Archive for ‘Macao’

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10/05/2020

Update: Chinese mainland reports 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

A customer buys products at a time-honored food store in east China’s Shanghai Municipality, April 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Twelve cases were domestically transmitted, with 11 reported in Jilin Province and the other one in Hubei Province.

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese health authority said Sunday that it received report of 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Saturday, of which two were imported cases reported in Shanghai.

Twelve cases were domestically transmitted, with 11 reported in Jilin Province and the other one in Hubei Province, the National Health Commission said in a daily report.

One new suspected case imported from abroad was reported in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

No deaths were reported Saturday on the mainland, according to the commission.

On Saturday, 74 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by two to 13.

As of Saturday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,901, including 148 patients who were still being treated, and 78,120 people who had been discharged after recovery.

Altogether 4,633 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By Saturday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,683 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,568 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 115 remained hospitalized with three in severe conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said four people, all from overseas, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

According to the commission, 5,840 close contacts were still under medical observation after 427 people were discharged from medical observation Saturday.

Also on Saturday, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported on the mainland. One case was re-categorized as a confirmed case, and 61 asymptomatic cases, including 16 from overseas, were discharged from medical observation, according to the commission.

The commission said 794 asymptomatic cases, including 48 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

By Saturday, 1,044 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 440 in Taiwan including six deaths.

A total of 967 patients in Hong Kong, 40 in Macao, and 361 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Beijing, buys, Chinese health authority, Chinese mainland, commission, confirmed, COVID-19 cases, customer, deaths, domestically transmitted, east China's, food store, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), hubei province, imported cases, inner mongolia autonomous region, jilin province, Macao, Macao SAR, products, reports, Saturday, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, Sunday, Taiwan, time-honored, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

31/03/2020

Chinese mainland reports zero increase in domestic COVID-19 cases

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese health authority said Tuesday that no new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported on the Chinese mainland on Monday.

The National Health Commission received reports of 48 new confirmed cases on the mainland on Monday, all of which were imported.

By the end of Monday, 771 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.

Also on Monday, one death which was in Hubei Province, and 44 new suspected cases, all imported ones, were reported on the mainland.

On Monday, 282 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 105 to 528.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,518 by Monday, including 2,161 patients who were still being treated, 76,052 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,305 people who died of the disease.

The commission said that 183 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus, adding that 19,853 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Monday, 1,199 people were discharged from medical observation.

By Monday, 682 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 39 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 306 in Taiwan including five deaths.

A total of 124 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 39 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Chinese health authority, Chinese mainland, COVID-19 cases, discharged, domestic, Hong Kong, hospitals, hubei province, Macao, National Health Commission, recovery, reports, Taiwan, Uncategorized, zero increase | Leave a Comment »

19/03/2020

China Focus: China hands out vouchers to spur virus-hit consumption

NANJING, March 19 (Xinhua) — Chinese cities are encouraging residents to dine out and shop with measures such as handing out e-vouchers to boost consumption sectors hit hard by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Like many living in the eastern city of Nanjing, Wang Linlin was waked up by her alarm clock at midnight and with a few clicks on her cellphone, she was ready to meet her luck of the draw: getting a meal voucher worth 100 yuan (about 14.2 U.S. dollars).

“I’ve always been thinking about hanging out and having hotpot with my friends after the epidemic, so getting a voucher would be great,” Wang said.

Nanjing has been giving out vouchers worth 318 million yuan to its residents since Sunday. People are invited to participate in lotteries for e-vouchers which can be used in restaurants, gymnasiums, bookshops as well as tourist spots, helping the service sector bounce back.

The voucher bonus has been well received as more than 1.6 million local citizens have registered for the lotteries as of Monday, according to the Nanjing Big Data Administration Bureau.

Besides Nanjing, many other regions have also been taking similar actions.

Macao gives out vouchers totaling 2.2 billion patacas (about 275 million U.S. dollars) to its residents. The city of Ningbo in east China’s Zhejiang Province is issuing consumption vouchers worth 100 million yuan while the city of Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, is handing out vouchers worth 20 million yuan to stimulate spending on tourism and culture.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Chinese customers have shied away from restaurants and shopping malls. China’s retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, declined 20.5 percent year on year in the first two months of this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“People are more willing to dine out with the vouchers, which can boost confidence in the catering sector and finally get the economy back on track,” said Shen Jiahua, chairman of a chain restaurant company in Nanjing.

