Briefs | CE to attend Legislative Assembly meeting on August 9

Chief Executive Chui Sai On will attend a plenary session at the Legislative Assembly (AL) on August 9 to answer lawmakers’ questions on government policy and social issues. The session will start at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast live on some of TDM’s television and radio channels. The Chief Executive attends AL plenary sessions every year to deliver the Policy Address for the following fiscal year. The Chief Executive also attends two similar sessions each year.

129 arrested for organizing online gambling

Police in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality have arrested 129 suspects for the organization of online gambling. Police in Jiulongpo District confiscated 69 computers and 265 mobile phones, and froze more than RMB4 million (approximately USD595,000) involved in the case. More than 300 police raided the headquarters of the gambling ring in a coordinated operation. A two month investigation found the suspects were running a gambling website and using several social media apps to attract gamblers to the site. Mainland authorities reiterated to Xinhua that organizing and participating in gambling is illegal in China, except in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

Slight increase in electricity prices

The Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM) announced yesterday that electricity prices will increase in the third quarter of 2018 for CEM’s Tariff Group A, B, and C customers. According to a statement issued by CEM yesterday, following the calculation method stated in the concession contract, the Tariff Clause Adjustment (TCA) will be at 38 cents per kWh, with a 1 cent per kWh increase in comparison with the previous quarter “due to the international fuel oil price increase.” The statement says that the company “will strive to maintain [a] reasonable price, and provide stable and reliable power supply to Macau citizens [by] selecting the best energy mix and serving the local communities.”

Guangdong, HK, Macau students take up internships at Palace Museum

A total of 48 students from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau started internships at the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing. The program will last one and a half months and allow students to get involved with relic restoration, exhibition planning, curation, as well as architectural surveying and mapping. Students are welcome to take up internships at the museum so as to improve their understanding of cultural heritage protection and museums, said Shan Jixiang, curator of the museum. According to Xinhua, in 2017, 30 students from Guangdong and Hong Kong took part in the program.