FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times

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FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
FRI. 30 Jul 2021
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
FOUNDER & PUBLISHER Kowie Geldenhuys   EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paulo Coutinho   www.macaudailytimes.com.mo

                 FRIDAY       T. 10º/ 16º   Air Quality Bad
                                                                                                                                                                         MOP 8.00
     N.º 3825

                                                                                       “ THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ ”
                30 Jul 2021                                                                                                                                              HKD 10.00

                HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATE DROPPED TO 45%                                        JAPANESE OFFICIALS SOUNDED THE ALARM AS TOKYO
                LAST MONTH DUE TO STRICTER PANDEMIC
                PREVENTION MEASURES IN GUANGDONG                                        REPORTED RECORD-BREAKING CORONAVIRUS CASES FOR THE
                      AND MACAU IN EARLY JUNE                                            THIRD STRAIGHT DAY WITH THE OLYMPICS WELL UNDERWAY

                                                  SWEEPING CHANGES
                                                                               P6                                                                                                    p11

       Myanmar A strong, shallow
       earthquake shook northern
       Myanmar yesterday and
       was felt as far away as
       northern Thailand. The
       U.S. Geological Survey said
       the magnitude 5.5 quake
                                              XINHUA

       occurred north of Mandalay

                                                                              The government will impose stricter cross-border
       about 46 kilometers
       northeast of Shwebo. It was

                                                                              regulations from tomorrow and has extended the
       centered 10 kilometers
       below the Earth’s surface,

                                                                               scope of medium to high-risk areas after China
       the USGS said.
AP PHOTO

                                                                                registered spikes in locally transmitted cases P8

       Thailand Health authorities
       raced to set up a large
       field hospital in a cargo
       building at one of Bangkok’s
       airports yesterday as the
       country reported record
       numbers of coronavirus
       cases and deaths. Other
       field hospitals are already
       in use in the capital after it
       ran out of hospital facilities
       for thousands of infected
       residents. Workers rushed
       to finish the 1,800-bed
       hospital at Don Mueang
       International Airport, where
       beds made from cardboard
       box materials were laid out
       with mattresses and pillows.
       It is to be ready for patients
       in two weeks.

       Afghanistan The Taliban
       say that 150 people
       have died in flooding in
       Afghanistan’s mountainous
       northeastern Nuristan
       province. Taliban
       spokesman Zabihullah
       Mujahid says offered little
       information yesterday
       about the deaths a day
       earlier. The spokesman
       for the provincial governor,
       Mohammad Sayed
       Mohmand, said water had
       inundated the village of
       Terdesh, destroying at least
       100 homes.

       Tunisian prosecutors have
       opened investigations into
       alleged foreign campaign
       funding and anonymous
       donations to Islamist
       movement Ennahdha and
       two other political parties,
       according to local media.
       Ennahdha is the dominant
                                                                       URBAN RENEWAL PLANS                                                                         JLL
       party in parliament, whose
       activities were suspended                          Lawmakers                                                                      Long way to
                                                       concerned about                                                                   go for real
       this week by President Kais
       Saied. Tunisia’s leader also

                                                        fate of tenants,                                                                estate market
       fired the prime minister
       and key Cabinet members,
       saying it was necessary

                                                            seniors                                                                       recovery
       to stabilize a country in
       economic and health crisis.

                   More on backpage                                                                                    P4                                                            P6
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
page 4                                                                                                                                                                                       www.macaudailytimes.com.mo
MACAU       澳門                                                                                                                                                                                        30.07.2021 fri

                                                                                      MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

Lawmakers Mak and Zheng                                                                                                                                              LAWMAKERS’ AGENDA

concerned about tenants,                                                                                                                                                 BIRTHRATE INCREASE: Wong
                                                                                                                                                                         Kit Cheng wants the government

seniors in urban renewal plans
                                                                                                                                                                         to consider policies which promote
                                                                                                                                                                         an increase in the local birth rate.
                                                                                                                                                                         In a spoken inquiry, the lawmaker
                                                                                                                                                                         noted the recent policy from the
RENATO MARQUES                                                                                                                                                           central government regarding the
                                                                                                                                                                         promotion of a higher birth rate
L   AWMAKERS Mak Soi Kun
    and Zheng Anting have
expressed concerns to the go-
                                                                                                                                                                         in the mainland, and called on the
                                                                                                                                                                         local government to establish a long-
                                                                                                                                                                         term demographic and population
vernment regarding the fate                                                                                                                                              plan. “The government must define
of the tenants currently living                                                                                                                                          a short-, medium- and long-term
in buildings targeted for plan-                                                                                                                                          demographic development and
ned urban renewal.                                                                                                                                                       population plan, which corresponds
   During the period before                                                                                                                                              to the needs of the development
the agenda of yesterday’s Le-                                                                                                                                            of society, so that the concept
gislative Assembly (AL) ple-                                                                                                                                             of incentive to procreation is
nary session, Mak was the first                                                                                                                                          [addressed by] future policies of
to raise the matter. He ques-                                                                                                                                            government as well as in the work of
tioned the government about                                                                                                                                              the public service,” she said.
the fate of people currently
renting apartments in bui-                                                                                                                                               HENGQIN ‘GIFT’: Leong Sun
ldings that the government                                                                                                                                               Iok and Chan Hong want the
has signaled will be demo-        12,014 people living in these        to the renewal projects.                      from the lack of housing for                        government to prepare for new
lished and rebuilt under plans    buildings, from which around            “Around 3,000 house ow-                    those in need during the ur-                        opportunities that will come from
for urban renewal.                30% are the apartment ow-            ners who live in these bui-                   ban renewal process.                                the “deepening of cooperation
   “After the demolition of an    ners, and 45% are occupied by        ldings will move to tempo-                        In a separate inquiry to                        between Guangdong and Macau for
old building for urban reno-      tenants,” adding that at least       rary housing, but there are                   the government, lawmaker                            the development of Hengqin.”
vation, where are the tenants     30% of these units are occu-         at least 5,000 tenants who                    Zheng also touched on the                           Chan noted recent statements from
who have been renting the         pied by non-resident workers         are renting houses in these                   same topic, adding that se-                         the Chief Executive that a new step
cheap houses going?” Mak          who use them as dormitories.         buildings where the rent is                   nior citizens who own or rent                       will be taken on this front and that
asked.                               Citing the same study, Mak        cheap. Because of their limi-                 apartments in the same area                         will soon be officially announced
   The same lawmaker cited        also said that the average oc-       ted economic capacity and                     will suffer even more, as all                       by the central government. She
the conclusions of a study        cupancy of these units is 5.3        with the current global uns-                  of them must live in low-rise                       called on the local government to
released by Macau Urban           people per apartment, a figu-        table economic situation, if                  walkup buildings because of                         prepare “to adjust and optimize
Renewal Limited on a group        re much higher than the ge-          tenants are forced to move to                 their inability to afford rental                    Macau’s general development
of seven buildings located at     neral average of three people        another house with a higher                   units in high-rise buildings                        planning and distribution in due
Iao Hon neighborhood that         per unit in Macau.                   rent, won’t this affect their                 equipped with elevators.                            time, to introduce a new thinking
the government aims to be            The lawmaker noted that           lives?” he continued, urging                      Zheng noted that over                           and a new vitality in its economic
the first targeted with this      these people are part of the         the government to prepare in                  4,000 elderly citizens live in                      development, [which] everyone is
plan in estimating the impact.    lower income population and          advance for such problems to                  their own homes in these fi-                        eagerly awaiting.”
Mak stated there are “around      so will suffer dramatically due      avoid future chaos resulting                  ve-story buildings, while the                       Leong also called on the
                                                                                                                     first phase of the new elderly                      government to take this new step
                                                                                                                     residences presented recently                       as an opportunity to “optimize the
                                                                                                                     by the government only offers
Two new laws finally approved by AL                                                                                  around 1,800 units.
                                                                                                                                                                         employment space,” offering new
                                                                                                                                                                         job opportunities for residents.
                                                                                                                         The lawmaker also noted