After the coronavirus outbreak ends, people are eager to spend generously. According to a survey conducted by the Jiangsu consumers council, nearly 90 percent of the respondents expressed suppressed consumption desire.

Restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, gymnasiums and tourist spots are the top five destinations for consumers to unleash their spending spree after normal life resumes, the survey showed.

Local officials across China have been taking the lead in recent days in patronizing restaurants and shopping malls, hoping to use their appearances in public to persuade more residents to go outside.

In provinces such as Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi, government notices have urged officials to dine out and go shopping to help related businesses through the epidemic period.

“Government officials are using their actions to convey confidence and support work resumption and consumer spending,” commented a Chinese netizen.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Anhui province, bookshops, cellphone, China, consumers council, consumption, coronavirus outbreak, e-vouchers, gymnasiums, hands out, Jiangsu, jiangsu province, Jiangxi Province, Jinan, Macao, Nanjing, Nanjing Big Data Administration Bureau, national bureau of statistics, Ningbo, novel coronavirus outbreak, restaurants, shandong province, spur, tourist spots, Uncategorized, virus-hit, vouchers, zhejiang province | Leave a Comment »

11/03/2020

Thailand restricts visitor visas to limit virus spread

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand will temporarily suspend issuing visas on arrival to visitors from 19 countries and territories, including China, to contain the spread of the coronavirus, its interior minister said on Wednesday.

The suspensions were the latest measures imposed in the tourism-reliant Southeast Asian country, which has reported 59 cases of the virus and one death so far. Globally, over 113,000 people have been infected in over 100 countries.

“People from any country who want to come will need to apply for a visa with our embassies,” Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda told reporters.

“Thai embassies everywhere will ensure that no sick people will travel to Thailand.”

Visa on Arrival (VoA) will be suspended for nationals of all 19 countries and territories previously eligible, including Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, and Vanuatu, according to a list provided to reporters by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, Russian passport holders will not be affected by the suspension of the visa on arrival from Russia, as they can still travel to Thailand and stay for 30 days under a visa waiver agreement, an official at the ministry told Reuters.

Visa exemptions will be cancelled for South Korea, Italy and Hong Kong, Anupong said.

“These measures will solve the problem of foreigners arriving from risky zones,” he said.

Anupong said he would start the process immediately but it was not immediately clear when they will be effective.

Chatree Atchananant, director-general of the foreign ministry’s Consular Affairs Department, said visa applicants will need to present medical certificates and insurance as part of the screening at Thai embassies.

Last week, Thailand designated South Korea, China, Macao, Hong Kong, Italy and Iran as “dangerous communicable disease areas.”

Thai authorities urged people arriving from the six places to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Source: Reuters

Posted in 14 days, Bangkok, Bhutan, Bulgaria, China, Consular Affairs Department, coronavirus, countries, Cyprus, embassies, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, limit, Macao, Malta, Mexico, Minister of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, restricts, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, self quarantine, South Korea, spread, Taiwan, territories, Thai, Thailand, Uncategorized, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Virus, Visa on Arrival (VoA), visitor visas | Leave a Comment »

26/01/2020

Xinhua Headlines: Quiet and busy — Lunar New Year’s Eve in Wuhan, center of coronavirus fight

The Lunar New Year’s Eve in Wuhan, ground zero of the novel coronavirus outbreak in central China, is nothing but special. Behind the seemingly quiet streets, people in all walks of life are racing against time to fight against the invisible enemy.

WUHAN, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) — There were far fewer cars on the streets and bustling crowds were not seen in the shopping malls in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Jan. 24 — the Eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The scene was quite different from the occasion in the previous years because of the novel coronavirus that has claimed over 40 lives and infected over a thousand nationwide. With a population of over 10 million, Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, is the center of the epidemic.

Photo taken on Jan. 24, 2020 shows a medical aid team of Army Medical University leaving for Wuhan in southwest China’s Chongqing. On the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve, a group of 150 medical workers from the Army Medical University left for Wuhan, the center of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, to provide medical aid. (Xinhua)

Yang Yingchen, a volunteer of the Red Cross Society of China’s Wuhan branch, had a busy day answering calls.

“People from across the nation called to check on accounts and addresses to make donations,” said Yang. “Many would say ‘Come on, Wuhan’ to us, which makes me feel especially warm and deeply moved.”

Chen Li, a doctor in a Wuhan hospital, spent the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve at home to quarantine herself. She is a little bit worried about having had contact with infected patients, but luckily she has no signs of symptoms for the time being.

