Jack Black

  A company led by the son of Deacon Chiu, the late former ATV chairman, has applied for a free-to-air TV license, in a bid to form a completely new broadcaster in Hong Kong. Amongst its major shareholders is Pansy Ho, the head of Shun Tak conglomerate and executive director of MGM China. The heiress of “uncle” Stanley seems to be willing to prevail over the past prominence of her ailing father in the neighboring SAR – among many other titles Stanley Ho was the president of the powerful property developers’ association. Ms Ho is not new to the media industry: she sits at the board of the Sing Tao News Corp, which publishes The Standard and Sing Tao Daily, the second largest newspaper in Hong Kong and a worldwide news franchise aimed at overseas Chinese communities. Pansy is also very active in both SARs in women’s initiatives and a promoter of economic diversification through arts and hospitality.

Fung Ping Kuen, former deputy-coordinator of IPM’s Centre of Sino-Western Cultural Studies, has been appointed the new head of Macau’s Economic and Trade Delegation to the WTO in Geneva, replacing Secretary Raimundo do Rosário. Mr Fung earned a degree in social sciences from the University of East Asia (now University of Macau) and holds two masters, one in Economics and another in Business Studies. He served as president of the Social Security Fund’s board of directors between 1999 and 2010. A clear personal promotion, his appointment can also be seen as a recognition of IPM’s role in the improvement of Macau’s higher education sector.

Air Macau has yet to provide an acceptable explanation for last Tuesday’s troubled flight NX885 from Bangkok to Macau, which was forced to return to the Thai capital after flying at unusually low altitude for an hour, due to a technical problem. Back at the airport, the 175 passengers on board were left waiting inside the plane for two hours till the pilot announced the aircraft “would take off in two minutes.” Chaotic scenes followed the impromptu announcement and ultimately the passengers refused to fly and left the plane fearing for their safety. The passengers were transported to Macau the following day. In Bangkok, an airline representative said that the plane had encountered engine trouble, and a spare part had been sent to replace the defective component. Here, Air Macau told Lusa that the flight had returned to Bangkok due to “technical issues” and was repaired on Wednesday. So, the question remains: if it was repaired on Wednesday was it really ready to fly on Tuesday at the pilot’s call?