T    HE Legislative Assembly (AL) passed in
     the final reading the Urban Construc-
tion Legal Regime as well as a new Statute
                                                 finds that owners failed to comply with
                                                 mandatory building inspection conditions
                                                 and did not deliver the required report to
                                                                                                                     that, as time goes by, the pro-
                                                                                                                     blem of the aging population
                                                                                                                     only gets bigger. He believes
                                                                                                                                                                         VACCINATION PAID LEAVE:
                                                                                                                                                                         Agnes Lam called on the
                                                                                                                                                                         government to offer paid leave to
of the Staff of Security Forces and Services.    DSSOPT.                                                             therefore that the 1,800 units                      all civil servants for vaccination
   The new laws were approved in the final          Several lawmakers expressed concerns                             presented by the government                         against Covid-19. The lawmaker
reading yesterday evening with votes in fa-      over the situation of illegal structures that                       will “hardly meet the growing                       said that “absence from work due
vor by all the lawmakers present at the ple-     exist on the rooftops of a large number of                          demand,” urging the gover-                          to vaccination should be seen as a
nary meeting.                                    buildings in Macau.                                                 nment to plan accordingly                           guarantee of the employee’s health,
   During the short debate on specific de-          On this topic, the government replied                            with real demand and move                           rather than an incentive,” adding
tails of the Urban Construction Legal Regi-      that it has been doing work on the matter                           forward with the second and                         that the government should provide
me, the Secretary for Transport and Public       and will continue to do so, but that due to                         third phases of this project.                       such measures for its 38,000 civil
Works, Raimundo do Rosário, emphasized           lack of manpower in the bureau such mat-                                Additionally, there is an                       servants as well as promoting the
that the new regime will enforce the respon-     ters have been taken care of on a case-by-                          even larger group of elderly                        idea among other public service
sibilities of unit owners towards a building’s   -case basis only, prioritizing urgent situa-                        citizens that are renting units                     providers. Bus companies were one
general maintenance and repair works.            tions where risks are posed to others.                              in the same types of buildin-                       example Lam noted of those that
   The bill also offers added guarantees for        There are still two other bills currently in                     gs and who do not have the                          should offer paid leave days to their
property buyers among its provisions, such       the possession of the AL standing commit-                           economic capacity to handle                         workers after vaccination, so they
as a 10-year warranty for the foundations        tee that need to be discussed and approved                          a rent hike but at the same                         can take enough rest and have time
and main structural elements of a building       by the plenary before August 15, when the                           time will be excluded from                          to recover fully from any side effects
and five years’ warranty for other parts.        sixth AL term ends. Otherwise, these bills                          applying to rent economic                           of the inoculation. This would be
   Sanctions such as fines will be also          will be dropped and must start from square                          public housing, due to the as-                      for their own protection and for
applied in cases where the Land, Public          one in the next legislative terms, following                        sets they have accumulated                          public safety in general.
Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT)              the September elections. RM                                         over their lifetime.

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FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
www.macaudailytimes.com.mo                                                                                                                                                                  page 5
fri 30.07.2021                                                                                                                                                                     澳門      MACAU

                                                                                   MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

China’s recent controls to have limited
impact on gaming: Morgan Stanley
HONEY TSANG                                                                                                                                                    border), which involves a hefty sum
                                                                                                                                                               or cases with serious consequen-

W
                HILST global in-                                                                                                                               ces.”
                vestors have beco-                                                                                                                                The amended law came into for-
                me edgy about the                                                                                                                              ce on March 1 this year. Gaming ex-
                extended scope of                                                                                                                              perts regarded this as a “stricter” re-
mandates implemented by the                                                                                                                                    gulation, which would deal a huge
central government on several in-                                                                                                                              blow to the city’s VIP and premium
dustries, Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd                                                                                                                              mass market.
assuages concerns in a memo, con-                                                                                                                                 Morgan Stanley projected that
firming the impact of these restric-                                                                                                                           base and middle mass or slot seg-
tions on the gaming industry would                                                                                                                             ments will fare better than VIP or
be limited.                                                                                                                                                    premium mass segments, as Chi-
   According to a report published                                                                                                                             na is stepping up efforts to develop
yesterday by GGRAsia, the interna-                                                                                                                             “common prosperity,” a develop-
tional investment banking group                                                                                                                                ment plan intended to build a mo-
stated in a release that these tigh-                                                                                                                           dern socialist country.
tened controls are “less relevant” to                                                                                                                             The goal of common prosperi-
the casino industry.                     training.                              these stocks virtually un-investab-         Nonetheless, compared to the       ty should be given greater promi-
   The stringent mandates cover             The document suggested that         le.”                                     above regulatory measures, those      nence as China has entered a new
several industries, including educa-     companies which offer tutoring to          Separately, China imposed a          imposed on gaming businesses are      stage of development, President
tion, property and technology.           support the curriculum in primary      set of mandates on tech behemo-          not new, the brokerage reassured      Xi Jinping stated in an earlier stu-
   For instance, the State Council       and middle schools should register     ths, such as new guidelines on the       investors.                            dy session of the Political Bureau
launched a string of reformative re-     as “nonprofit institutions.” The-      treatment of food-delivery drivers          As early as December last year,    of the Chinese Communist Party
gulations on July 24, which will see a   se rules may wipe out the rapidly      and requirements to fix particular       the Standing Committee of the         Central Committee held in January
ban on off-campus private tutoring       growing industry, which had been       anti-competitive practices, among        National People’s Congress (NPC),     this year.
firms making a profit, raising capi-     buoyed mainly by funding from          others, giving rise to a slump in tech   China’s top legislature, sanctioned      Despite all these environmental
tal or going public. The new rules,      global investors.                      stocks this week.                        an amendment to the national          factors, Morgan Stanley remains
according to the official document,         Another investment banking              Given these events, investors in     criminal law criminalizing anyo-      positive about Macau’s gaming
are intended to help students fur-       group, JP Morgan, opined earlier       gaming stocks have been worried          ne who “organizes [for] citizens of   industry, eyeing border reopening
ther decrease their “burdens” rela-      in a release that the new regime for   about “regulatory tail risk,” Morgan     mainland China to participate in      and the extension of casino conces-
ted to homework and off-campus           China’s education sector “makes        Stanley said.                            gambling outside the country (or      sions in the second half of this year.
                                                                                                                                                                                                  ad
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
page 6                                                                                                                                                                                               www.macaudailytimes.com.mo
MACAU        澳門                                                                                                                                                                                               30.07.2021 fri

                                                                                                                   MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

                                                                       Long way to go for real
LYNZY VALLES                                                                                                                                                                                    tions were registered in Macau,
                                                                                                                                                                                                up 27.9% year-on-year. Travel res-

T    HE city’s property market re-                                                                                                                                                              trictions between Hong Kong and

                                                                       estate market recovery: JLL
     mained stagnant with no sig-                                                                                                                                                               Macau led to a delay in corporate
nificant improvement despite the                                                                                                                                                                decisions on leasing offices, crea-
increase in visitors since the reope-                                                                                                                                                           ting pressure on the office leasing
ning of the border with China last                                                                                                                                                              market.
                                                        LYNZY VALLES

