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Macau

Capital: Macau; GDP growth (annual %) 2016 : -2.1%

Saving face on the Korean Peninsula

Kim Jong-un sees nuclear capability as almost his sole source of regime security and he is not going to give it up, no matter how strong the pressure. He is not stupid. All he has to do is to look at the history of Iraq and Libya, where neither dictator had nuclear weapons. So if the United States insists on de-nuclearisation of the peninsula, presumably that would require regime change, and regime change is unlikely without the use of force. War in the area would be hugely destabilising and potentially disastrous. No one in their right mind should want that.

China is right to urge negotiations, but what is to be negotiated? Kim is not going to negotiate away his own security by giving up his nuclear capability. But if China exerts sufficient pressure, he may acknowledge to stop testing.
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Macau receives 30 million visitors in 2016

Macau received over 30 million visitors in 2016, 28 million of which came from mainland China, and last year was the initial in a decade at the same time as the number of overnight visitors was higher than day visitors, said the director of the Government Tourist Office.

Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes pointed out that while the total number of visitors saw annual increase of 0.8% to 30.95 million people and visitors from China remained virtually unchanged, increasing by just 0.1%, the number of international visitors increased by 7.9%.
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São Tomé and Príncipe should eventually become a member of Forum Macau

The restoration of diplomatic relations between São Tomé and Príncipe and China will enable all Portuguese-speaking nations to meet in Forum Macau, the Forum’s new Deputy Secretary-General told the Tribuna de Macau newspaper.

Ding Tian, who has just been appointed to that office by the Ministry of Commerce of China, cautioned, however, that diplomatic institutions had not from presently on been re-established, and there is therefore “no practical communication channel.”
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hina Shandong Economic & Technical Cooperation Group LTD(SCI),

Key Facts: Territory: Macao SAR, China
Population: 543,600 (World Bank, 2010)
Area: 23.8 sq km (9 sq miles)
Major languages: Chinese (mainly Cantonese), Portuguese (both official)
Major religions: Buddhism, Christianity
Life expectancy: 79 (men), 84 (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 pataca = 100 avos
Main exports: Clothing, textiles
GNI per capita: $40,030 (World Bank, 2009)
Internet domain: .mo
International dialling code: +853

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Climate change laws around the world
2017/05/14
There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of global climate change laws since 1997, according to the most comprehensive database of relevant policy and legislation.

The database, produced by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law, includes more than 1,200 relevant policies across 164 countries, which account for 95% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Asia Economic Roundup: July 2016
2016/07/18
Without a doubt Britain’s decision to abandon the European project will be remembered globally as a wake-up call for political elites around the world. It seems the people chose to go against immediate economic interest and accept an extra financial turmoil in order to address deeply seated social and identity issues.

Although Asia’s exposure to the UK is relatively limited and this is not exactly a “Lehman Moment”, nonetheless we can expect a lively debate as policymakers in Asia look for an appropriate response to address the needs of vulnerable households.

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New head of Forum Macao has laser focus on her goals
2015/07/26
Echo Chan Keng Hong is a hardworking Macao resident who has presently assumed the position of Coordinator of the Support Office to the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Nations (Forum Macao). She is the right person in the right place at the right time, as businessmen and colleagues acknowledge.

She is discrete but highly focused on getting the job done. In an interview with Macao magazine, it became clear that the civil servant has spent her entire career on work related to Portuguese-speaking nations.

Before a director at the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Chan succeeds Rita Santos, but as well keeps her role as a non-executive director of IPIM.

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China proposes 3-year action plan in Macau
2013/11/18
Economic and trade cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking nations will be deepened, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang guaranteed on Tuesday in Macau, announcing an eight-point plan with specific measures to be implemented between 2014 and 2016.

In the opening speech of the fourth Ministerial Conference of Forum Macau, Wang said that the initial of those measures would be the Chinese government’s granting of subsidised loans worth 1.8 billion yuan (US$293 million) to the Portuguese-speaking African and Asian Forum member nations.

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Outlook for 2013-14
2013/05/15
The country （Macau） is situated in Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China.

Land in Macau is generally flat.

Chinese land covers an area of 28.2 square kilometers which is less than-sixth the size of Washington, DC

The climate is subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers.

Chinese speak Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census).

Outlook for 2012-13

Fernando Chui was installed as Macau's chief executive in December 2009. During his-year term Mr Chui's major priorities will be to address rising public discontent and tackle corruption. He will as well need to introduce measures to diversify the economy, which has become overly dependent on the gambling sector.

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