Macau researcher Ana Maria Amaro dies

Prof. Ana Maria Amaro, a researcher and author of more than ten books on the topic of Macau, died this week in Portugal. Born in 1926, Amaro lived in Macau between 1957 and 1973, where she served as a high school teacher and studied local traditions. She founded the Portuguese Institute for Chinese Studies in 1998 and the Portuguese Institute of Sinology in Portugal (ipsinologia.com). Her contributions to the Macanese community included her defence of the theory that the first generations didn’t come from the mixing between Portuguese men and Chinese women. According to her, the first Macanese were born of Indian, Malay and Sinhalese women brought to Macau by the Portuguese.

Five Portuguese residents to be honored

Yesterday it was announced that the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities Abroad, José Cesário, will present honorary medals to distinguished Portuguese citizens residing in Macau on Wednesday. The medals will be given to the physician Paula Pimenta, the scholar Cândida Pires, the Association of Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers of Macau president Augusto Nogueira and to the restaurant owners António Neves Coelho and Jorge Mota. The names were proposed by Consul-General of Macau and Hong Kong, Vítor Sereno, and the medals will be presented in a ceremony to be held at the Consul’s residence, the former Hotel Bela Vista.