year.                                                                                                                                                                                               However, despite the lack of new
    This was the verdict of real estate                                                                                                                                                         Grade A office supply, the leasing
firm JLL in its Macau Mid-year Re-                                                                                                                                                              market still achieved satisfactory
view 2021.                                                                                                                                                                                      levels of transaction volume. Lea-
    During the first half of 2021, the                                                                                                                                                          sing demand mainly came from
city has seen a gradual improve-                                                                                                                                                                the insurance, finance and beauty
ment in an economy that was hea-                                                                                                                                                                sectors for business expansion. The
vily affected by the pandemic.                                                                                                                                                                  achieved rentals were at similar le-
    The fixed capital formation, pri-                                                                                                                                                           vels as last year.
vate consumption expenditure and
government consumption expen-                                                                                                                                                                   RETAIL PROPERTY
diture all recorded growth in the                                                                                                                                                               RECOVERING
first quarter (Q1), up 22.0%, 14.8%                                                                                                                                                                 The retail property sales market
and 0.2% year-on-year respectively.                                                                                                                                                             recovered in the first five months
    “Recently Hong Kong and Ma-                                                                                                                                                                 of 2021. A total of 161 retail pro-
cau are exploring the easing of the                                                                                                                                                             perty transactions were recorded,
travel restrictions between the two                                                                                                                                                             up 47.7% year-on-year. During the
cities. This will create a positive                                                                                                                                                             first five months of 2021, the num-
effect on Macau’s tourist and bu-                                                                                                                                                               ber of retail property transactions
siness sectors, and it’s especially                                                                                                                                                             increased significantly in residen-
important for the recovery of the                                                                                                                                                               tial neighbourhoods. Most proper-
city’s economy, retail and real estate                                                                                                                                                          ties transacted could bring a rental
markets,” said Mark Wong, director                                     most transactions recorded in the        supply has been gradually absor-        local first-time homebuyers, who        yield of about 2.5%.
of Valuation Advisory Services at                                      first five months.                       bed by the market. As there will be     comprised more than 70% of ove-             According to statistics, total retail
JLL Macau.                                                                 The sales market slowed down         no new supply of large-scale priva-     rall residential sales,” explained      sales were recorded at MOP 18.75
    “In the short term, central banks                                  in June due to the new wave of the       te residential projects in the coming   Gregory Ku, managing director at        billion in Q1 this year, up 68.0%
across the globe are expected to                                       Covid-19 pandemic in Guangdong           five years, the market is expected to   JLL Macau.                              from the same quarter last year.
continue to adopt quantitative ea-                                     province.                                remain in the same condition, JLL           “Due to the pandemic, residen-          “The retail vacancy rates in
sing monetary policies. With the                                           According to the official statis-    predicted.                              tial buyers in general have bigger      the tourist areas remain trending
new normal post pandemic, pent-                                        tics, a total of 3,297 residential sa-       Meanwhile, the rental values of     bargaining power and transac-           upwards, reflecting the limited im-
-up property demand will be relea-                                     les transactions were registered as      high-end residential properties and     tion prices are largely close to the    pact that the reopening of the bor-
sed gradually. We expect Macau’s                                       of June, up 8.5% compared to the         mass-to-medium residential pro-         appraised values. Coupled with the      der can bring to the retail trades
property market to remain stable                                       same time last year.                     perties fell by 4.9% and 13.0% res-     current low mortgage rate environ-      that require a high customer flow,”
in the second half of the year,” he                                        Pre-sale transactions totalled       pectively in H1 from end 2020, with     ment, it’s now a good time for ho-      said Oliver Tong, head of Leasing of
added.                                                                 225, accounting for only 6.8% of the     yields recorded at 1.6% and 1.5%        mebuyers to enter the market,” he       the firm.
                                                                       total residential sales volume, lower    respectively.                           added.                                      As the pandemic has not yet
RESIDENTIAL SALES                                                      than average levels recorded in the          “The overall residential transac-                                           been fully contained on a global le-
TRANSACTIONS SEE UPTICK                                                past.                                    tion volume recorded in H1 was          OFFICE LEASING                          vel, retail property landlords in tou-
    The total residential sales tran-                                      The fall in the number of pre-sa-    similar to that in 2020, with most      MARKET STABLE                           rist areas will remain flexible and
saction volume in Macau picked up                                      le transactions is mainly attributa-     transactions recorded in the secon-       In the first five months of 2021,     are willing to offer tenants bigger
in the first half of the year (H1), with                               ble to the fact that new residential     dary market. Buyers were mostly         a total of 2,459 new incorpora-         rental discounts.

ZONE A                                                                                                                                         Hotel occupancy rate
Room for discussion on                                                                                                                         drops to 45% in June
economic housing price: Council                                                                                                                LYNZY VALLES                 guests (357,000) sur-          year, the average oc-
                                                                                                                                                                            ged by 418.2% and              cupancy rate of guest
STAFF REPORTER
                                                                                                                                               T   HE average oc-           local guest numbers            rooms was 50.4%, up
                                     RENATO MARQUES

                                                                                                                                                   cupancy rate of          (83,000) saw an increa-        by 23.2 percentage

C   HAN Ka Leong, a mem-
    ber of the Council for Pu-
blic Housing Affairs, said at a
                                                                                                                                               guest rooms surged by
                                                                                                                                               33.5 percentage points
                                                                                                                                               year-on-year to 45.3%,
                                                                                                                                                                            se of 56.8%.
                                                                                                                                                                               Local tourism-rela-
                                                                                                                                                                            ted operators remain
                                                                                                                                                                                                           points     year-on-year.
                                                                                                                                                                                                           The number of gues-
                                                                                                                                                                                                           ts in hotels and gues-
forum held yesterday that the                                                                                                                  according to recent          optimistic about the           thouses expanded by
price of economic housing                                                                                                                      data revealed by the         prospects for business         84.5% year-on-year to
in New Urban Zone A is not                                                                                                                     Statistics and Census        during this summer             3,378,000, while their
finalized and is only a refe-                                                                                                                  Service.                     holiday, despite repor-        average length of stay
rence, so there is still room for                                                                                                                 However, the rate         ts of fresh outbreaks          grew by 0.1 nights to
discussion.                                                                                                                                    represents a drop of         in Zhuhai and Zhon-            1.8 nights.
   “Recently, the Housing Bu-                                                                                                                  16.8 percentage poin-        gshan.                            There     were    no
reau (IH) opened the econo-                                                                                                                    ts compared with May            Lou Chi Leong, di-          inbound package tour
mic housing show flats. It can                                                                                                                 (62.1%) on account of        rector of the Macau            visitors in June, while
be seen that the partitions                                                                                                                    the stricter pandemic        Hoteliers and Innkee-          the number of visitors
and materials used are very                                                                                                                    prevention and control       pers Association, re-          joining local tours to-
high quality, the construction                                                                                                                 measures in Guang-           cently stated that the         taled 6,600.
costs became higher, [there-                                                                                                                   dong province and            city’s average occupan-           In the first half of
fore] the price per square foot                          As for the Sandwich Class                     the ladder of home owner-               Macau in early June, a       cy rate currently stands       2021, visitors joining
will naturally be adjusted hi-                        Housing Scheme, he expres-                       ship.                                   result of the rise in Co-    between 50% and 60%.           local tours soared by
gher,” he said.                                       sed his belief that, firstly, the                   Opinions had been expres-            vid-19 cases.                   However, some tra-          197.3% year-on-year
   Chan said that the overall                         relevant legal support work                      sed that the proposed price of             The number of gues-       velers are canceling           to 28,000, whereas the
pricing is “not outrageous”                           should be done well, and                         MOP 5,000 per square foot of            ts checking into ho-         their bookings, which          number of outbou-
in his opinion, as he believed                        secondly, that its interface                     economic housing in Zone A              tels and guesthouses         is believed to be due          nd residents using
that the quality of the current                       with the economic and social                     is more expensive than that of          leapt by 245.9% year-        to new cases in Zhon-          the services of travel
economic housing is no less                           housing should be effective,                     other economic housing pre-             -on-year to 469,000          gshan and Zhuhai.              agencies increased by
than that of private housing.                         so that it can play a role on                    viously available.                      last month. Mainland            In the first half of the    3.5% to 91,000.
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
www.macaudailytimes.com.mo                                                                                                                                                       page 7
fri 30.07.2021                                                                                                                                                            ADVERTORIAL

                                                                              MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

C
                                      DIVERSIFICATION & SUSTAINABILITY

                                      Melco pays tribute to beauty
          ELEBRATING the sea
          and highlighting the
          urgent need to protect
          it for future generations

                                      and fragility of the Sea in
through the company’s global
Sustainability initiatives, Melco
Resorts & Entertainment has un-
veiled the groundbreaking multi-

