Briefs | MUST discloses over 500 old map copies

The library of Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) has publicized its possession of more than 500 copies of ancient maps made between the 15th and the 20th centuries. The public can visit MUST’s library to see the maps in person, or see them on the school’s website. Many of the publicized maps are manuscripts with great historical value. For four years, the MUST library collected more than 2,000 ancient maps. After cataloguing the maps, the school will present rarer ancient maps for the public’s perusal. The maps on display in the library are available between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m, and between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m from Monday to Friday.

New director-general appointed at Customs

Ng Kuok Heng, now former assistant director-general at the Macau Customs Service, has been promoted to deputy-director-general of the department, according to a notice published in the Official Gazette. Ng started his service in the public sector in 1983 as a police officer working for the marine section, where he remained for nearly 15 years. Prior to his appointment, Ng was the head of the Inspection Department of Customs. Ng holds a bachelor degree in law.

CAEAL not to punish Coutinho over SMS

The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly election (CAEAL) will not punish lawmaker Pereira Coutinho over an SMS sent on Monday (March 13), the president of the CAEAL, Tong Hio Fong said yesterday. In the message, the lawmaker and candidate in the September election reminded the recipients of the September 17 election date and urged the voters to “make sure they would be in the region to vote on that day, including their families.”

Tong said that any action by the commission is only required in the event of a violation of the law. Otherwise, the cases will only be flagged for a monitoring, noting that the CAEAL will “follow up and stay alert” since “at this stage this situation is not yet a violation of the law.”

Nevertheless Tong criticized the use of the SMS during a period not considered a part of the official electoral campaign but noted, so far, no complaints have been made.

Property sales surged over 200 percent in February

The latest data from the Finance Services Bureau (DSF) which was released yesterday shows that the number of residential units sold during the past month surged 204 percent compared to the same month last year. In 2016, February registered a total of 268 residential sales, while this year the figure was 546. Hiking even more were the sales in the Peninsula, accountable for a total of 427 housing units (211 percent year-on-year), followed by Taipa registering 84 sales, and Coloane with 35. In addition, the average price per square meter grew approximately 20 percent from MOP73,733 to MOP88,440. Coloane was where residential units saw the prices rise 30 percent more than the previous year’s average, from MOP92,914 to MOP139,374 per square meter. However, the average size of units sold has decreased by 2 square meters.

Additional Arts Festival shows

The 28th Macao Arts Festival (MAF) is organizing additional performances for the most sought-after shows, which will be on sale from today. According to the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), a number of programs were highly sought after, and therefore the organizer offers additional performances for the following shows: The soundscape theatre play “Back to the Catastrophic Typhoon of 1874”; the children’s musical “Metamorphosis under Starry Night”, “Songs of Migrants” and “Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker”. Tickets for these additional performances will be available from 10 a.m. today at Macau Ticketing Network outlets. Tickets may also be purchased on the internet or by telephone.

Ho hopes HK localists will not influence Macau

The president of the Legislative Assembly (AL), Ho Iat Seng, said that the latest work report of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) highlights the topic of Hong Kong Independence as something Macau should be aware of, according to a report by TDM. Ho expressed the hope that Macau will not be influenced by this ideological trend. The AL president noted that Hong Kong Independence would lead nowhere, and voiced the belief that Macau’s CPPCC members will be working towards a city that “loves the country and loves Macau.” Ho declared that Macau’s next members of the National People’s Congress will be required to declare their allegiance to the country and to the SAR’s basic law. 

CC ‘pays attention’ to online shopping

The theme of this year’s “World Consumers’ Rights Day,” which was marked yesterday, was “‘Building a Digital World Consumers Can Trust”. The Macau Consumer Council (CC), which has been a member since 1997, issued a statement claiming it “pays attention to issues such as online shopping and relevant consumer rights.” According to the Council, “consumer education work has been carried out in recent years to teach consumers the right concept, information, and methods of online shopping.”