In the last decade, the development of Macao grew rapidly. More and more casinos were opened by the foreign investors and attracted tourists from around the world, especially from mainland China. According to the research of the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Macao had more than six times increase of GDP from 2002-2012 , which is the second highest growth in the world, just behind Luxembourg. Does it mean that the living standard of Macao is continually improving? Unfortunately, the growth figures don’t mean everything.

There were more than 42,000 applications of Economic Housing this spring just before the deadline and the number is about 20 fold of the supply. Since housing prices are very high and continuously rising rapidly, people are not able to afford private housing. Low and middle income families spend more than half of the total income on apartment rental. The large number of foreign workers and immigrants in Macao stimulated the demand of temporary housing and pushed up the rental prices. Those economic houses used to be means to provide people who had financial difficulties with affordable private housing. But now, they become the only resort for many middle class families to own a living quarters. It seems that salaries of Macao residents are higher than before, but, in contrast, they become poorer now in terms of the ability to own a property.

It seems good news that salaries of Macao residents doubled in the past decade. However, in 2003, a two-bedroom apartment in Macao cost about MOP360,000, the price jumped to MOP3,700,000 in 2014 according to the DSEC’s report. A university graduate can earn an average salary of MOP13,000 per month. It’s already considered well paid in comparison to other nearby cities. However, they still have to save 287 months (24 years) to buy a two-bedroom apartment under the condition that the housing price remains at this level. It’s not difficult to explain why there is an increasing number of younger workers and students applying for economic housing.

Is it necessary for Macao to grow so fast? Is it worth to develop and lose the living standard as the price to pay? As a Macao resident myself, indeed I don’t care about the rank of GDP in the world, and how many billions of surplus every year the government collects. The Macao government should seek more measures to spend the huge money to improve the living standard of Macao residents.

The post Behind High Growth of Development appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

“I dare not go to the Senado Square or the Ruins of St. Paul’s Church at weekends,” said Eric Cheung, a local Macao resident. “I prefer staying at home during holidays as there are so many tourists everywhere.

“Recently, Macao’s tourism capacity has been a hot topic. The latest statistics released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed that visitor arrivals in 2013 set a record of 29.32 million, which triggered a debate whether the capacity has been exhausted. Over the years, the number of Macao’s tourist capacity has increased dramatically. The expected number was set to be 15.7 million per year in the “Tourism Carrying Capacity of Macao 2004 Study” conducted by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) in 2003. Nevertheless, tourist arrivals in 2004 already reached that figure. Later in 2008, IFT released another report, claiming that the expected number of capacity which would be mentally accepted by society was 28 million per year, twice the figure set in 2003.

According to DSEC, after the individual tourist scheme was implemented in 2003, the number of visitor arrivals sharply rose from 11.88 million in 2003 to 29.32 million in 2013, the figure more than doubled in a decade, creating an enormous pressure for the tiny city of only 31 square kilometres. The overcrowded downtown area and inadequate support facilities create certain troubles for local citizens.

Adele Lei, a local citizen who lives near San Ma Lo.

In the past Chinese Lunar New Year, approximately 1.13 million tourists visited Macao from Jan 30 to Feb 6. A huge influx of tourists overcrowded the central downtown from the Ruins of St. Paul’s Church to San Ma Lo, resulting in an unprecedented crowd control to efficiently move the flow of visitors. During Feb 2-5, a single-track crowd control was implemented in the San Ma Lo district. The side of the Correios de Macao was one way only to Nam Van, while the other side permitted a flow in the opposite direction from the Macao Square to the Official Provisional Municipal Council of Macao.

“It’s very troublesome for citizens at that period of time,” said Adele Lei, a local resident who lives near San Ma Lo. “I had to take a roundabout way in order to get to my destination every time. It was a waste of my time.” As she mentioned, a usual five minutes’ walk would take 30 minutes at that period.

Cui Feng-Jun, a tourism expert, stated in his essay “Defining Tourism Environmental Bearing Capacity” that a psychological feeling of local citizens is also important while evaluating tourism carrying capacity. It is obvious that if the issue of tourist overload continues, a negative feeling of local citizens towards tourists, mostly mainland visitors, will escalate.

Recently, a member of the Tourism Development Committee, Kan Man Leng, suggested several potential solutions. First, the Macao government should have a research institute to precisely evaluate Macao’s actual capacity from different aspects and come up with schemes that can control and manage the carrying capacity. Besides, it is essential to emphasize the eco-environmental capacity and pay attention to the psychological capacity of both local citizens and visitors. Overall, the foremost thing is to establish a right concept about tourism carrying capacity, he said. Pursuing quantity excessively should be abandoned.

The above figure shows the number of visitor arrivals from 2003 to 2013 in Macao.

The post Macao Welcomes You? appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

Over the years, the name – Macao has become familiar to most people with its rising profile on the international stage, despite being less known to the world compared to Hong Kong, a neighboring British colony across the sea. Nonetheless, the social networking site Facebook has been using “Ao-men” for its geolocation setting since this feature was introduced, which triggered an outcry among some locals. In February, a campaign waged on Facebook urging its administration team to change the geolocation name from “Ao-men” to “Macau” has spawned enormous sentiment from the locals in favor of the event. Such sentiment which has seldom been demonstrated before suggests a sense of growing native consciousness among locals in recent years.

Sulu Sou Ka Hou, a pro-democracy activist in the New Macao Association.

Irritated by “Ao-men” for the geolocation setting on the social website, Sulu Sou Ka Hou, a pro-democracy activist in the New Macao Association, created the event entitled “This is Macao, not Ao-men” on February 11, 2014 which attracted over 1,500 people in a matter of days. When asked why he chose to take action around this time though the setting has been there for some years, the 22 years-old expressed how he became inspired by constant social participation this year. “Actually I noticed this issue a long time ago and even made a post concerning it on Facebook before. I became so much sensitive after actively engaged in social affairs and that enabled me to take action. There were supportive people, like my friends and other netizens who contributed You Know What? Sulu Sou Ka Hou, a pro-democracy activist in the New Macao Association. a lot in the process in various aspects. For sure, collective efforts speak louder than my own voice.”

Some criticized such a movement stating it was driven by the idea of “resistance to mainlandization” and “nativism”, both of which gradually arose in the city after the handover in 1999. Sou countered: “It’s undeniable that with individual visitors to the city, our economy is so much boosted. However, it also takes a toll on our livelihood. Such a movement was out of neither mainlandization nor nativism but a strong urge I felt to care more about our own city.” He added that ill-manner of some mainland visitors is another reason for a mounting grudge against mainland tourists in the two cities these days.

With the emergence of simplified Chinese characters in many industries apparently to pander to tourists from the mainland, some of us might wonder if traditional Chinese characters are overshadowed. Sou shared his thought. “I’m completely  fine with simplified Chinese characters as long as they don’t replace traditional Chinese characters which are always used and favored in Macao. I support learning Mandarin as a way to equip yourself, just as same as learning English. But it can’t be the sole teaching language in lieu of Cantonese in schools. Traditional Chinese characters have their long venerable history that simplified  ones can’t compare,” he said firmly. “Nowadays many casinos adopt simplified Chinese characters in a bid to cater to mainland tourists.  I think this is inappropriate as Macao has her own unique culture those foreign companies ought to respect. Besides, from a mainland tourist’sm perspective, I visit Macao hoping to experience something different from the mainland. Cantonese and traditional Chinese characters are part of that.”

Sou is confident that Macao locals will safeguard their indigenous culture as always. Nevertheless, he suggested that Macao people should always keep themselves on alert as external influence is not confined to cultural aspects only. Asked if there will be any more plans to enhance native consciousness in the city in the near future, he expressed his interest in focusing on non-tertiary education which he believes is vital in instilling the significance of upholding the indigenous culture.

The post You Know What? Ao-Men Is Never My Real Name appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

It was 10:20 am, a lady talking on the phone was waiting for a taxi. Just in a while, an “available” black taxi was coming towards her. She hanged up, waved to the driver; suddenly three mainland tourists rushed out from the street corner, stopped the taxi and immediately filled it up with their luggage. Then the taxi drove away, simply ignored the lady who called for the service.

It has been a prevalent problem that taxi drivers choose passengers and charge abusively in Macao recently. “Most of them don’t respond to telephone orders nowadays. They would like to cruise around casinos, the border gate and famous historic spots to look for tourists, mainly mainland tourists since it is more profitable, compared to driving locals on short journeys,” said Fong (not real name), a telephonist who has been working in the Radio Taxi Vang Iek (commonly known as yellow taxi) for almost 20 years.

According to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), there were only 1,178 taxis available in 2013, which were apparently not enough to meet the demand in Macao, which received 29 million tourists last year.

Louis Kou

As tourist arrivals increase every year, it further exacerbates the situation and becomes the major cause of citizens’ dissatisfaction. Louis Kou, a Year 4 Marketing student, had an unpleasant experience in taking a taxi. “I was forced to pay and get off the taxi at the border gate, which was still a 10-minute walk to my destination. They tend to serve mainland tourists because tips are always given by wealthy travelers, some tourists even don’t care if drivers charge them according to the taximeter or not.”

Kou’s case is just a tip of the iceberg. However, not only lavish tourists encourage taxi drivers’ misbehavior, locals also yield to the snobbish trend. Fong added that some customers offer extra “presents” (a jargon used in the taxi industry – one present refers to MOP10) when they order taxis. “You can say it’s a kind of bribe but it’s undoubtedly effective.”

In order to solve the problem, legislator Chan Mei Yi proposed to increase the current penalty and implement a demerit point scheme for taxi drivers. She also suggested that the government as well as passengers should work together to supervise the taxi service cooperatively.

According to Regulation 366/99/M, if a taxi driver refuses to hire or takes customers to other destination, or allegedly overcharges taxi fares, he or she shall be fined MOP1,000. Passengers who encounter any illegal behaviors are advised to mark down the driver’s license number, date and time, detailed information about the incident and contact the Traffic Affairs Hotline at 8866 6363.

The post Take Taxi, Not Easy! appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

Walking along the Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (Sun Ma Lo in Chinese), looking at the glowing signs of varied shops and crowds of people, no one could deny that it is a prosperous commercial street. “I seldom go there now,” Olivia Yang said. “There are too many tourists and it is too crowded.”

The Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro is one of the main streets in Macao Peninsula, a commercial, transportation and tourist center of Macao. Shops of luxurious products such as gold, jewelry and watches and retail shops of cosmetics, clothing, shoes and souvenirs have occupied the street. Internationally renowned brands including Omega, Rolex, and Lukfook Jewelry own shops at regular intervals; famous cosmetic franchises like Sasa are even more frequently seen, while local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) such as traditional Cantonese restaurants and local souvenir shops are rarely spotted.

 “I only go there to take good pictures of the decorated street for festivals,” Selina Han said. “Or when I need to buy things that are sold only on that street.” Han also believes that the street has changed. “I’ve found out that shops that are customized for rich tourists are growing dramatically while local brands or local distinctive shops are closed because of increasingly growing rents.”

Similarly, other local residents like Mickey Chen said that she doesn’t go to Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro often even though it is one of the “mustgo” places and representative areas of Macao. The reason is — being crowded with tourists. “For me, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro is a street which it is only for tourists,” Chen added.

Chen is not the only one who holds that opinion. Since the rising rent has forced local SMEs to move out of the street, local residents are not willing to go to the street because they lost the connection between them and the street-there are few familiar things left. “I don’t like the street now because of its commercialization,” Yang said. “There are just chain stores and I actually quite miss the old days.”

The post What Does Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro Mean to You Today? appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

The glamor, the luxury, the glory of Macao are known to the world. Touristcome to experience the city that runs 24/7. Casinos, entertainment, gourmet – all available round-the-clock. Flip it over, what will you see behind the halo? We are to reveal to you the stories in Macao during the night.

The day and night

People often have the impression that Macao is a city that never sleeps. There are restaurants opening all night. There are young people singing aloud in karaoke bars all night. There are players crowding in front of the Craps tables all night. The city is bombarded with tourists 24/7. However, there are some spots, that are so crowded during day time, but at night it all becomes quiet.