                                      海洋LA MER exhibition
media art exhibition 海洋LA MER
between July 16 and October 31,
at one of Macau’s most iconic ve-
nues, the Dancing Water Theater,
City of Dreams. As the Special
Exhibition of Art Macao: Macao
International Art Biennale 2021,
海洋LA MER is under the patro-
nage of the Secretariat for Social
Affairs and Culture of the Gover-
nment of Macao Special Admi-
nistrative Region and Secretariat
for Economy and Finance of the
Government of the Macao SAR
and supported by Cultural Affairs
Bureau and Macao Government
Tourism Office.
   The exhibition, which forms
part of Melco’s efforts contribu-
ting to the city’s cultural develo-   Government; and Mr. Cheng Wai        vated and transformed by real-ti-       mance with modern technology.         ganza from the perspective of
pment and diversification, draws      Tong, Acting Director of the Ma-     me oceanographic data collected         Addressing the issue of marine        the show’s divers, revealing the
together a collection of leading      cao Government Tourism Office        in the Pacific Ocean to create an       pollution, the poignant work          secret design of the underwater
artists and explorers to pay tri-     of the Macao SAR Government.         ever-evolving symphony. A col-          draws attention to the destruc-       stage and the skills required to
bute to the beauty, sensuality,          LA MER by Ange Leccia is a        lective of artists crafted the visual   tion of the ocean environment         control its submerged mechanis-
inspiration and fragility of the      video work in which the artist       illustrations from digital recor-       and shows how its beauty hides a      ms.
sea and its inhabitants through a     records the endless movement         dings of around 35,000 marine           manmade monstrosity.                     Visitors can also connect with
series of innovative installations.   of the waves as they emerge          species.                                   In addition, City of Dreams        the oceans spiritually at the Flow
On July 28, Mr. Clarence Chung,       and then crash onto the beach.           SEPHIROTHIC FLOWER by               is also hosting a series of activi-   Body Mindfulness classes. Led by
Board Director of Melco Resorts       Through Leccia’s unusual pers-       Makoto Azuma chronicles the             ties and events allowing visitors     the Head of Performer Wellness
& Entertainment and Mr. Kevin         pective, viewers are invited to      avant-garde Japanese flower ar-         the opportunity to deepen their       from The House of Dancing Wa-
Benning, Senior Vice President,       contemplate the rhythm, colors       tist’s journey to the depths of the     appreciation of the sea and to        ter and featuring music compo-
Property General Manager of           and relentlessly shifting shapes     ocean. Having previously sent           make a meaningful contribu-           sed by Thomas Roussel inspired
Studio City welcomed guests of        of the sea, demonstrating why it     flowers into the Arctic and outer       tion towards its protection. The      by sounds of the sea, the guided
honor to the exhibition’s opening     has been a source of inspiration     space, this installation follows        LA MER Film Festival turns the        session allows participants to
ceremony, including Ms. Lo Hou        for artists since the beginning of   the artist as he joins an un-           spotlight on a selection of the       clear their minds, stay positive
Chi, Advisor of the Office of the     time.                                derwater research team to take a        greatest movies inspired by the       and progress towards a state of
Secretary for Social Affairs and         W/AV/E by Thomas Roussel          bouquet of flowers 1,000 metres         sea, from arthouse films and do-      wellness.
Culture of the Macao SAR Gover-       sees the acclaimed French com-       down to the bottom of Japan’s           cumentaries to big-budget blo-           In SEA x ART Forum, freediver
nment; Mr. Sun Yaohua, Assistant      poser use music and Artificial       Suruga Bay.                             ckbusters, such as The Big Blue,      Wang Aolin, the first person from
Director of the Economic Affairs      Intelligence to immerse the au-          In OCEANS by Franco Drago-          Finding Nemo and Life of Pi.          China to descend to a subaquatic
Department of the Liaison Office      dience in a constantly changing      ne, the legendary artistic director        The House of Dancing Wa-           depth of 100m, and underwater
of the Central People’s Govern-       audiovisual seascape. Roussel        uses the staging and machinery          ter Underwater Discoveries,           photographer Uncle J share their
ment in the Macao SAR; Ms. Mok        wrote and recorded the score         of the Dancing Water Theater            meanwhile, gives guests the           unique experiences below the
Ian Ian, Director of the Cultural     with an orchestra in Paris, with     to create a dramatic spectacle          opportunity to see Macau’s            waves, and how they relate to the
Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR       musical segments which are acti-     that combines baroque perfor-           most famous artistic extrava-         fields of art and sustainability.
                                                                                                                                                            Melco has committed to rea-
                                                                                                                                                         ching zero emissions and zero
                                                                                                                                                         waste by 2030. Part of this pro-
                                                                                                                                                         gram is the company’s fight
                                                                                                                                                         against Single Use Plastics. In the
                                                                                                                                                         last few years, Melco has imple-
                                                                                                                                                         mented actions that save 244,000
                                                                                                                                                         plastic bottles and 9.5 tonnes of
                                                                                                                                                         plastic yearly in food and bevera-
                                                                                                                                                         ge operations by adopting biode-
                                                                                                                                                         gradable alternatives.
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
page 8                                                                                                                                                               www.macaudailytimes.com.mo
MACAU       澳門                                                                                                                                                                30.07.2021 fri

                                                                                   MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

Gov’t imposes broadened
                                                                                                                                                                     The director urged locals
                                                                                                                                                                  to stay aware of the coronavi-
                                                                                                                                                                  rus situation across different

restrictions to keep Covid-19 at bay
                                                                                                                                                                  mainland cities, and to avoid
                                                                                                                                                                  going to high-risk areas. Lo
                                                                                                                                                                  advised against unnecessary
                                                                                                                                                                  travel during the summer ho-
HONEY TSANG                                                                                                                                                       liday.
                                    XINHUA

                                                                                                                                                                     He also called on locals to

T   HE government has made
    sweeping changes to
cross-border regulations, in-
                                                                                                                                                                  make good use of their spa-
                                                                                                                                                                  re time during the summer
                                                                                                                                                                  holiday to get vaccinated, to
cluding a mandate from July                                                                                                                                       protect themselves and the
31 requiring flight passengers                                                                                                                                    public.
from all mainland provinces                                                                                                                                          The government also con-
to present proof of a negative                                                                                                                                    firmed that the current hotel
test for Covid-19 conducted                                                                                                                                       rooms designated for qua-
within 48 hours before boar-                                                                                                                                      rantine purposes are suffi-
ding.                                                                                                                                                             cient to accommodate a re-
   The stricter regulations                                                                                                                                       cent increase in the number
come after China registered                                                                                                                                       of Hong Kong arrivals.
spikes in locally transmitted                                                                                                                                        In June, the government
cases in several regions inclu-                                                                                                                                   received 10 queries about
ding Nanjing and Zhangjiajie.                                                                                                                                     the quarantine measures for
   In addition, the govern-                                                                                                                                       Hong Kong arrivals, but the
ment also extended the scope                                                                                                                                      tally in July as of yesterday had
of medium to high-risk areas                                                                                                                                      increased to 21, according to
from what was previously                                                                                                                                          Lam Tong Hou, the represen-
certain regions in a commu-                                                                                                                                       tative of the Macao Govern-
nity to now include entire ci-                                                                                                                                    ment Tourism Office (MGTO).
ties.
   Arrivals who have been to                As of yesterday, the gover-    ter, the Nanjing Lukou Inter-
Zhangjiajie City, Nanjing City
and Changde City from July
                                         nment registered upwards of
                                         100 people who had recor-
                                                                           national Airport.
                                                                              Leong Iek Hou, coordinator          Teenager’s myocarditis
17 onwards are now required
to undergo 14 days of manda-
                                         ded their travel history in
                                         Zhangjiajie since July 17 via
                                                                           at the Center for Disease Con-
                                                                           trol and Prevention reassured
                                                                                                                  may be linked to vaccination
tory quarantine upon arrival.            the city’s health code system.    the public that the govern-              A 17-year-old teenager is suspected      However, the man experienced
   Meanwhile, arrivals who               The authorities had contac-       ment has so far received no              to be suffering from myocarditis, a      worsened chest tightness the fol-
were in Chengdu, Shenyang                ted relevant individuals via      information that any resident            condition of inflammation in the heart   lowing afternoon and was diagnosed
or Dalian on or after July 17            SMS and required them to go       attended the theatre show in             muscle, after receiving the second       as having myocarditis in his second
will see their health codes              to Pac On Terminal to take a      Zhangjiajie, nor had contact             shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA         blood test.
changed from green to yellow.            C0vid-19 test.                    with any confirmed cases who             vaccine on July 26.                      Tai Wa Hou, coordinator of the Health
Although they do not need to                Mainland authorities tra-      had been to Zhangjiajie.                 The case was reported yesterday and      Bureau’s Covid-19 Vaccination
observe medical observation,             ced the origin of some recent                                              classified as a serious adverse event    Operation, said yesterday at a media
they must take a Covid-19                local cases back to a theatre     AVOID UNNECESSARY                        after inoculation.                       briefing that the situation of the
                                         show named “Charm Xian-           TRAVEL                                   The patient developed chest tight-       patient is now “stable,” with his chest
test on the first, third and fif-
                                                                                                                    ness on July 27 and sought medical       tightness alleviated.
th days after entering Macau.            gxi” on July 22 in Zhangjiajie,      Lo regarded these mea-
                                                                                                                    treatment at Centro Hospitalar           The special evaluation team will
   Director of the Health Bu-            with an audience of around        sures as “relatively bigger              Conde de São Januário on the next        investigate to examine whether there
reau (SSM) Alvis Lo announ-              2,000. These cases were fou-      changes” in response to the              day. The initial electrocardiogram and   is any association between the vacci-
ced the string of new rules at           nd to be linked to the Main-      current pandemic situation               blood tests showed no abnormalities.     nation and myocarditis in this case.
yesterday’s Covid-19 briefing.           land’s new Covid-19 epicen-       in China.

