Biden’s ‘summit for democracy’ – the us-vs-them mentality – Editorial

Editorial       US President Joe Biden’s virtual “summit for democracy” is set to further divide the world at a time when our planet is in urgent need of a global effort to tackle a host of pressing issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.Indeed, ideologically and geopolitically motivated divisiveness is the last thing that our planet needs right now.The summit taking place this Thursday and Friday comprises only about half of the world’s UN member states

December 6, 2021 | BY admin

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Global warming calls for cool heads – Editorial

    Editorial     The proceedings and outcome of this month’s 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow have reaffirmed my long-held view that global warming calls for a cool-headed response in order to be effective. One of the highlights of the conference was the joint declaration by China and the US on enhancing climate action, a prime example of the efficiency of political realism beyond ideological differences. The statement issued in the Scottish

November 22, 2021 | BY admin

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A matter of local & national interest, checks & oversight – Editorial

Editorial     The current public consultation exercise on the government’s proposed amendments to Macau’s two-decade-old gaming law is not only an important matter of local but also of national interest. Obviously, the aim of the revision must be to improve the government’s checks and oversight of our city’s gaming sector and to enable our casino operators to use their business acumen in a strictly regulated way that both benefits their companies and the Macau Special

September 27, 2021 | BY Harald Brüning

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Comparing apples and oranges – Editorial

Editorial        The reaction by some commentators and commenters to the outcome of Sunday’s direct and indirect Legislative Assembly (AL) elections – their relatively low turnout in particular, reminded me of the age-old idiom of comparing apples and oranges.Well, let’s be real.Sunday’s elections can hardly be compared to any of their predecessors since the mid-1970s when the current system of direct and indirect elections (in conjunction with a number of lawmakers

September 14, 2021 | BY admin

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Macau passes COVID-19 testing drive with flying colours but hesitancy still a drag – Editorial

Macau passes COVID-19 testing drive with flying colours but vaccination hesitancy still a dragEditorial      Macau passed its COVID-19 mass testing campaign last week with flying colours, proving once again that our city has an indomitable can-do spirit. All the citywide programme’s 614,465 test results proved negative – which is 100 percent positive for our city. Another 101,786 tests conducted outside the programme also all proved negative – another positive

August 9, 2021 | BY admin

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A city of avid mask wearers – and too many vaccination waverers – Editorial

Editorial        COVID-19 statistics released by the local government last week reaffirmed that Macau is not only a city of ubiquitous facemask wearers but also a city of too many vaccination waverers. The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced last week that over 200 million facemasks have been sold under the government’s facemask purchase scheme since its launch on January 23 last year, i.e. just one day after the Health Bureau (SSM) confirmed

May 10, 2021 | BY admin

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Press freedom put in perspective – Editorial

Editorial        Press freedom, which is guaranteed by Article 27 of the Macau Basic Law, can only be properly understood in its specific socio-cultural context. In other words, press freedom like all other kinds of freedoms must be put in perspective. Like all rights and duties, also press freedom involves the mutually interdependent aspects of the absolute and the relative. All freedoms have their limits. Macau’s radio and TV broadcaster TDM, which is owned by the

March 29, 2021 | BY admin

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A glimmer of light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel – Editorial

Editorial        There was finally a glimmer of light at the end of the pitch-black COVID-19 tunnel on Saturday when Macau’s first batch of novel coronavirus jabs arrived after a 30-hour truck drive from Beijing. The vaccines arrived in good time – less than a week before the Chinese New Year so that our health workers can get the shots before the prolonged Spring Festival holidays which potentially are a high-risk COVID-19 period.Long public holidays such as Christmas

February 8, 2021 | BY admin

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Biden should not waste chance to reset relations with China – Editorial

China Daily editorial        The new US administration claims it has adopted “strategic patience” in its approach towards China. Yet China was frequently mentioned as a challenge in the Joe Biden administration’s telephone diplomacy over the past week.But there is a variety of pressing issues, such as the pandemic and climate change, requiring cooperation between the two countries as soon as possible.Nearly two weeks have passed since the Biden administration took

February 2, 2021 | BY admin

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Time for realistic hope about China-US ties – Editorial

Editorial         Hope is perhaps the most archetypal human trait but it must be a realistic aspiration based on an analytical process that faces hard facts and eschews wishful thinking. Realistic hope is the right way vis-à-vis the announced and expected policies of US President Joe Biden and the ongoing fight against COVID-19.For us in Macau, Biden’s future China policy is of paramount importance. Macau is an inalienable part of China and that’s why we in Macau

January 25, 2021 | BY admin

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Adelson – a go-getter who helped Macau get ahead of Vegas – Editorial

Editorial I talked to US gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson for the first time on May 19, 2004, one day after the uproarious opening of his first local casino, Sands Macao, which was jammed by a crowd of 15,000 lured by false reports of free 200-pataca gaming chips, resulting in scuffles and sheer bedlam that 250 police officers struggled for hours to control. However, Mr Adelson wasn’t ruffled by the crowd chaos. I met him and his wife Miriam by chance during a visit to the casino when

January 14, 2021 | BY admin

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COVID-19 pandemic –a black or a white swan? – Editorial

Editorial       Is the COVID-19 pandemic a black or a white swan? That’s a question that is still being discussed by commentators and scientists around the world one year after the novel coronavirus “came from nowhere” as some prefer to put it.Of course, nothing comes from nowhere. The novel coronavirus came from somewhere, but we still don’t know its origin. It’s still a riddle to be solved by virologists.The June issue of Portugal’s Pulmonology Journal features

December 30, 2020 | BY admin

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2020 – a year of woe and pride for Macau – Editorial

Editorial      2020 has been a year both of woe and pride for Macau. Owing to the dreadful impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the outgoing year has been the hardest for our city since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region in 1999. Our inadequately diversified economy has been severely afflicted by the global health crisis, its tourism, retail and gaming sectors in particular, although virtually every local business segment has been hard hit since early

December 23, 2020 | BY admin

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COVID-19 triggers solidarity – and insanity – Editorial

Editorial      The global COVID-19 crisis has brought out the best and worst in humanity – solidarity and insanity. The venerable Bangkok Post reported last week that about 150 Thai and foreign customers were arrested at a nightclub quite appropriately called Insanity in Bangkok last week. According to the report, there was no social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and most of the clubbers weren’t wearing facemasks. Some discarded drugs were found on the

December 15, 2020 | BY admin

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