“Before joining the fight against the epidemic, I had sent my four-year-old son to my parents. I has disinfected all the articles in my house,” she said.

Chen’s husband is at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic. “We haven’t seen each other for over a week,” said Chen. On Saturday morning, she put on protective clothing again and returned to work.

“Actually, I can’t be isolated for too long. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” she said. “I just don’t know when I can see my boy again.”

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2020 shows mechanical equipment working at the construction site of a special hospital in the Caidian District of western suburb of Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province. The central China metropolitan of Wuhan will follow Beijing’s SARS treatment model to build a special hospital for admitting patients infected in the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

The virus had resulted in 41 deaths in China by the end of Friday, mostly in Wuhan, according to the National Health Commission. Nationwide, a total of 1,287 cases were confirmed, including 237 in critical condition.

Confirmed cases were also reported in China’s Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as Thailand, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal and France.

Wuhan is following Beijing’s SARS treatment model in 2003 to build a makeshift hospital with a capability of 1,000 beds for admitting infected patients. Construction on the facility began Thursday night. It will be completed and put into use prior to Feb. 3, less than 10 days away.

“It’s going to be another all-nighter. We need to speed up work and complete the hospital as soon as possible,” said Lyu Jun, a young truck driver at the construction site. This is his first Spring Festival away from home.

For ordinary people, this year’s Lunar New Year’s Eve lacks some gatherings but is still a time to extend greetings and wishes.

Yin Yeqiong, from Hunan Province, refunded her tickets back home after much debate. “I had it in my mind to still go home, but finally decided to stay in Wuhan,” she said. “Our stay will help reduce panic in other places.”

Liu Jie, a dough sculptor, put on a New Year costume and watched the Spring Festival Gala with his family. “We’re now at a critical period, so I texted New Year wishes to friends and relatives this year. I believe this is the best way,” he said.

Liu Jiapeng, a children’s book editor, stayed in Wuhan during the Spring Festival for the past four decades. “I always stayed with my family, and we would have every meal together,” said Liu. “But this year, I haven’t had one meal with them.”

On the day of the Lunar New Year’s Eve, he and his wife bought some goods for their parents, brought them to their house and briefly chatted. As they were waiting for the elevator, Liu looked back and saw his father standing at the windowsill, watching them leave.

Medical workers of Army Medical University assemble before leaving for Wuhan in southwest China’s Chongqing, Jan. 24, 2020. On the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve, a group of 150 medical workers from the Army Medical University left for Wuhan, the center of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, to provide medical aid. (Xinhua)

China is mobilizing medical resources nationwide to aid Wuhan and control the epidemic. Doctors, nurses and experts from across the nation have been selected to join the battle, and manufacturers have restarted their plants to produce medical consumables that have been running short in many places.

A national research team of 14 experts, headed by renowned respiratory scientist Zhong Nanshan, has been set up to help prevent and control the outbreak on Friday.

“This is going to be an unforgettable Spring Festival,” said Chen Ying, a writer. “Because I feel that at this moment, there are so many families that I do not know, in every corner of this city, praying for our home.”

“My New Year wish is simple,” said Liu Jie. “I hope the virus will soon be conquered and everyone in Wuhan and the whole nation would be safe and healthy.”

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Army Medical University, children's book editor, China’s National Health Commission, coronavirus fight, doctors, doctors and nurses, epidemic, experts, France, Hong Kong, hubei province, Hunan Province, Japan, Lunar New Year's Eve, Macao, National Health Commission, nationwide, Nepal, New Year costume, nurses, Red Cross Society of China, Republic of Korea, SARS treatment model, Singapore, Spring Festival Gala, Taiwan, Thailand, Uncategorized, United States, Vietnam, Wuhan | Leave a Comment »

23/01/2020

Xi Focus: Xi stresses racing against time to reach Chinese Dream

CHINA-BEIJING-CPC CENTRAL COMMITTEE-STATE COUNCIL-RECEPTION (CN) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a Chinese Lunar New Year reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 23, 2020. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council held the reception on Thursday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday stressed racing against time and keeping abreast with history to reach the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

“Time and history wait for no one as they are both on the side of hard workers,” said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Xi made the remarks while addressing a Chinese Lunar New Year reception held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Under the strong leadership of the CPC, all members of the Party, armed forces and people of all ethnic groups must fear no wind or wave, rise up to challenges and keep marching toward the glorious goal of national rejuvenation and the great prospect of building a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said.

At the reception, held by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Xi extended Lunar New Year’s greetings to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and overseas Chinese.