Prospective parents should consider                                                                                                 dents of child abuse. The
                                                                                                                                    increase in parents seeking
                                                                                                                                                                       pert in children’s emotional
                                                                                                                                                                       expression and the director

the challenges in raising babies: ACAM
                                                                                                                                    assistance from the asso-          of a children’s library.
                                                                                                                                    ciation indicates that public         The expert found some
                                                                                                                                    awareness of safeguarding          parents are experiencing
                                                                                                                                    the rights of children has         stress while arranging ac-
                                                                                                                                    improved in Macau.                 tivities for their children
HONEY TSANG                                                                                                                            In both Hong Kong and           during the school summer
                                                                                                                                    Macau, there is a common           holidays. She suggested that

R   AISING a newborn in-
    fant can give rise to a
whole slew of challenges
                                                                                                                                    saying: spouses should get
                                                                                                                                    a license before having a
                                                                                                                                    newborn. It suggests that
                                                                                                                                                                       parents sign their children
                                                                                                                                                                       up for summer courses that
                                                                                                                                                                       suit their interests, and be
and changes to a family.                                                                                                            many young parents nowa-           more forgiving when chil-
Prospective parents should                                                                                                          days are not mature and            dren make mistakes.
consider these fully before                                                                                                         competent enough to raise             The director of the chil-
giving birth to avoid unne-                                                                                                         a child.                           dren’s library emphasized
cessary disputes, Director                                                                                                             To help prepare aspiring        that every child has the right
of the Against Child Abu-                                                                                                           parents, the Social Welfare        to play, under the provision
se (Macau) Association                                                                                                              Bureau (IAS) is teaming up         of the United Nations Con-
(ACAM) Li Man Cheng said                                                                                                            with the city’s six communi-       vention on the Rights of the
at yesterday’s TDM’s broa-                                                                                                          ty associations to promote         Child.
dcast program Macau Fo-                                                                                                             the Family Life Education             She urged local paren-
rum.                                                                                                                                Project, which targets newly       ts to arrange adequate rest
   Li found that many of                                                                                                            married families and fami-         time for the children, and
these would-be parents had                                                                                                          lies with children aged 0 to       they should not rely too
not expected a fundamental      tween spouses and between          ceived around 50 cases of          Li said that some paren-      3, designed to help them           much on electric devices as
alteration in their everyday    parents and children. This         child abuse in the first half   ts report that taking care of    prepare to enter a comple-         tools to calm their children.
lives after childbirth. The     may even extend to finan-          of 2021, similar to the tally   their children causes stress     tely new stage of life.            A quality family time should
ignorance of this may cause     cial disputes.                     during the same period last     and anxiety and sought help         The broadcast program           involve more reading and
relationship problems be-          The association had re-         year.                           to avoid any possible inci-      was also attended by an ex-        outdoor activities.
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
www.macaudailytimes.com.mo                                                                                                                                                                       page 9
fri 30.07.2021                                                                                                                                                                          中國      CHINA

                                                                                          MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

C                                                Gov’t sends new ambassador
          HINA’S new ambassa-
          dor to the United States
          outlined the challenges

                                                 to US amid strained ties
          the two countries face in
what has become an increasingly
competitive and contentious re-
lationship, while refraining from
any criticism in short remarks
after arriving to take up his new
                                      AP PHOTO

post.                                                                                                                                                              ter the meetings, called on China
   “China and the United States                                                                                                                                    to work with the United States
are entering a new round of mu-                                                                                                                                    on global issues as a responsible
tual exploration, understanding                                                                                                                                    great power.
and adaptation, trying to find a                                                                                                                                      Qin replaces Cui Tiankai, who
way to get along with each other                                                                                                                                   was ambassador to the United
in the new era,” Qin Gang said in                                                                                                                                  States for eight years during a
remarks posted by the Chinese                                                                                                                                      steady deterioration in ties.
Embassy in Washington after his                                                                                                                                       Qin served three tours at the
arrival yesterday [Macau time].                                                                                                                                    Chinese Embassy in London and
   Qin’s arrival comes as relations                                                                                                                                headed the Protocol Department
with the U.S. have plunged to                                                                                                                                      but has not held any positions di-
their worst level in decades with                                                                                                                                  rectly responsible for relations with
no sign of bottoming out. The two                                                                                                                                  the U.S., according to his official re-
sides remain sharply at odds over                                                                                                                                  sume on the ministry website.
a host of issues, including trade,                                                                                                                                    As head of protocol, he worked
technology, cybersecurity, and                                                                                                                                     directly with Xi and has extensive
China’s foreign policy under Presi-                                                                                                                                experience accompanying Chine-
dent Xi Jinping.                                                                                                                                                   se leaders abroad.
   Qin, 55, most recently was                                                                                                                                         Shi cautioned that the state of
one of China’s nine vice foreign                                                                                                                                   U.S.-China relations would limit
ministers and has been ministry                                                                                                                                    the influence of any ambassador.
spokesperson twice, gaining a re-                Renmin University in Beijing.         predecessor, Donald Trump, but       property owner” of coercive di-           “Under the current circums-
putation for tart responses that                    The U.S. currently has no am-      high-level meetings this week in     plomacy.                               tances of full-on competition and
have now become standard fare                    bassador in Beijing, although Pre-    Tianjin, China, again lay bare the      In a separate meeting with          struggle between China and the
among those in that position.                    sident Joe Biden is expected to no-   deep divisions between them.         Sherman, Chinese Foreign Minis-        U.S., I don’t think any ambassador
   “His open remarks towards the                 minate Nicholas Burns, a former          Chinese Vice Foreign Minister     ter Wang Yi said China would not       could have a significant impact on
West and the U.S. are tougher than               ambassador to NATO and State          Xie Feng told U.S. Deputy Secre-     tolerate what it considered U.S.       relations, no matter whether he is
Chinese ambassadors of previous                  Department spokesperson.              tary of State Wendy Sherman that     interference in its internal affairs   intended to be tougher or milder
terms,” said Shi Yinhong, profes-                   Relations between the coun-        the United States was the “inven-    and key development interests.         in implementing policies,” he
sor of international relations at                tries nosedived under Biden’s         tor, and patent and intellectual        Sherman, in an interview af-        said. MDT/AP

                                                                                                                                                                                                      ad
FRI. 30 Jul 2021 - Macau Daily Times
page 10                                                                                                                                                                 www.macaudailytimes.com.mo
CHINA      中國                                                                                                                                                                    30.07.2021 fri

                                                                                         MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

TOKYO 2020                                                                                                                                                             Clearly, she’s a quick study.

Double gold: China’s Zhang
                                                                                                                                                                       Zhang will go down as one of
                                                                                                                                                                    the breakthrough swimming stars
                                                                                                                                                                    at the Tokyo Games. She also won

becomes a breakout star at pool
                                                                                                                                                                    a silver in the 100 butterfly.
                                                                                                                                                                       Not bad for someone who had
                                                                                                                                                                    never claimed a major internatio-
                                                                                                                                                                    nal title before these Olympics.
PAUL NEWBERRY, TOKYO                                                                                                                                                   Zhang’s best showing in three
                                      AP PHOTO

                                                                                                                                                                    appearances at the world cham-

Z   HANG Yufei had a much bu-
    sier morning than she was
expecting at the Tokyo Aquatics
                                                                                                                                                                    pionships is third. Her lone race
                                                                                                                                                                    at the 2016 Rio Games produced
                                                                                                                                                                    a sixth-place finish in the 200 fly.
Centre.                                                                                                                                                                Now, she’s a double Olympic
   It was worth the effort.                                                                                                                                         champion.
   She left with a pair of gold me-                                                                                                                                    “We knew Zhang would be
dals and a couple of records, too.                                                                                                                                  swimming in the relay, but the
   Zhang started off yesterday                                                                                                                                      coach told us not to tell her,” said
with a dominating victory in the                                                                                                                                    Li Bingjie, who swam the anchor
women’s 200-meter butterfly, fi-                                                                                                                                    leg for China. “She was the last
nishing more than a body leng-                                                                                                                                      one to know.”
th ahead of two Americans in an                                                                                                                                        Li conceded that her team
Olympic-record time.                                                                                                                                                went into the race merely hoping
   “My coach told me I didn’t have                                                                                                                                  to get a bronze.
to think too much,” Zhang said                                                                                                                                         “We didn’t expect to win the
through an interpreter. “Just be                                                                                                                                    gold,” she said. “We just tried to
myself. I really wanted this me-                                                                                                                                    finish third because Australia and
dal.”                                                                                                                                                               the United States are very strong.”
   About an hour later, the                                                                                                                                            The Chinese led the entire race,
23-year-old returned to the deck                                                                                                                                    holding off a hard charge by Lede-
to swim for China on the 4x200                                                                                                                                      cky at the end.
freestyle relay.                                                                                                                                                       Zhang, swimming the third leg,
   It was a race she hadn’t plan-                                                                                                                                   posted the slowest time among
ned for. It was a race her teamma-               their anchor. The final was expec-      China’s time of 7 minutes, 40.33    it until I’d finished the 200 bu-      China’s four swimmers. But it was
tes never expected to win.                       ted to be a duel between those       seconds is the one that will go into   tterfly and our coach told me,         a gusty performance after her in-
   After all, the Australians had                two powerhouse teams.                the record books, sending Zhang        ‘You’re in the relay,’” she said. “I   dividual victory.
double-gold medalist Ariarne Tit-                   Instead, it was the Chinese       to the top of the medal podium at      didn’t even know how to swim              “We were inspired by her 200
mus taking the opening leg. The                  touching first in a race where       the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the      the 200 free, although I have the      butterfly and we were excited,” Li
Americans countered with frees-                  all three teams eclipsed the pre-    second time.                           training qualities and levels for      said. “It made us determined to
tyling star Katie Ledecky handling               vious world record.                     “I didn’t know I was doing          the 200 distances.”                    do our best at the relay.” MDT/AP

