Briefs | Brazilian delegation visits Macau

A Brazilian delegation recently visited the University of Macau (UM) to discuss strengthening the collaboration between UM and Brazilian universities. The delegation was led by Geraldo Nunes Sobrinho, director of programs and scholarships of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) within the Ministry of Education of Brazil. During a meeting with UM representatives, Sobrinho said that he looks forward to increased collaboration between UM and Brazilian universities in mobility programs and exchange activities.

Zhuhai airport records milestone of 10m passengers

On Tuesday, the Zhuhai airport celebrated the milestone of 10 million annual passengers. The airport expects the number of passengers to reach 11 million this year. The Zhuhai airport company’s chairman of the board, Wan Jingping, said that the airport will continue improving its transportation connection to downtown Hong Kong and to the Hong Kong airport. In the vicinity of the Gongbei border gate and the Hengqin border gate, shuttle buses to Zhuhai airport are also available, with buses taking passengers from the two border gates to the Zhuhai airport within one hour.

Casino-banned people’s money reverts to gov’t

Casino-banned people’s earnings from casinos or losses to casinos will be deemed to belong to the government, according to the First Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL). Yesterday, the committee discussed the casino-entry ban bill. The abovementioned proposal is expected to stop gaming sector employees from entering casinos while off-duty. Currently, the bill still needs minor improvements. The committee hopes to deliver the bill to the AL before January. Once the law is in effect, the gaming authority’s inspectors will enter casinos to check the identity of suspicious gamblers who might be casino employees.

Macau to grant 30 mainland postdocs yearly

Mainland China’s postdoctoral management office has signed an agreement with the Macao Association for Promotion of Science and Technology to allow mainland China to sponsor 30 mainland PhD students or young teachers to conduct research in Macau universities. The research period will typically last two years, with each person being granted MOP150,000 each year. The research fields include Chinese medicine, microelectronics, lunar and planetary research, smart cities and the internet.

HK finds humans contracted hepatitis carried in rats

The Hong Kong Health Department says a second person in the city has been found to have contracted a strain of hepatitis that is carried by rats. Both human cases appear to be the first known globally. The Health Department said in a statement yesterday that it could not determine how the two people came to be infected with this particular strain of the hepatitis E virus. Other strains of Hepatitis E are typically transmitted among humans through contaminated water, particularly in East and South Asia. Both cases in Hong Kong were discovered long after the patients had been treated. The latest case was found in blood samples from a 70-year-old woman with a compromised immune system who had been treated in May 2017. The first case was reported in September.

AL discusses non-resident internships

A bill concerning medical professionals suggests that non-local residents can also take internship entrance exams in Macau. According to the proposal, although these non-locals have passed the internship entrance exams, they will still likely not be allowed to undertake internships in Macau. The opinions raised by the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL) argued that once Macau’s medical professional internship entrance exams are accredited worldwide, people from other regions can take the exams in Macau and, in turn, it will promote Macau’s traditional Chinese medicine industry.