Party and state leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan were among the more than 2,000 people attending the reception. Li Keqiang chaired the event.

Xi noted in his speech that new and significant progress has been made in the past year toward building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

He mentioned major events during the year, including the fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland and resolute efforts to safeguard the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as celebrations marking the 70th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

A campaign themed “staying true to our founding mission” was also carried out to demand the more than 90 million Party members remember to always stay with the people.

“In the new year, we must secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and fighting poverty,” Xi said, adding that achieving this first centenary goal is a milestone in the process of realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

The results, Xi said, must be recognized by the people and stand the test of time.

Xi said the Chinese nation, with a civilization stretching back over 5,000 years, has made indelible contributions to the civilization and progress of mankind. But the nation was held back for too long by various internal and external troubles in modern times.

That is why, Xi said, the Chinese people have always had an extraordinary sense of urgency and appreciation of the underlying trend of the times.

From now to the middle of this century, the Chinese people will strive to build China into a great modern socialist country. It will be a great era in which a new splendid chapter of the Chinese civilization will be written, he said.

Every Chinese person must feel proud of living in such a great era, Xi said.

“We must maintain strategic direction and resolve, stay united, work hard and forge ahead against all odds,” Xi said.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, all ethnic groups, Beijing, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, chinese lunar new year, Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Great Hall of the People, great modern socialist country, Han Zheng, Hong Kong, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Macao, Overseas Chinese, Taiwan, Time and history wait for no one, Uncategorized, Wang Huning, Wang Qishan, wang yang, Zhao Leji | Leave a Comment »

22/01/2020

Xi Focus: Xi extends Chinese New Year greetings to all Chinese

CHINA-YUNNAN-XI JINPING-INSPECTION TOUR (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, beats a wooden drum of the Wa ethnic group three times to bless the coming year in Sanjia Village in the city of Tengchong, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. Xi has extended Chinese New Year greetings to all Chinese people during a three-day inspection tour to Yunnan Province which concluded Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

KUNMING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended Chinese New Year greetings to all Chinese people.

He wished Chinese people of all ethnic groups a better life and the country greater prosperity in the new year.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during a three-day inspection tour of southwest China’s Yunnan Province which concluded Tuesday.

During a visit to Sanjia Village in the city of Tengchong on Sunday afternoon, Xi learned about poverty alleviation efforts and called for efforts to speed up the development of ethnic minorities and areas with large ethnic minority populations.

After joining local villagers in making rice cakes, a traditional local festival food, Xi noted that shaking off poverty is the new starting point, calling for vigorously promoting rural vitalization after China completes the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

According to local custom, Xi beat a wooden drum of the Wa ethnic group three times to bless the coming year.

Later that day, Xi went to the old town of Heshun, a gateway on the ancient Southern Silk Road, where he visited a village-level library built over 90 years ago.

Visiting the memorial hall of Ai Siqi, a renowned philosopher, Xi said the country needs a large number of talented individuals who can explain the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context well and who can use easy-to-understand language to spread the Party’s new theories to more ordinary households.

Visiting an ecological wetland of Dianchi Lake in Kunming on Monday, Xi stressed resisting the old way of developing the economy at the cost of the environment.

Dianchi Lake, once among the most polluted lakes in China, has seen its ecology greatly improved after years of conservation efforts.

Inspecting market supply for Chinese New Year at the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center, Xi demanded a sufficient supply of safe and reliable goods during the festival.

There, Xi extended Chinese New Year greetings to local residents, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese nationals.

Xi then went to the former site of the National Southwest Associated University in Kunming. He stressed the close link between education and the fate and future of the country and noted that the goal of China’s education system is to nurture a new generation of capable young people who are well-prepared to join the socialist cause.

After hearing the work reports of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and the provincial government on Tuesday morning, Xi encouraged Yunnan to break new ground in promoting ethnic unity and progress, pushing forward ecological conservation, and pursuing greater cooperation with South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Xi urged efforts to promote high-quality development, accelerate building a modernized economy, consolidate the achievements in poverty alleviation, boost the healthy and sustainable development of tourism, while continuing to fight air, water and soil pollution.

He also required further opening-up to neighboring countries, speeding up the building of connectivity networks and strengthening cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Xi demanded efforts to strengthen governance capacity in border areas and areas with large ethnic minority populations, implement the plans to boost the development of ethnic minority areas and ethnic groups with small populations, step up the fight against cross-border crime, gangs and their “protective umbrellas,” and maintain the stability of border areas.

