Macao News https://macaonews.org Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:20:29 +0000 Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:41:46 +0800 Erico Dias 68203 2023-12-07 16:41:46 2023-12-07 16:41:46 10751 The Tianhe Xingyi supercomputer outperforms existing models and is expected to give a significant boost to technological innovation in the Greater Bay Area. ]]>A next-generation Chinese-developed supercomputer was publicly presented yesterday in Guangzhou, according to multiple media reports.  Named Tianhe Xingyi, the new supercomputer was showcased by the National Supercomputer Centre during the 2023 Supercomputing Innovation Application Conference.  The new computer outclasses one of the top supercomputers currently available, the Tianhe-2, in a range of areas such as storage, CPU and network, says director of the centre, Lu Yutong.  Specific details about the machine’s capabilities were not provided, however.  Speaking of the new computer’s potential applications, Lu noted “it will provide strong high-end computing support for cutting-edge scientific technological breakthroughs, strategic engineering construction, and industrial upgrading and transformation.”  [See more: Shenzhen announces an ambitious AI plan for the Greater Bay Area] The Greater Bay Area (GBA) has seen its supercomputing sector expand significantly in recent years, with the establishment of a supercomputing network, as well as 15 supercomputing centre sub-branches within the region.  The network is a collaborative effort between a number of institutions, including the aforementioned Guangzhou Supercomputer Centre, the Macao Chinese Innovation and Technology Development Promotion Association and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.  In addition to supercomputers, the GBA is working to develop its artificial intelligence (AI) abilities, with Shenzhen initiating a project to construct an AI supercomputing network that will enable the different computer systems of the GBA cities to connect together.  China currently produces the most supercomputers in the world, with models such as the Sunway TaihuLight. However, the US continues to outrank them in terms of performance.  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]> Wed, 06 Dec 2023 07:44:29 +0800 Erico Dias 68134 2023-12-06 07:44:29 2023-12-06 07:44:29 10751 The Guangzhou Institute of the Greater Bay Area has proposed creating a European Union-like arrangement for Macao, Hong Kong and Guangdong province. ]]>Should the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) operate as a common market, like the European Union? Yes, according to a Guangdong-based think tank. It would involve aligning rules and standards to facilitate increasing flows of people and goods throughout the region, as well as a significant reduction in institutional barriers, the Guangzhou Institute of the Greater Bay Area (GIG) said. GIG’s proposal, reported in the South China Morning Post, includes regional long-term residence visas and a personal mobility system based on Europe’s Schengen Zone. [See more: Construction of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan link is nearing completion] GIG’s deputy dean, He Dongni, said integration within the GBA was the key to creating a resilient, unified domestic market and that the proposal – dubbed the Bay Area Technology Immigration Programme – aimed for seamless connectivity between Macao, Hong Kong and Guangzhou in the next two years. There are administrative barriers to overcome, such as the different legal systems and currencies operating in Macao, Hong Kong and the mainland.  The director of City University of Hong Kong’s Center for Chinese and Comparative Law, Wang Jiangyu, said that any deeper integration – no matter how economically beneficial – needed consensus and would not work if key stakeholders felt it was “being imposed” on them.  ]]> Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:28:43 +0800 Erico Dias 68124 2023-12-05 16:28:43 2023-12-05 16:28:43 10751 The new scheme is part of a wider effort by the mainland authorities to ramp up the shipment of goods via the HZM Bridge. ]]>The Zhuhai Government is offering subsidies as high as 5 million yuan to logistic enterprises that use the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Logistics Park in Zhuhai’s Hezhou New Area.  Cross-border freight services are also eligible for subsidies of up to 2 million yuan under the scheme, which was passed during a recent executive meeting of the Zhuhai Municipal Government. The new measure was introduced by the authorities in a bid to accelerate the construction of a new economic and trade corridor along the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao (HZM) Bridge, and promote the development of a modernised logistics industry in the area. [See more: A new logistics park in Dongguan aims to provide seamless shipment via Hong Kong] Spanning an area of 128,0000 square metres, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Logistics Park seeks to promote trade and strengthen the Greater Bay Area’s status as a leading economic region.  The advantages of moving goods via land instead of sea are clear, according to the general manager of a supply chain firm in Zhuhai, Zhong Jianting, who is joining the park. “The cost of shipping to Hong Kong via the HZM Bridge is 25 percent less compared to sea freight, and the time efficiency increases by 80 percent,” he told local media.  Construction of the logistic park in Zhuhai is being undertaken in two phases. Phase 1, which involved the building of two warehouses, wrapped up during the second quarter of this year. The entire park is expected to be fully operational by 2024.  