Local issues and Covid-19 piqued interest: survey

Statistics show that apart from Covid-19, news readers in Macau have a significant focus on their homeland as well, Chinese newspaper Cheng Pou reports.
As the calendar year ended, the local paper conducted a survey on “online data,” the sample for which was not identified. They determined that in 2020, apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, news readers were most concerned with the government budget and spending, world heritage site conservation, and guarding Coloane against further urbanization.
It was early last year when Covid-19 gradually spread, which prompted the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic. The last pandemic was in 2009 when the world was hit by the H1N1 virus, albeit less severely when compared with the current pandemic.
Closed borders and the termination of international travel have brought Macau to a standstill. The Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, has thus instructed all government bodies to cut at least 10% of their annual budget, and pledged that government spending will not increase in 2021.
However, the government head said exemptions may exist in the infrastructure sector.
The second news topic which interested local readers the most was regarding the high-rise building project proposed for the ZAPE District, in the neighborhood of the Oriental Arch installation.
If built, the building will be 90 meters tall. The proposed building has stirred up public concern, especially as it is within the buffer zone of the Guia Lighthouse, a World Heritage site.
Commentators have called for the government to reconsider the project and stressed that a clear line of sight to the lighthouse should be preserved.
As of today, no work has commenced on the land plot.
The last piece of non-Covid news that gathered most public attention was about the Master Urban Plan, which categorized a land plot at the foot of the Coloane Hill as residential area.
In 2012, a development plan was called off due to objection from the public. An organization managed to collect nearly 7,000 signatures from individuals opposing the development.
Non-industrial buildings as tall as 100 meters were allowed to be built. The hill, meanwhile, is only 172 meters at its summit.
With the Master Urban Plan categorizing the land plot as residential area, residents are worried about prospective damage to the hill once again.