Macau's leader yesterday pledged to tackle a labor crisis, rampant corruption and soaring inflation to ease growing public discontent in the gambling hotspot.
Edmund Ho (
He also vowed to make the government more transparent and enact new anti-corruption laws to try to bring an end to the murky allegations of graft that have bedeviled the territory of just 525,000 people.
"The Commission Against Corruption of Macau will do its best ... to investigate major graft cases and attack corruption in order to ensure a clean government," he said, adding that the authorities would broaden the power of graftbusters.
Ho's remarks came at sensitive time with Ao Man-long (歐文龍), former secretary for transport and public works, on trial in the biggest corruption case in Macau's history. Ho did not mention the ongoing case directly.
Ao faces 76 charges of corruption, including taking bribes, money laundering and abuse of power in a case that threatens to expose the underworld of the city, which last year overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's largest gaming hub.
Macau has attracted a flood of foreign investment since 2001 when it liberalized its gaming market, ending local tycoon Stanley Ho's (
Despite the US$7.2 billion in gaming revenues the territory pulled in last year, its citizens complain they have not benefited from the boom as the wealth gap has actually widened, sparking angry protests by locals.
Ho said he recognized the public discontent over illegal and foreign workers, who residents say enter the territory too freely, driving wages down and pushing local people out of jobs.
He said the government would tackle the labor problems and control the flood of foreign workers, although he admitted there was still a shortage of workers in the tiny territory because of the booming economy.
"The government promises to ensure the protection of local residents' employment rights as our top priority. This means we will utilize the local labor resources first before we import workers from outside," he said in a speech that lasted for one hour and 40 minutes.
Ho also announced measures to rein in surging inflation, which stood at 5.9 percent in September, up from 4.2 percent in the same month last year, and rocketing house prices that have tripled since 2003.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS