Briefs | UM wins 13 golds at swimming competition

The University of Macau Swimming Team recently won 13 gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals at a local inter-varsity swimming championship. Team members Chao Man Hou and Lei On Kei each broke two records in individual events. The team also broke two records in relay events. The competition attracted students from UM, Macao Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Saint Joseph. Seventeen members of the UM Swimming Team participated in the competition.

Cirque du Soleil to perform show in Shenzhen

Cirque du Soleil, the world-renowned Canadian entertainment company, will perform one of its classic shows, “Kooza,” in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in March. Kooza tells the story of “The Innocent,” a melancholy loner who wanders through a strange world, guided by “The Trickster,” a charming genius, through a combination of acrobatics and clown performance. The show has been performed more than 100 times in Beijing and Shanghai since the circus toured China in October 2017, according to the company’s executive vice president, Jonathan Tetrault. The team consists of approximately 120 performers and staff from 18 countries. Since its debut in 2007, Kooza has been staged in 18 countries. Established in Québec, Canada in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has performed in more than 450 cities across 60 countries. The company had a resident show in Macau until 2012.

CE visits Seac Pai Van neighborhood

On Monday, in the early evening, Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On visited the Seac Pai Van integrated shopping center to meet with the residents living in nearby communities. In a video released by the Government Information Bureau, Chui is seen having several short conversations with some shoppers, asking the residents what they think of the shopping center, and saying hello to children, other shoppers and retail staff in the shopping center.

Flooded taxis allowed to extend licenses

According to a report by TDM, the Transport Bureau (DSAT) have announced that taxis damaged by floods can extend their licenses for another half a year. In the aftermath of Typhoon Hato, DSAT received many applications requesting a change to the registration status of damaged taxis. After these applications were processed, 124 taxis were deemed as damaged by the typhoon. 69 of them were eight-year concession taxis. According to DSAT, the six-month extension is the period of time suggested by the taxi industry and was agreed to by DSAT. This extension can be used for the taxis’ examination, information checking and other necessary procedures.

14 boat owners arrested for smuggling waste

Gongbei Customs handled a smuggling case where owners of small cargo boats were caught transporting waste materials from Macau to mainland China over an extended period. Gongbei Customs arrested 14 suspects, all of whom were owners of cargo boats. Recently, the suspects bought waste batteries, waste metals and waste plastics from several waste stations in Macau, once or twice every week. After each purchase, they transported two to four tonnes of the waste from Macau to Zhongshan, where a smuggling group would buy the waste and, in turn, sell it to other places. Gongbei Customs believes that 1,000 tonnes of solid waste were transported.