore regulations are raising concerns in an industry that employs around 1,700 workers in 360 companies. The Executive Council concluded their analysis of the new regime which will abolish existing regulations for offshore companies. The new rules will follow guidelines issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The head of Beijing’s liaison office in Macau died after a fall in his home, in what central authorities implied was a depression-related suicide. The 59-year-old Zheng Xiaosong was said to have been “suffering from depression,” according to a statement from the Beijing-based Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
A U.S. Congress annual report highlighted that the region’s electoral system is not developing according to recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Committee The report also expressed concerns over the denial of entry of political figures and writers.
President Xi Jinping opened the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge linking Hong Kong to Macau and Zhuhai. The USD20 billion bridge took almost a decade to build while incurring major delays and cost overruns. It includes an undersea tunnel allowing ships to pass through the Pearl River delta, the heart of China’s crucial manufacturing sector.
NOVEMBER
The United Nations Human Rights Council has submitted a report on the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China, including a section on Macau where it criticizes “widespread discrimination” against migrants, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ community.
The PLA Macau Garrison took part in a counter-terrorism drill code-named “Bright Dog” held at the East Asian Games Dome. The drill, which lasted around two-and-a-half hours, involved a simulation relating to a group of six ‘gunmen’ seeking to enter a concert hall when a 5,000-strong ‘audience’ was inside.
Teenage driver Sophia Flörsch suffered spinal fractures during a Macau Grand Prix F3 race, after her mono-seat collided at high speed with Japanese driver Sho Tsuboi’s car, going through a catch fence at the Lisboa bend. The car then hit a structure on the perimeter and dropped to the ground with race marshals immediately on the scene. The race was won by the British driver Daniel Ticktum.
During a meeting with Hong Kong and Macau delegations in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the SARs still have outstanding positions and outstanding advantages in the new era of China’s reform and opening up to the world.
DECEMBER
Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Portugal for a two-day state visit. His visit raised the Portuguese government’s hopes that Beijing will invest heavily in Sines, the country’s biggest Atlantic port, and help expand national energy company Energias de Portugal overseas. During his stay in Lisbon, Xi said several times that Sino-Luso relations were ‘stronger than ever’
The government canceled the holiday change proposal in the latest Labor Law amendment. The proposal stated that three days out of four; the New Year’s Day, Ching Ming Festival, the day following Chong Chao, and the Chong Yeung Festival, could be moved, meaning that these days could be normal working days for some workers.
Local authorities signed an agreement with the National Development and Reform Commission. The deal aimed to advance Macau’s participation in the Belt and Road initiative.
The Border Gate underground bus terminal reopened partially for public use, fulfilling a pledge made earlier by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works. The terminal was closed after sustaining severe damage during the passage of Typhoon Hato in August 2017.
No Comments