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]> Tue, 05 Dec 2023 07:40:36 +0800 Erico Dias 68103 2023-12-05 07:40:36 2023-12-05 07:40:36 10751 According to the company behind the development, the fast-expanding network of satellites in orbit means there’s currently high demand for rockets.]]>Beijing-based rocket company CAS Space started building a rocket engine testing facility in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, last weekend. The facility will complement its existing rocket plant, located nearby. The new complex will mainly be used to test liquid-fuelled carrier rocket engines with a maximum thrust of 200 tonnes, used to deploy satellite networks, ECNS reports. These are already being manufactured by CAS Space in Guangzhou’s Nansha district. "There is a huge demand for rockets thanks to the construction of satellite networks,” said the company’s vice-president, Yang Haoliang. “[And] engines are the most crucial part of a carrier rocket.” [See more: The Macao Science 1 satellites have been officially deployed] CAS Space aims to build about 100 rocket engines in Guangzhou “each year in the near future” to meet growing demand, he added. “Liquid-propellant engines can be reusable and will enable us to launch satellite networks or large spacecraft.” Yang also said the facility will be open to domestic institutions, universities and enterprises to facilitate their work on liquid-fuelled carrier rockets. CAS Space, which is owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, initially entered Guangdong in 2020 when it began building its Nansha rocket plant – the first of its kind in the province. The plant currently has an annual production capacity of 30 rockets. Guangzhou’s first home-built rocket – a ZK 1A – was launched in June, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. To date, it has successfully transported 26 satellites into space.  ]]> Mon, 04 Dec 2023 14:30:58 +0800 Erico Dias 68074 2023-12-04 14:30:58 2023-12-04 14:30:58 10751 The new Shenzhen store will be the sixth Costco in China, following the wholesale supermarket chain’s arrival in the country in 2019.]]>American wholesale supermarket chain, Costco, will be opening its first Southern Chinese store in Shenzhen on 12 January 2024, according to various media reports.  Situated in Longhua District, the new store occupies 44,500 square metres of land and has a shopping area of 15,000 square metres. The four-story facility is expected to house approximately 4,000 products, most of which will be imported.  Annual membership to the warehouse retailer costs 299 yuan, although it is currently offering 199 yuan memberships as part of a promotional campaign.  [See more: You can now travel to Shenzhen and its airport on an express bus] When the Shenzhen branch opens, it will be the sixth Costco in China, following the previous opening of other stores in Shanghai, Suzhou, Ningbo and Hangzhou.  The first Costco store opened to much fanfare in Shanghai in August 2019 and was inundated with so many customers that it had to close its doors early on its first day.  Costco’s rival, Sam’s Club, has also been operating in China, with three stores located across Shenzhen and a branch in Macao’s neighbouring city Zhuhai.  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]> Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:00:20 +0800 Erico Dias 68021 2023-12-01 14:22:47 2023-12-01 13:00:20 10751 The Guangzhou Museum of Art has a sparkling new home, spread out over 30,000 square metres and seven floors. ]]>The Guangzhou Museum of Art’s new home officially opened its doors to the public yesterday.  Enthusiasm for the public inauguration of the museum’s new building was high, with 8,873 visitors recorded on its first day, according to a report by local media.  With an area of 30,000 square metres, the new building features a dome made up of 21,008 pieces of photovoltaic glass that are joined together to resemble petals. The design of the structure was a collaborative effort between the German firm, Thomas Herzog Architekten, and two Chinese institutions.  [See more: The essential guide to Macao’s galleries and public art] There are seven floors in the museum, housing over 33,000 artworks in six exhibition areas. “The characteristic of our museum is that there are many traditional Chinese paintings,” the museum’s president, Luo Qi said to local media during the opening ceremony on 28 November. “The museum will present its best collection to the audience.”  Considered to be one of China’s premier art museums, the old Guangzhou Museum of Art first opened in 1997. Its newly minted location is situated at in the Zhuhai District on Yiyuan Road, with opening hours from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily except Mondays, when it is closed.  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]> Thu, 30 Nov 2023 07:56:54 +0800 Erico Dias 67950 2023-11-30 07:58:18 2023-11-30 07:56:54 10751 The two satellites, in orbit since May, are now actively monitoring the South Atlantic Anomaly in a groundbreaking project carried out jointly by Macao and mainland China.]]>A pair of satellites named after Macao are now fully operational and monitoring the geomagnetic field and space environment of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), Xinhua reports. The Macao Science 1 space exploration satellites were jointly developed by scientific teams in mainland China and Macao. They have been orbiting since May. On Tuesday, at an official ceremony marking their official deployment, the chief engineer of the China National Space Administration, Li Guoping, said the satellites represented a significant milestone for both Macao and the broader region. “The satellites will boost Macao's scientific and technological innovations, help with the transformation of Macao’s economic and social development models, break new ground for scientific and technological cooperation between the mainland and Macao, and set new examples for scientific and technological development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” he said. [See more: Macao’s prize-winning 5G Smart Campus Network launches at MUST] The SAA is a weakening of Earth’s magnetic field above the South Atlantic Ocean that allows radiation from outer space to get closer to Earth’s surface. The higher radiation levels interfere with the communication of satellites, space vehicles and aircraft passing over the area, which is located near the equator. Macao Science 1 is the first project to place an exploration satellite in a near-equatorial orbit to monitor the geomagnetic field and the space environment of the SAA. Zhang Keke, chief scientist of the satellite project, said Macao Science 1 will provide valuable data on high-precision changes of the geomagnetic field on low altitudes.  The satellite platforms were manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University, while the scientific instruments on both satellites were provided by Macao University of Science and Technology.   ]]> Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:22:49 +0800 Erico Dias 67906 2023-11-28 15:22:49 2023-11-28 15:22:49 10751 The 24-kilometre infrastructure project connects two major GBA cities via bridges, tunnels and artificial islands.]]>The 24-kilometre Shenzhen-Zhongshan link is edging closer towards completion, following the final pouring of concrete on the seam of its 6.4-kilometre underwater tunnel yesterday.  With an anticipated 2024 opening, the 44 billion yuan mega project will link up the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan, presently separated by the Pearl River Estuary. Upon completion, the cross-sea highway will cut down the time required to travel between the two cities from 2 hours to just 20 minutes.  [See more: Shenzhen-Zhongshan link set for 2024 opening] Construction of the link – which consists of two suspension bridges, two artificial islands and tunnels – began in 2017 in a bid to improve connectivity between the cities of the Greater Bay Area.  The project is also expected to be a boon for the western side of the Pearl River Delta according to the director of the Institute of Policy and Practice at the Shenzhen campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Xiao Geng.  Geng told CNN, "The west side of the [delta] is not as developed as the east side.”  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]> Mon, 27 Nov 2023 15:50:34 +0800 Erico Dias 67855 2023-11-27 16:12:06 2023-11-27 15:50:34 10751 The team came in first place after identifying 86 bird species in the competition, which took place over the weekend. ]]>Macao took home the top prize at the first Greater Bay Area (GBA) bird watching competition, which held its closing ceremony in Hengqin’s Mang Zhou Wetland Park yesterday.  The winning team was organised by the Macao Association of Ecological and Environmental Conservation and came in first place by spotting a total of 86 bird species.  The 28 teams that competed in the event spotted 118 species of birds altogether over the course of 12 hours. They also managed to record 5 species that had not been sighted in the Hengqin area, including the yellow-breasted bunting which the Chinese Government declared a Class I conservation bird species in 2021.  [See more: Bird enthusiasts explore the Macao Fortress] “It is an honour to be able to represent Macao by participating in this bird watching competition,” a representative of the winning Macao team told Chinese media. “Hengqin has rich ecological resources [and] lots of habitat.”  Also attending the event were students from Macao and Zhuhai.  Macao is also home to a variety of bird species. According to the Municipal Affairs Bureau, there are 141 species of birds that have been identified in Macao as of November 2022.  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]> Fri, 24 Nov 2023 16:12:50 +0800 Erico Dias 67805 2023-11-24 16:12:50 2023-11-24 16:12:50 10751 There are big plans for the Greater Bay Area, but Guangdong province must also deal with an ageing workforce. ]]>Guangdong must prepare for an ageing population, said the deputy director general of the Department of Civil Affairs of Guangdong Province, Xiong Song, on Wednesday.  The department predicts that Guangdong’s population ageing coefficient will reach 17 percent by 2025 and 20 percent in 2030, meaning that the province will have a “moderately” ageing society. Xiong was speaking at a press conference organised by the information office of the provincial government.  During the conference, mention was made of official plans to build a basic elderly care system by 2025, including training for senior care workers, food services for the elderly and the maintenance of facilities for people in this age group.  [See more: People over 65 now represent more than 13 percent of the population] Earlier this year, financial officials said that 889 million yuan were being allocated towards the setting up of a system of elderly services.  Up until the end of 2022, the number of elderly people in Guangdong aged 60 or above totalled 16.21 million people, which accounts for 16.1 percent of the province’s population.  Macao is also facing ageing-related problems of its own. The proportion of people aged 65 and above grew by just over a percentage point in 2022, representing more than 13 percent of the population according to the latest official figures. Legislators have called for the government to find solutions to the problem, although Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng was non-committal when asked about the issue earlier this year, noting that it was not within the “government’s control.”  —With reporting by Kenny Fong  ]]>