Take the Old Taipa Village as an example, a beautiful place with Portuguese architecture and Chinese temples here and there. There is a street in the area known to the tourists as “the souvenir street”. During day time, countless tourists go there for durian ice cream, almond cakes, Serradura. Local people would know it is not exactly the best place to hang out. At night, when the souvenir shops are closed, the tourists retreat to their hotels or casinos, the place has another different ambiance. That is when you can actually see Macao people hanging out in the area. Laughter from the Portuguese restaurants replaces the yelling of the excited tourists. Couples walking hand in hand in the dim streets full of signs of shops.

Rotating your life 24/7

Lao works in a hotel as a front desk agent, which requires him to be on shift rotation. Every other week, he receives a new schedule for work. Morning shift, day shift, night shift, swing shift, it keeps going differently. “Adjusting the body clock is almost unbearable. Each time to change shift, it gets harder,” Lao sighed.

Right after graduating from a hospitality school, Lao was employed by the hotel. “I enjoy being at the frontline and meeting different customers. I just didn’t prepare myself for this career that runs 24/7.” There are thousands of people in Macao like Lao working in hotels and casinos that operates all day and night. These jobs require employees to cover duty 24 hours. “Sometimes, you wake up and don’t even realize if it’s the day or the night, which day of the week it is, or which day of the month it is. Life runs by your work roster. ‘What day is it today?’ ‘Two days away from my next day off’ is a common conversation between my co-workers. This is the way it is.”

 The desire of street hawkers

“Oriental Monte Carlo”, “Asian Las Vegas”, the fame has shrouded Macao for her phenomenal performance in the gaming industry. Like Lao, people are rushing for life, fame and money. They work round the clock trying to climb their way up to the top. Behind those neon lights, however, there is a piece of land where you can experience an unsophisticated lifestyle and friendliness through people’s daily conversations. Uncle Ming, an over 60-year-old hawker, tells his story after the sun goes down. Ming has peddled egg puffs in downtown Macao since the mid-70s. His best harbor after a day of work, “Home! There’s no place like home!” Ming said.

Ming considers his family the best achievement in life, and being a husband and father is the best thing he has ever asked for. He told a customer who came late, “Never come after sunset next time!” He regards himself as self-employed and enjoys flexible working hours. “I’m not boasting, but the stall’s operating hours depend on my mood,” he explained. “I treat customers as my own friends. I don’t want to show them my poker face. Forcing myself to work when I am supposed to enjoy life? That is not the way life should be lived.” Another reason which prompts an early closing time is family.

Ming sells egg puffs for living but not for saving. “Honestly, I am half way there and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life fighting for piles of bank notes,” he added. “I prefer spending more quality time with my family and I love seeing their smiley faces.” The way to pursue true happiness is to enjoy pleasure in good time. “Never let stress take over your life!” said Ming. He gets home every evening and sees the smiles on the faces of his family members. “Priceless. I wouldn’t trade these precise moments for all the money in the world.”

Some are not as lucky as Uncle Ming; they still struggle to make a living. Mrs. Wong is a middle-aged woman, a mother of two children, also a hawker who works overnight. Every night, she pushes her trolley into her van and takes them to downtown Macao for sale.

“I tried to find a better life and decided to come to Macao. I only finished elementary school before I stowed away from China.” Wong became a Macao citizen after the immigration act in 1990. Ever since then, Wong worked in different jobs and tried her best to put her life together. She met her husband and started a family. “Two kids were born. Life became harder. Because of our low education background, it was very difficult for us to support the family if working in these minimum-waged jobs, and at the same time, take care of the kids. We decided to take the chance to find a way out.”

Wong resigned from a factory job and started her life as an illegal hawker. “My husband couldn’t stand up for it. I had to, for the kids and for the family, become the woman who carried the whole world on her shoulder. I was very scared at first. I prayed everyday that we wouldn’t get caught by the police.” She was stationed in central Macao near the hotels and sold basically everything people needed during the night – snacks, fruits, cigarettes, condoms… “Before all those convenience stores came to Macao, there was nowhere to buy things but from these hawker trolleys.” Wong said. “There are a lot to see during the night. You meet different people and hear all sorts of stories. Standing in the middle of these neon lights, I see the world in front of me. It’s like watching TV but more… real.”

The rapid development of Macao in the recent years led Wong into a different direction. Over the years, she struggled and then got back on her feet, again and again. The moment finally came. Her children have graduated from college and now are working. Wong has decided to retire and keep her trolley at the back of her kitchen. “It’s like a dream, you know. Sometimes I look back and feel amazed how I made it all the way through. I don’t even feel like that was my life. I’m very glad everything turned out alright.” Wong laughed. There was a sparkle of joy and satisfaction in her eyes.

The post Macao, the City Never Sleeps – Stories Begin After the Sun Goes Down appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

The glamorous casinos and hotels give Macao a halo. From a fishing village to Oriental Monte Carlo we have now, one cannot deny that money takes a large part in Macao’s transformation.

The median income of Macao reached MOP12,300 in the fourth quarter of 2013. Visitors recorded almost 30 million man-time in 2013. These numbers continuously fuel the retail sales. The heated market keeps going up. Last year alone, Macao made a record of MOP66 billion in retail sales, triple that of 2009, according to a reports by the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The numbers and charts are all impressive. Is it all happy and cheerful behind them?

High-end brands, luxury fashions, jewelry and watches – luxury goods stores are all over the city. Have a quick look out on the street, people seem to enjoy putting on all these price tags on themselves. A pair of MOP5,000 shoes, a MOP15,000 handbag, a MOP100,00 watch, all these seem to have become essential of a Macao lifestyle. Some say these products bring a sense of privilege and exclusivity, symbolize their social status. How do you see it?

“You need to have some of these branded items to be confident,” Roy Lao, a junket VIP service supervisor, said, holding his new MOP6,500 belt. “It shows people that I am capable. I look into the mirror with this clothing, then I feel upgraded. It wasn’t easy money. I made money by hard work. It is rewarding to buy something I want.” Lao stated that he found it hard when his subordinate bought more expensive products than him. “It feels like they outrun you, you know? It’s worth every penny when you see the envious look on their faces.”

What do you think? Is this the price you are willing to pay, like Lao?

When some are spending their hard-earned money on luxury, some are making a living out of it. Carrie Cheong is a supervisor in an Italian high-end fashion store. She recalled how the retail industry was like when she started working as a salesperson five years ago. “I used to work in a private clothing store. I had to try very hard to earn enough money just to support myself. There were not many this kinds of luxurious brand stores.”

When asked about local customers, Cheong said the answer is rather difficult. “Of course mainland tourists are our main source of customers. But you will be surprised how many local people buy these products. I am happy that my monthly income is multiple times more compared to a few years back. Though, I’m not sure if Macao should keep on going this way. How did these products with names on them become essential for a normal person?”

Macao is growing into an international renowned city of gaming. The citizens are soaked in the atmosphere of money and glamor. Are we getting lost in the excitement of this new face of Macao? How is the next generation going to adopt this luxurious world and remain themselves?

The post Behind the Glory of Luxury appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

It was nine after dinnertime, and Un Un, a university student, was taking his home garbage down to a rubbish collection bin on the roadside in San Kiu. The bin was almost full; he tiptoed and threw it, at the same time covering his nose and mouth by hand. An old woman who followed Un Un just put the garbage next to the bin instead.

Solid waste has become problematic in Macao. The capacity of garbage bins does not meet the needs of citizens. Rubbish was thrown out of garbage bins when they were full. Sanitation and odor become the biggest concerns.

The capacity of garbage bins does not meet the needs of citizens.

The amount of waste per capita in Macao was 1.64 kg, which was higher than Hong Kong’s 1.27 kg, according to the Environment report of Macao 2011 by the Bureau of Environmental Protection (DSPA). From the report, Macao came to the first place in terms of waste per capita among Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Taipei.

Incineration is the main method of processing urban solid waste in Macao. Incineration can greatly reduce the volume of solid waste and utilize the potential energy of the waste to generate electricity. With full payload operations, generators can produce 28.7-megawatt electricity per hour. Among it, 7 megawatts are used for its own operation and 21.7 megawatts can be delivered to the public power grid. However, 21.7 megawatts are only 3% of the total consumption of electricity in Macao and incineration produces a lot of ash pollution in the air. It is not an effective and economical way to process solid waste in Macao. Instead, it is sacrificing public health.

Hong Kong, the neighboring city of Macao, mainly uses landfill for solid waste disposal. Landfill occupies huge tracts of valuable land resources and releases biogas, whose bad smell affects residents nearby and arouses hygiene problems. Macao is a small city which has only 31 square kilometers of land, landfill thus is a costly method to process urban solid waste for Macao.

The possible solution to minimize the amount of waste may be to popularize the concept of recycling. The rate of garbage recycling is low in Macao, which is only 20.6% while Hong Kong has the rate of 48%. There are about 281 sets of recycle bins around Macao. It is worth to promote the importance of recycling to residents so as to improve the quality of living environment.

The response from DSPA was that the Macao government promotes waste recycling and reduction actively. Besides placing recycle bins in news public housing estates and all ports of entry to collect plastic bottles, aluminum cans and paper regularly, DSPA also launched “Ecofun” activities, which is a reward program, to encourage citizen to develop the habits of waste separation and recycling. All resources collected by the Macao Residue System Company (CSR) will be transported to neighboring regions for subsequent recycling processes. More information of Ecofun and the location of recycle bins can be downloaded from the DSPA website (https://www.dspa.gov.mo/ecofunweb/) and Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau website (https://www.iacm.gov.mo/c/facility/table/recyclebin/).

The post Solid Waste in Macao appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was watching TV. Though the TV set in my home was just old and tiny at that time, there were so many fantastic and fun programs to watch. With all the touching dramas, funny  animated shows and interesting documentaries, I could stay in front of the TV all day long!

However, the giant LED TV in my home has become a decoration of the flat. As many legal and business problems occurred in relation to communal aerial systems, which resulted in only a handful channels, like TDM, TVB and ATV available for Macao residents.

Macau Cable TV Company Service Center.

People in Macao, unlike other regions in the world, mainly depended on several unregulated community antenna services for TV service. The service started in the 70’s.  Those companies owned such a large installation base. More than 85% of residents depended on this type of service. It is hard to get them closed down and, even after the cable TV concession contract was granted to Macao Cable TV Company (MCTV) in 1999. Therefore a legal case between those companies and MCTV started and has lasted till now.

According to the TV service survey conducted by University of Macau (UM), more than half of Macao residents did not agree with the policy of TV service. Despite the concession contract, the government did not deal with the problems significantly during those years. For example, it did not provide financial assistance for setting up TV antenna on every building in Macao. Also, when Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT) looked for a buyer for their MCTV stake worth about $100 million at the time, the government failed to buy it back, nor did it attempt to buy back the concession contract when the MCTV legal case happened.

Due to the nature of the unlicensed TV service offered by communal aerial systems, although they provide most watched channels for about $30, a fraction of price MCTV would ask for, they can’t obtain a proper copyright to legally deliver content, and the right owners’ complaints lead to a decreasing number of available channels. Moreover, they set up many transmission cables across the gaps of buildings. Those cables affect the stability of service and safety of people.

MCTV also has its own problems. Being the cable company with legal concession, the service coverage is too limited. Even though there are people willing to pay higher prices for MCTV service, they are unable to switch because their buildings have not yet been covered. Despite MCTV claims that their coverage reaches 100% of the city, there is usually no coverage for low buildings in old districts.

Alternative services like Internet TV have gained more and more attention. According to the UM survey, 80% of the people agreed that it is very necessary to introduce new TV service providers. When the concession contract ends in April 2014, the TV service will be undergoing a transition period. The government is making policies regarding the TV service in Macao.  The TV service will be open for more companies. It will have a wider option of channels to choose from, whether they are local or oversea.

Besides that, the Internet can also play a large role in the scenario. Lots of homes have fast Internet connection and many of us have already enjoyed watching online videos everyday. The Internet can also be used for providing a video subscription and IPTV service. Oversea telecom companies have also provided TV services, competing with cable companies.

Hopefully, soon we can expect improved TV services. Then everyone can enjoy the great TV experience as I did in my childhood.

The post TV Without Fun appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.

“No pain, no gain.” A famous Chinese saying tells that sacrifice is necessary in order to pursue success, but does it mean that we need to give up something precious before we can reach our goal? According to the four interviewees from different age groups, sacrifice could mean…

Choice

Two young ladies, in their final year of studying in University of Macau (UM), are so enthusiastic about drama. Abby Lei started to be the instructor of SHCC Drama Club and Hannah Ng is a freelancer of theater.

Abby Lei and Hannah Ng

Both of them spend much time on drama or other related activities, such as performance courses. Maybe many people will ask them why they spend most their time on drama, they are “sacrificing” or “losing” their own leisure time, their opportunity for earning money or the time for study. Their answer is as simple as that – I just love it.

Lei and Ng both devote their own time to drama. No matter how busy they are, they never complain a single word about it. While asked about their definition of “sacrifice”, “There are two things you love equally, but you can only choose one, the loss of that thing which you give up willingly is sacrifice,” Ng said. “Therefore, I don’t agree that I have sacrificed my own time of browsing websites, playing on my tablet, or watching TV for drama, because they are not better than it.”

Maybe others will blame them for not putting their time for academic work, or they are wasting their time. Lei replied that all of us have limited time and there is no exception. What they are doing is that they are making good use of their time and doing what they like. Although sometimes the schedule might not always be appropriate, they can still manage both their academic work and the drama activities.

Both of them have participated in local troupes or theaters. They agreed that the cultural and creative industry is developing in Macao, and citizens are paying more attention to it. However, they thought that the government places too little attention to the local troupes or even ignores their needs. They believed that if the government really wants to create the artistic atmosphere in Macao or to improve the cultural education of citizens, the government should develop the local troupes or give them support, such as subsidies. Let the local troupes to be in the lead so that local people can keep in touch with artistic activities.

Life process

Queenie Lee

“Salary is not so important for me and I just want to do what I really want,” Queenie Lee, 23 years old, is a graduate from UM with Bachelor in English Communication. She is now a journalist of Magazine “NEW GEN. Month”.

Lee has worked in “NEW GEN. Month” for almost one year and this job can bring her great satisfaction, “I am really touched by the interviewee who recognized me and called my name in the street telling me that she really appreciated my article,” Lee said. “You can only do better as long as you can gain the satisfaction in your job and I don’t think I would like that if I work in a hotel or casino.”

“Real estate, banks and hotels are the trades which most of my friends work in,” Lee said. “That is alright if you do these jobs, but the question is ‘Do you really love and enjoy the job?’” Lee encouraged graduates to identify their career interests and goals instead of aimlessly following the Macao employment trend in recent years.

Lee considered that sacrifice is a process, first you will lose something and then you can gain another thing. “As a youngster, we should be hopeful rather than having this concept of ‘sacrifice’,” she added.

Sacrifice is too serious for Lee and she disagreed with the suggestion that what she is doing now is “sacrifice”. “Perhaps my salary is lower than those people working in gambling industries but money is not the most significant,” said Lee. “I would like to learn more when I am young and that is really having meaning for me.”

“Is meaningful and valuable work a sacrifice?” she asked in the end of the interview.

Fulfillment

Chan Kin Meng

“It’s my choice, so I do not see it as a sacrifice.  I am just doing the things I like,” said Chan Kin Meng.

Chan, 55, assistant coach of the Macao Table Tennis Team , started to be a table tennis athlete since he was 15 and has been chosen as a member of the Macao Table Tennis Team to participate in the Asian Games for a few times.

In the morning, he goes to his day job like everyone else and at night he works as the assistant coach. He gets only an hour break between these two “jobs”. Asked why he still chose to be an assistant coach in such tight schedule, he replied, “I have been participating in this area for a long time, and I hope my experience could help the young generation.  I hope I could do something for them. Although there is less time I can spend with my family after I started to be a coach, still I chose to continue my way because I would like to fulfill my own dream.”

During the interview he also commented on the new generation. He said, “Macao is changing. It’s different from my generation. The new generation has more challenges to face, so it’s important that they can hold on to their choices. If you are sure what you are doing is your real choice, you will be able to continue it. So there’s nothing to blame on society saying that it is an unbalanced society that forces someone to give up something. So, if you have a dream or goal, just do it. Nothing will change if you do not even start it.”

Frankly there’s no right or wrong answer for what is sacrifice to various people. Everyone could have different viewpoints on the word “sacrifice”, the way you see “sacrifice” is what matters. Different people will have different answers to the question. So, what is your opinion?

The post What is Sacrifice to You? appeared first on Umac Bridges Spring 2014.