Policy Address | Social Affairs and Culture: No high-rise buildings in Lai Chi Vun area

On the second day of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture Policy Address presentation at the Legislative Assembly (AL), Alexis Tam pledged that the government will not build high-rise buildings in the Lai Chi Vun shipyards area, located in Coloane.

Tam attended the AL meeting on Friday to answer the questions of lawmakers regarding the policy address in the field of Tam’s secretariat.

Sulu Sou pointed out that the government has already spent about half a year in order to carry out the cultural relic evaluation of Lai Chi Vun old shipyards, and that the evaluation has not been completed yet.

What is left of the shipyards in Lai Chi Vun reminds of  the time when the coastal villages were thriving in Macau. Historical accounts indicate that in the 1950s, there were around 10,000 fishermen and over 30 shipyards in Macau, many of them in Lai Chi Vun. Suffering from regional competition and the surge of the gaming industry in Macau, the industry collapsed in the 1990s.

“How long are we planning to put off the cultural relic evaluation? […] Two of the shipyards have been demolished because of the incomplete cultural relic evaluation by the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau,” said Sou, adding “after several seasons, you will not need to do it [evaluation] anymore, [the shipyards] will disappear.”

“Is [the Lai Chi Vun dshipyards land plot] going to be used for building high-rise residences with a view to the sea?” Sou asked.

“Our SAR, our city, our Chief Executive, and our cultural department pay strong importance to the protection of cultural heritage,” declared Tam. “I surely disagree with the idea that demolishing Lai Chi Vun shipyards will pave the way for high-rise buildings, […] there is no such thing going on, don’t listen to the rumors,” he appealed.

“Lawmaker Sou, you have a different opinion, I respect you. But which places have spent tens of millions to repair cultural relics? None, only Macau has,” said Tam.

Tam was then questioned by lawmaker Lei Cheng I, who asked when the government would relaunch the public consultation on Macau’s historical urban zone protection plan, (the first public consultation was held in 2014). Tam expects another consultation will take place in the beginning of next year.

Several lawmakers, including Chui Sai Cheong, Wu Chou Kit and Mak Soi Kun, posed questions on cultural heritage and cultural relics.

Tam said that “Macau is like a theme museum, […] the government, this year, has listed nine properties into the cultural relics protection list, and, next year, it will initiate a cultural relics evaluation of 13 properties.”

Tam believes that these evaluations will help push Macau into building itself as a destination known for internationally recognized cultural heritage.

Regarding the cultural industry, Tam noted that, in 2016, Macau had more than 1,900 cultural organizations comprising more than 11,000 employees.

The cultural industry’s revenues increased more than 10 percent to MOP6.86 billion, which makes this industry one of the engines of Macau’s economic diversification.

Chui Sai Cheong suggested that the government should use public money to buy heritage architecture properties and then rent them to locals who will enliven the properties and use them for cultural and commercial businesses. The suggestion was endorsed by Tam.

“In the future, if there are antiques or architecture with cultural relic value, we can buy them […] and let them become the property of the government. Then [we can] modify entire areas. I support this suggestion,” said Tam.

When replying to Angela Leong, Tam said that Macau’s acting and music school will be moved to Hotel Estoril e Piscina Municipal.

Gov’t to subsidize more associations

THE GOVERNMENT will subsidize more associations and social service organizations next year, according to Alexis Tam. In 2018, the number of funded associations and social services organizations will increase to 253, and the number of people subsidized will grow to 3,807. The total number of funds will also grow, by up to MOP1.54 billion. In 2017, 246 organizations were subsidized, with 3,581 people collecting benefits, while  the subsidies increased by a total of 79 percent overall. Tam said that the government has also established an alignment with more than 40 associations to help people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Integrated education regime to be delivered in Q1

Several lawmakers, including Angela Leong and Agnes Lam, paid attention to the legislation process for integrated education, having urged the government to expedite the establishment of related laws.

Sulu Sou pointed out that teachers working in this field have registered an unbalanced ratio between their salaries and their workload. He suggested the government consider establishing a bachelor degree in special education.

Alexis Tam said that he has not yet received any amendment draft regarding special education. However, he noted that the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau can deliver the draft to his office in the first quarter of 2018. Tam expressed his confidence in the potential improvements to integrated education in Macau.

The secretary also disclosed that the local government will launch more courses and invest more resources into the training of local therapists. Tam also noted that the government will try to attract more Macau therapists to return to the city. He reiterated that he hopes the society can understand that the government will need to recruit non-local professionals in the short-term since the city cannot provide the number of talented human resources that are needed currently.