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www.macaudailytimes.com.mo                                                                                                                                                                           page 11
           fri 30.07.2021                                                                                                                                                                         亞太      ASIA PACIFIC

                                                                                                      MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

           COVID-19                                                                                                                                                                 North Korea

           Officials in Tokyo alarmed                                                                                                                                               leader pays
                                                                                                                                                                                    respect to

           as cases hit record highs                                                                                                                                                Chinese
                                                                                                                                                                                    war dead at
                                                                                                                                                                                    memorial
           J
                 APANESE officials soun-
                                                   AP PHOTO

                 ded the alarm yesterday
                 as Tokyo reported record-
                                                                                                                                                                                    HYUNG-JIN KIM, SEOUL
                 -breaking coronavirus cases
           for the third straight day with the
           Olympics well underway.
               “We have never experienced
                                                                                                                                                                                    N     ORTH Korean leader Kim Jong
                                                                                                                                                                                          Un paid tribute to China’s war
                                                                                                                                                                                    dead at a Pyongyang memorial and
           the expansion of the infections
                                                                                                                                                                                    vowed to maintain firm ties with Bei-
           of this magnitude,” Chief Cabi-
                                                                                                                                                                                    jing, state media reported yesterday,
           net Secretary Katsunobu Kato
                                                                                                                                                                                    as he seeks to bolster relations with
           told reporters. He said the new
                                                                                                                                                                                    his country’s main ally amid deepe-
           cases were soaring not only in
                                                                                                                                                                                    ning hardships linked to the pande-
           the Tokyo area but across the
                                                                                                                                                                                    mic.
           country.
                                                                                                                                                                                        Kim’s visit Wednesday to the
               Tokyo reported 3,865 new
                                                                                                                                                                                    Friendship Tower that honors Chi-
           cases yesterday, up from 3,177
                                                                                                                                                                                    nese soldiers killed during the 1950-
           on Wednesday and double the
                                                                                                                                                                                    53 Korean War was his third since he
           numbers a week ago, setting an
                                                                                                                                                                                    took power in late 2011. It came a day
           all-time high since the pandemic
                                                                                                                                                                                    after the 68th anniversary of the end
           began early last year.
                                                                                                                                                                                    of the war.
               Japan has kept its cases and              and without it, the infections will   prefectures adjacent to the ca-     The Associated Press on Wed-
                                                                                                                                                                                        “The noble soul and exploits of the
           deaths lower than many other                  further expand and put medical        pital said they plan to ask Prime   nesday that there is no eviden-
                                                                                                                                                                                    Chinese people who aided the sacred
           countries, but its seven-day                  systems under severe strain.”         Minister Yoshihide Suga to pla-     ce of the coronavirus spreading
                                                                                                                                                                                    historic struggle of the Korean people
           rolling average is growing and                   Tokyo has been under its           ce their areas under the state of   from Olympic participants to
                                                                                                                                                                                    at the cost of their blood when [North
           now stands at 28 per 100,000                  fourth state of emergency since       emergency too.                      the general public.
                                                                                                                                                                                    Korea] was undergoing the harshest
           people nationwide and 88 in                   July 12, ahead of the Olympics,          Tokyo officials said that two       “I don’t think there have been
                                                                                                                                                                                    and most difficult trials will remain
           Tokyo, according to the Health                which began last Friday despite       foreign Olympic athletes are cur-   any cases related to the Olym-
                                                                                                                                                                                    immortal,” Kim said at the memorial,
           Ministry. This compares to 18.5               widespread public opposition          rently hospitalized and 38 others   pic Games. So we aren’t worried
                                                                                                                                                                                    according to the official Korean Cen-
           in the United States, 48 in Bri-              and concern that they Games           are self-isolating at designated    about that issue,” he said.
                                                                                                                                                                                    tral News Agency.
           tain and 2.8 in India, according              could worsen the outbreak.            hotels in the city.                    Nationwide, Japan reported
                                                                                                                                                                                        Kim stressed “the [countries’]
           to data from Johns Hopkins Uni-                  People are still roaming the          Gov. Yuriko Koike urged the      more than 9,500 confirmed ca-
                                                                                                                                                                                    friendship forged as kindred ties will
           versity.                                      streets despite stay-at-home re-      organizers to make sure not to      ses, a new record, on Wednesday
                                                                                                                                                                                    be firmly carried forward generation
               “While almost nothing is hel-             quests, making the measures           burden Tokyo’s hospitals.           for a total of about 892,000, with
                                                                                                                                                                                    after generation on the road for the
           ping to slow the infections, there            largely ineffective at a time the        She said the medical system      about 15,000 deaths.
                                                                                                                                                                                    common cause,” KCNA said.
           are many factors that can acce-               more infectious delta strain is       was under severe stress, and no-       As of Wednesday, 26.3% of the
                                                                                                                                                                                        China fought alongside North Ko-
           lerate them,” said Dr. Shigeru                spreading, he said. “We have ne-      ted that experts have projected     Japanese population has been
                                                                                                                                                                                    rea against South Korea and U.S.-led
           Omi, a top government medical                 ver seen the infections spread so     cases in Tokyo could hit around     fully vaccinated. The percentage
                                                                                                                                                                                    U.N. forces during the Korean War,
           adviser, noting the Olympics and              rapidly.”                             4,500 a day by mid-August.          of the elderly who are fully vac-
                                                                                                                                                                                    which ended with an armistice, not
           summer vacation. “The biggest                    Alarmed by the surge in               Japan’s vaccine minister, Taro   cinated is 70%, or 24.8 million
                                                                                                                                                                                    a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Pe-
           risk is the lack of a sense of crisis         Tokyo, the governors of three         Kono, said in an interview with     people. MDT/AP
                                                                                                                                                                                    ninsula still technically at war.
                                                                                                                                                                                        Kim has vowed to upgrade his
                                                                                                                                                                                    country’s relations with China, its
                                                                                                                                                                                    economic pipeline, as he struggles to
           BANGLADESH                                                                                                                      more than 12,000 refu-                   navigate North Korea out of what he

           Floods make thousands
                                                                                                                                           gees were affected by                    calls its “worst-ever” crisis caused by
                                                                                                                                           the heavy rainfall while                 the pandemic, U.S.-led sanctions and
                                                                                                                                           an estimated 2,500 shel-                 last year’s natural disasters.

           homeless in Rohingya camps
                                                                                                                                           ters have been damaged                       Earlier this week, Kim agreed to
                                                                                                                                           or destroyed. More than                  restore cross-border communica-
                                                                                                                                           5,000 refugees have tem-                 tion channels with rival South Korea
                                                                                                                                           porarily been relocated                  following a 13-month hiatus, and im-
                                                                                                                                           to other family member’s                 prove bilateral ties.