On the anti-poverty fight, Xi ordered focusing on areas with extreme poverty, preventing people from falling back into poverty due to illness, injury or the lack of follow-up policies, and further aligning developmental poverty relief with protective poverty relief.

On Party building, Xi said the “staying true to the Party’s founding mission” campaign should be regarded as a lifelong task for strengthening Party building among all Party members and a source of inspiration in the new era.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Ai Siqi, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), chinese new year, Chinese President Xi Jinping, city of Tengchong, CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, Dianchi Lake, ecological wetland, ethnic groups, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, greetings, Heshun, Hong Kong, inspection tour, Kunming, Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center, Macao, National Southwest Associated University, Overseas Chinese, Sanjia Village, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern Silk Road, Taiwan, Uncategorized, Wa ethnic group, wooden drum, Yunnan Province | Leave a Comment »

11/12/2019

Macao LRT officially put into operation

CHINA-MACAO-LRT-OPENING CEREMONY (CN)

Chui Sai On (C), chief executive of China’s Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Raimundo Arrais do Rosario (L), secretary for Transport and Public Works of Macao, and Ho Cheong Kei, chairman of the board of Macao Light Rapid Transit (LRT), attend the opening ceremony of the Macao LRT in south China’s Macao, Dec. 10, 2019. The Macao LRT was officially put into operation Tuesday. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Light Rapid Transit (LRT), LRT, Macao, Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), officially, operation, put, Transport and Public Works, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

07/10/2019

Xi extends Seniors’ Day greetings

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) — President Xi Jinping wished senior citizens nationwide a happy Double Ninth Festival, also known as Chongyang Festival, which falls on Monday.

Xi extended the greetings Sunday in reply to a letter written earlier by 30 senior residents in Macao.

The senior residents are serving in a professional elderly service center established in 2007, where Xi used to pay a visit in January 2009 as the vice president of China.

“You have experienced the successful practice of ‘one country, two systems’ in Macao,” Xi said. “I am glad that you devote yourselves to public welfare undertakings after retirement.”

Xi expressed his hope that the senior residents could tell young people in Macao more stories happening before and after Macao’s return to the motherland and encourage them to pass on the fine tradition of loving the motherland and loving Macao to make contributions to the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and to work together in making Macao more beautiful.

In their letter to Xi, the senior residents spoke of the changes since Macao’s return to the motherland, and expressed their pride to be Chinese and determination to pass on the tradition of loving the motherland and Macao.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Chongyang Festival, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), happy Double Ninth Festival, Macao, motherland, nationwide, President Xi Jinping, senior citizens, Uncategorized, wished | Leave a Comment »

06/10/2019

Xinhua Headlines: China’s Greater Bay Area busy laying foundation for innovation

As China aims to develop its Greater Bay Area into an international innovation and technology hub, innovation and entrepreneurship resources are shared in the area to provide more opportunities for young Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurs.

The provincial government of Guangdong has stepped up efforts to improve basic research capability, considered the backbone of an international innovation and technology hub, by building large scientific installations and launching provincial labs.

by Xinhua writers Liu Yiwei, Quan Xiaoshu, Wang Pan, Jing Huaiqiao

GUANGZHOU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong man Andy Ng was surprised his shared workspace Timetable was rented out completely only six months after it had started operation in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province.

While studying economics at City University of Hong Kong, Ng set up his first business, developing an online education platform, but soon realized the Hong Kong market was too small. After earning a master’s degree in the UK in 2017, Ng returned to China and chose Guangzhou as his new base.

Timetable is now accumulating popularity and even fans in Dianping.com, China’s major online consumer guide. Ng feels lucky that his business caught the implementation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development plan.

The bay area, covering 56,000 square km, comprises Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine cities in Guangdong. It had a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017, and is one of the most open and dynamic regions in China.

Aerial photo taken on July 11, 2018 shows the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in south China. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

In July 2017, a framework agreement on the development of the bay area was signed. On February 18 this year, China issued the more specific Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. One of its major aims is to develop the area into an international innovation and technology hub.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH

The plan proposes that innovation and entrepreneurship resources be shared in the bay area to provide more opportunities for young Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurs.

An incubator for entrepreneurship, Timetable is home to 52 companies, including 15 from Hong Kong and Macao, such as Redspots, a virtual reality company that won the Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards 2019.

“I persuaded them one by one to come here,” Ng said. “I told them of my own experience that the GBA is a great stage for starting a business with ever-upgrading technologies, ever-changing consumer tastes and a population 10 times that of Hong Kong.”