                                                                               D     AYS of heavy rain-      the monsoon season            shelters or communal
AP PHOTO

                                                                                                                                                                                        Some experts say Kim wants bet-
                                                                                     fall have pelted        stretches over the next       facilities, the agency said              ter ties with the outside world in the
                                                                                Rohingya refugee camps       three months.                 in a statement.                          face of the economic difficulties. But
                                                                                in southern Bangladesh,         “The situation is fur-        Refugees said they                    others say North Korea may just want
                                                                                destroying dwellings and     ther compounded by the        were struggling to eat or                South Korea to convince the United
                                                                                sending thousands of         COVID-19        pandemic.     drink properly.                          States to make concessions when the
                                                                                people to live with exten-   There is currently a strict      “Due to the conti-                    long-stalled nuclear negotiations be-
                                                                                ded family or in commu-      national lockdown in          nuous rainfall for the last              tween Pyongyang and Washington
                                                                                nal shelters.                response to rising cases      four days, today my hou-                 eventually resume. MDT/AP
                                                                                   Just in the 24 hours to   across the country,” the      se is full of water,” says
                                                                                                                                                                         AP PHOTO

                                                                                Wednesday alone, more        agency said.                  Khatija Begum, who has
                                                                                than 30 centimeters of          The agency said it was     five children. “We are not
                                                                                rain fell on the camps in    saddened by the dea-          even able to eat.” Begum
                                                                                Cox’s Bazar district hos-    ths of six people at the      says she fears her chil-
                                                                                ting more than 800,000       camps earlier this week,      dren will drown and die
                                                                                Rohingya, the U.N. refu-     five in a landslide caused    in their sleep.
                                                                                gee agency said. That’s      by the rains and a child         Cyclones, heavy mon-
                                                                                nearly half the avera-       swept away by floodwa-        soon rains, floods, land-
                                                                                ge July rainfall in one      ters.                         slides and other natural
                                                                                day while more heavy            Citing initial reports,    hazards are an annual
                                                                                downpours are expected       the U.N. High Commis-         difficulty in the camps.
                                                                                in the next few days and     sioner for Refugees said      MDT/AP
page 12                                                                                                                                                               www.macaudailytimes.com.mo
           WORLD         國際                                                                                                                                                               30.07.2021 fri

                                                                                               MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

                                                                                                                                                   this day in history
                                                                                                                 expected to submit a U.S.
AP PHOTO

                                                                                                                 application in the “coming
                                                                                                                 weeks.’’
                                                                                                                     The U.K., European
                                                                                                                 Union and World Health
                                                                                                                                                   1973 Final deal for
                                                                                                                 Organization have already                       thalidomide victims
                                                                                                                 authorized use of the Astra-
                                                                                                                 Zeneca vaccine.
                                                                                                                     AstraZeneca      reported
                                                                                                                 first-half revenue of $1.17
                                                                                                                 billion from deliveries of
                                                                                                                 319 million doses of the
                                                                                                                 vaccine that were supplied
                                                                                                                 directly by the company.
                                                                                                                 AstraZeneca has pledged             The drugs company who marketed thalidomide have
                                                                                                                 to deliver the vaccine on a       agreed to pay more than £20 million in compensation to tho-
                                                                                                                 non-profit basis as long as       se born with birth defects as a result, at the end of an 11-year
                                                                                                                 the pandemic lasts.               legal battle.
                                                                                                                     Despite       complaints        Over 400 British children whose mothers took the drug
                                                                                                                 from the EU about its vac-        during pregnancy will benefit from the payout by Distillers
                                                                                                                 cine supply, the 27-nation        Company, which marketed the German-manufactured drug
                                                                                                                 bloc received more doses          in Britain.
                                                                                                                                                     The company will pay £6 million in direct claims and will also
                                                                                                                 directly from AstraZeneca
                                                                                                                                                   set up a £14 million trust fund to look after the children’s fu-
                                                                                                                 than any other single entity
                                                                                                                                                   ture.
                                                                                                                 in the first half of the year.

           AstraZeneca to seek
                                                                                                                                                     The court hearing follows a high-profile campaign in the
                                                                                                                 The company shipped 97
                                                                                                                                                   media calling for more compensation for thalidomide families.
                                                                                                                 million doses to the EU,
                                                                                                                                                     Amid mounting pressure from politicians and the public,
                                                                                                                 while Brazil got 65 million       including its own shareholders and workers, the company
                                                                                                                 and the U.K. 52 million,          agreed a settlement representing about 40% of what each

           US approval of Covid
                                                                                                                     AstraZeneca said. Gavi,       child might have received had his or her family sued Distillers
                                                                                                                 an alliance that secures vac-     individually.
                                                                                                                 cines for low-income coun-          The families have undertaken to withdraw all allegations of
                                                                                                                 tries, received 49 million        negligence in return.

           vaccine in second half
                                                                                                                 doses, and another 57               Thalidomide became notorious in the 1960s when it was
                                                                                                                 million doses went to other       prescribed to pregnant women to ease morning sickness.
                                                                                                                 countries.                          It was found to cause severe birth defects, and thousands of
                                                                                                                     Sub-licensees, including      children across the world were born limbless or with severely
                                                                                                                 the Serum Institute of In-        shortened limbs.
                                                                                                                 dia, supplied millions more         More cases have come to light as a result of the publicity,
                                                                                                                 doses, pushing global de-         with another 32 coming forward in the last six months alone.
           DANICA KIRKA, LONDON                schedule as it released se-          The news on the U.S.         liveries to more than 700           The deal follows a long-standing challenge to Distillers over
                                               cond-quarter financial re-       filing is being closely wat-     million doses.                    the amount of damages it offered in its original settlement in

           A
                     STRAZENECA                sults, which showed that         ched, as the timeframe has           The vaccine was develo-       1968.
                     said      yesterday       the company and its sub-         slipped.                         ped by Oxford University re-        Francis Purchas QC, the lawyer representing the children,
                     that it intends to        -licensees delivered more            When AstraZeneca relea-      searchers, who licensed the       paid tribute to the “courageous stand” taken by parents in
                                               than 700 million doses of                                                                           disputing the amount offered by Distillers.
                     seek U.S. autho-                                           sed data from its U.S. trial     technology to AstraZeneca
                                                                                                                                                     David Mason, whose daughter Louise was born without lim-
           rization for its COVID-19           the vaccine to over 170          of the vaccine on March          in an effort to tap into the
                                                                                                                                                   bs after his wife took the thalidomide drug in early pregnancy,
           vaccine in the second half          countries in the first half      22, company officials said       company’s global manufac-
                                                                                                                                                   has led the campaign for greater compensation for victims.
           of this year, offering a new        of this year. That includes      they expected to seek au-        turing and distribution ca-
                                                                                                                                                     Outside the court today he said, “I am happy at the result
           timetable for the much-de-          80 million doses that went       thorization from the Food        pacity. AstraZeneca, in turn,
                                                                                                                                                   and the ending to this saga.”
           layed application.                  to the COVAX initiative for      and Drug Administration          authorizes other companies          The lawyer for Distillers, John Wilmers QC, said the lengthy
              The        Anglo-Swedish         low- and middle-income           in the first half of April. In   to produce the shots around       court proceedings had prevented the company from putting
           drugmaker announced the             countries.                       April, the company said it       the world. MDT/AP                 right what he called false allegations made against them over
                                                                                                                                                   the years.
                                                                                                                                                     “My clients have always denied and continue to deny that

           US defense secretary visits
                                                                                                                                                   either they or any of the scientists and medical men who ad-
                                                                                                                                                   vised them were in any way negligent,” he said.
                                                                                                                                                     The families will receive cheques for £5,000 within the next

           Vietnam, vows support for region
                                                                                                                                                   few weeks as the first part of the settlement, but it may take
                                                                                                                                                   more than a year to assess how much each child will receive
                                                                                                                                                   from the £6 million lump sum and from the trust fund.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Courtesy BBC News

       U         .S. Secretary of Defense
                 Lloyd Austin is seeking
           to bolster ties with Vietnam,
                                               entire South China Sea “has
                                               no basis in international
                                               law” and “treads on the so-
                                                                                nistry spokesperson Zhao
                                                                                Lijian responded to Austin.
                                                                                   “The U.S. ignored the
                                                                                                                    Vietnam and the Phili-
                                                                                                                 ppines are among China’s
                                                                                                                 opponents in the territorial
                                                                                                                                                      In      context
           one of the Southeast Asian          vereignty of states in the re-   facts, deliberately smeared      disputes in the South China          There was further heartache for the thalidomide parents as
                                                                                                                                                      they had to wait several months, and in some cases years,
           nations embroiled in a terri-       gion.”                           China, interfered in China’s     Sea.
                                                                                                                                                      before assessments of individual cases could be made and
           torial rift with China, during         He said the U.S. conti-       internal affairs and sowed          Vietnam has previously            payments released.
           a two-day visit starting Wed-       nues to support the region’s     discords among regional          accused China of obstruc-            In addition, a so-called “Y-list” of thalidomide victims emerged
           nesday.                             coastal states in upholding      countries with the aim of        ting its gas exploration acti-       - 98 children who were suspected of suffering deformities
               In a speech in Singapore,       their rights under inter-        serving its own geopolitical     vities off its southern shores.      due to the drug, but who could not prove it and so were unable
                                                                                                                                                      to claim compensation.
           his first stop in the region he     national law, and remains        interest,” Zhao said at a re-       Austin’s visit comes as
                                                                                                                                                      In 2005 Distillers, now part of Diageo, agreed an extra one-off
           is visiting for the first time as   committed to the defense         gular news briefing. “We ad-     Vietnam is in the grip of a          payment worth 70% of the annual payments made to chil-
           a member of President Joe           treaty obligations the U.S.      monish the U.S. side not to      coronavirus surge, with Ha-          dren from the trust fund.
           Biden’s Cabinet, Austin said        has with Japan and the Phi-      make an issue about China        noi and half of the country          The payment was intended to meet unforeseen costs in-
           Tuesday he was committed            lippines.                        at every turn and do more        in lockdown.                         curred by thalidomide survivors as they became older.
                                                                                                                                                      There is also pressure for further compensation after thalid-
           to pursuing a constructive,            “Unfortunately, Beijing’s     for the benefit of peace and        The U.S has donated 5
                                                                                                                                                      omide survivors began giving birth to children suffering similar
           stable relationship with Chi-       unwillingness to resolve dis-    stability in the region.”        million doses of the Mo-             physical deformities.
           na, including stronger crisis       putes peacefully and respect        Austin is scheduled to        derna vaccine, part of the           Thalidomide was available in the UK from 1958 and taken off
           communications with the             the rule of law isn’t just oc-   meet his Vietnamese coun-        80 million doses that Biden          the market in late 1961.
           People’s Liberation Army.           curring on the water,” Austin    terpart, Phan Van Giang,         pledged to lower-income              It is now being made available again after evidence that it could
                                                                                                                                                      slow down a wasting disease suffered by patients with cancer.
               But he repeated that Bei-       said.                            yesterday morning. He lea-       nations around the world.
                                                                                                                                                      It is also licensed in the US for treating a complication of leprosy.
           jing’s claim to virtually the          In Beijing, Foreign Mi-       ves for the Philippines today.   MDT/AP
www.macaudailytimes.com.mo                                                                                                                                                                                                                      page 13
fri 30.07.2021                                                                                                                                                                                                              資訊/娛樂        INFOTAINMENT

                                                                                                          MACAU’S LEADING NEWSPAPER

YOUR STARS                                                                                  The Born Loser by Chip Sansom

                    Aries                                      Taurus

                   Mar. 21-Apr. 19                             Apr. 20-May. 20
Things might not feel like they’re          Once you do get out into the
moving along as quickly as you              world, you will get going and get
would like, which could cause a             energized. Just be careful not to
certain degree of fraying when it           rush through the day too quickly.
comes to your nerves right now.             In the late afternoon, there will be
But don’t worry...                          some sweet moments.

                  Gemini                                       Cancer
                  May. 21-Jun. 21                              Jun. 22-Jul. 22
Do you think someone is not                Previously made plans with
being totally open with you right          other people might need to
now? Your instincts are right on.          get rescheduled or canceled
But their tight-lipped status is           altogether. What you need to do is
not due to an inability to trust           very important, and it’s something
you.                                       you should do by yourself.
                                                                                            SUDOKU                                                                                              WEATHER
                   Leo                                         Virgo
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      MIN   MAX                   CONDITION
                   Jul. 23-Aug. 22                             Aug. 23-Sep. 22                        Easy                        Easy+                                                          CHINA
If you feel your blood pressure            For especially incisive insight on                                                                                                                    Beijing                                                   rain
mounting today, you should do              your latest problems, turn to one                                                                                                                                          24     26
more than take a deep breath.              of your friends today. You need to                                                                                                                    Harbin               24     32                        cloudy
Take a different attitude towards          consult someone who either is in
the situation! There is a funny side       the same situation as you are, or                                                                                                                     Tianjin              26     35                        cloudy
to any stressful situation...              has been before.                                                                                                                                      Urumqi                      34                            fine
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      22
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Xi’an                                                     fine
                     Libra                                    Scorpio                                                                                                                                                 26     37
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Lhasa                26     30                     overcast
                     Sep.23-Oct. 22                             Oct. 23-Nov. 21                                                                                                                  Chengdu              28     34                            rain
One of your friendships is starting         If your routine is starting to get                                                                                                                   Chongqing            27     34               thunderstorms
to feel one-sided - and you are not         boring, resist the urge to create
on the right side. Do you feel like         a problem just for the sake of                                                                                                                       Kunming              28     37                      showers
you are giving more than you get?           having something to talk about!                                                                                                                                                                            cloudy
Compromising more than they                 You need to avoid conflict now                                                                                                                       Nanjing              21     29
do?                                         more than ever.                                                                                                                                      Shanghai             26     32               thunderstorms
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Wuhan                26     33                            rain
           Sagittarius                                   Capricorn
                                                                                                   Medium                        Hard                                                            Hangzhou             23     30                        cloudy
                   Nov. 22-Dec. 21                             Dec. 22-Jan. 19                                                                                                                   Taipei               23     31                        cloudy
If you are working on starting             Plus, all this worry will drain away                                                                                                                  Guangzhou            19     30                        cloudy
or strengthening or shoring up             the positive energy you require
a romance today, you had better            to succeed. Toss worry out the                                                                                                                        Hong Kong            22     25                            rain
take it all the way! Have fun              window for today, and just do
with it. Be over the top. Flirt to a       what you want to do - try what
ridiculous degree.                         you want to try.
                                                                                                                                                                                                 WORLD
                 Aquarius                                      Pisces                                                                                                                            Moscow               17     29                     overcast
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Frankfurt            16     26                            rain
                   Jan. 20-Feb. 18                             Feb.19-Mar. 20
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Paris                16     24                            rain
Don’t be surprised if you meet             People are going to respond a lot
up with a kindred soul who is              better to concrete examples than to                                                                                                                   London               15     22                            rain
motivated by altruism, too. They           ambiguous concepts today, so if you
can stimulate your mind and                are trying to make a point or sell an                                                                                                                 New York             22     33                          fine
engage your heart on a higher,             idea, you’ll have to do it with facts and
newer level.                               figures, set down in black and white.

CROSSWORDS                                                                                                                                                                                   USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
ACROSS 1- Blues singer James; 5- Custardy dessert; 9- Exec’s note; 13- Loincloth
                                                                                                                                          Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com

worn by Hindu men; 15- Thick cord; 16- Tiger’s choice; 17- Herbert Hoover, for one;
18- Savvy about; 19- Go out with; 20- Ocean flier; 21- First-class; 23- Seed-bearing
organ of a flower; 25- Overwhelmed; 26- Many; 27- Becomes visible; 30- Watched                                                                                                               Emergency calls 999             Taxi 28 939 939 / 2828 3283
the kids; 31- In sorry shape; 32- Handicapped; 37- Rival rival; 38- Girder; 40- Ethereal;
41- Guns, knives, etc.; 43- Wash cycle; 44- ___ Today; 45- Clad; 47- Man of superior                                                                                                         Fire department 28 572 222      Water Supply – Report 2822 0088
strength; 50- Eastern discipline; 51- Silkworm covering; 52- A party to; 53- Visit; 56-
Gillette brand; 57- Austen novel; 59- Argus-eyed; 61- Hammer end; 62- Rich soil; 63-                                                                                                         PJ (Open line) 993              Telephone – Report 1000
Russian revolutionary leader; 64- Flat sound; 65- It’s used to walk the dog; 66- Notion;
                                                                                                                                                                                             PJ (Picket) 28 557 775          Electricity – Report 28 339 922
DOWN: 1- Pop singer Brickell; 2- Red-bearded god; 3- Large village; 4- One ___
time; 5- Palm leaves; 6- Single; 7- Well-put; 8- Tumor; 9- Center; 10- Muse of lyric                                                                                                         PSP 28 573 333                  Macau Daily Times 28 716 081
poetry; 11- Recurring theme; 12- Like Nash’s lama; 14- Sort of; 22- ___ the land of
the free...; 24- Scintilla; 25- Man of morals;                                                                                                                                               Customs 28 559 944
26- Bhutan’s continent; 27- There oughta         Yesterday’s solution
be ___!; 28- Tent stick; 29- Insect stage;                                                                                                                                                   S. J. Hospital 28 313 731
32- Susan of “L.A. Law”; 33- Monetary unit
of Oman; 34- Contact, e.g.; 35- Gaelic                                                                                                                                                       Kiang Wu Hospital 28 371 333
language of Ireland or Scotland; 36-
Colored; 38- Madly; 39- Muffin choice; 42-                                                                                                                                                   Commission Against
Anise-flavored liqueur; 43- Pertaining to a
reign; 45- Electric generator; 46- Outback                                                                                                                                                   Corruption (CCAC) 28326 300
hopper; 47- Carryalls; 48- Lots of lots; 49-
Some horses; 51- Hats; 52- If ___ be so                                                                                                                                                      IAM 28 387 333
bold...; 53- Mail out; 54- Cleveland’s lake;
55- Europe’s highest volcano; 58- Sound of                                                                                                                                                   Tourism 28 333 000
a cow; 60- Wreath of flowers;
                                                                                                                                                                                             Airport 59 888 88

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