Timetable is a startup base of the Guangzhou Tianhe Hong Kong and Macao Youth Association, which has assisted 65 enterprises founded by Hong Kong and Macao young people since its establishment in October 2017.

The association and its four bases provide a package of services from training and registering to policy and legal consultation, said Chen Jingzhan, one of the association founders.

Tong Yat, a young Macao man who teaches children programming, is grateful the association encouraged him to come to Guangdong, where young people enjoy more preferential policies to start their own businesses.

“The GBA development not only benefits us, but paves the way for the next generation,” Tong said. “If one of my students were to become a tech tycoon in the future and tell others that his first science and technology teacher was me, I would think it all worthwhile.”

In the first quarter of this year, there were more than 980 science and technology business incubators in Guangdong, including more than 50 for young people from Hong Kong and Macao, said Wu Hanrong, an official with the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province.

INNOVATION HIGHLAND

As the young entrepreneurs create a bustling innovative atmosphere, the Guangdong government has stepped up efforts to improve basic research capability, considered the backbone of an international innovation and technology hub, by building large scientific installations and launching provincial labs.

Several large scientific facilities have settled in Guangdong. China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) operates in Dongguan City; a neutrino observatory is under construction in Jiangmen City; a high intensity heavy-ion accelerator is being built in Huizhou City.

Aerial photo taken on June 23, 2019 shows the construction site of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in Jiangmen, south China’s Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong also plans to build about 10 provincial labs, covering regenerative medicine, materials, advanced manufacturing, next-generation network communications, chemical and fine chemicals, marine research and other areas, said Zhang Yan, of the provincial department of science and technology.

Unlike traditional universities or research institutions, the provincial labs enjoy a high degree of autonomy in policy and spending. A market-oriented salary system allows them to recruit talent from all over the world, and researchers from other domestic organizations can work for the laboratories without giving up their original jobs, Zhang said.

The labs are also open to professionals from Hong Kong and Macao. Research teams from the universities of the two special administrative regions have been involved in many of the key programs, Zhang said.

For example, the provincial lab of regenerative medicine and health has jointly established a regenerative medicine research institute with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a heart research center with the University of Hong Kong, and a neuroscience research center with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

Photo taken on July 24, 2019 shows a rapid cycling synchrotron at the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) in Dongguan, south China’s Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Guangdong has been trying to break down institutional barriers to help cooperation, encouraging Hong Kong and Macao research institutions to participate in provincial research programs, exploring the cross-border use of provincial government-sponsored research funds, and shielding Hong Kong researchers in Guangdong from higher mainland taxes.

NANSHA FOCUS

Located at the center of the bay area, Guangzhou’s Nansha District is designed as the national economic and technological development zone and national free trade zone, and is an important pivot in building the area into an international innovation and technology hub.

The construction of a science park covering about 200 hectares started on Sept. 26. Gong Shangyun, an official with the Nansha government, said the park will be completed in 2022.

Jointly built by the Guangzhou government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the science park will accommodate CAS research institutes from around Guangzhou, including the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) and the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion.

Ren Hai, director of the SCBG, is looking forward to expanding the research platforms in Nansha. “We will build a new economic plant platform serving the green development of the Pearl River Delta, a new botanical garden open to the public, and promote the establishment of the GBA botanical garden union.”

Wang Ying, a researcher with the SCBG, said the union will help deepen the long cooperation among its members and improve scientific research, science popularization and ecological protection. “Predecessors of our botanical garden have helped the Hong Kong and Macao counterparts gradually establish their regional flora since the 1950s and 1960s.”

HKUST also started to build a new campus in Nansha the same day as the science park broke ground. “Located next to the high-speed rail station, the Guangzhou campus is only a 30-minute journey from the Hong Kong campus. A delegation from the HKUST once paid a visit to the site and found it very convenient to work here,” Gong said.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam hoped the new campus would help create a new chapter for the exchanges and cooperation on higher education between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and cultivate more talents with innovative capabilities.

Nansha’s layout is a miniature of the provincial blueprint for an emerging international innovation and technology hub.

“We are seeking partnership with other leading domestic research institutions and encouraging universities from Hong Kong and Macao to set up R&D institutions in Guangdong,” said Zhang Kaisheng, an official with the provincial department of science and technology.

“We are much busier now, because research institutes at home and abroad come to talk about collaboration every week. The GBA is a rising attraction to global scientific researchers,” Zhang said.

Source: Xinhua

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