Taxis sit parked in front of the Galaxy Macau casino and hotel, developed by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, illuminated at night in Macao, China, Feb 22, 2017. [Photo/VCG] The Macao Special Administrative Region has attached unprecedented importance to cultivating people able to speak both Mandarin and Portuguese, language and culture scholars said. They added that the efforts by Macao are one answer to the country's call for the SAR to become a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Only 0.6 percent of Macao residents speak Portuguese, according to official statistics. The total population of Macao is more than 650,000. Yao Jingming, head of the Department of Portuguese at the University of Macau, said more seats and scholarships have been provided for local students to study Portuguese. Macao's education and youth affairs bureau has launched a plan that subsidizes local secondary school graduates who pursue a degree at Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon. The effort aims to foster young people's bilingual language competency in different professional fields, such as business management, economics, psychology and biological engineering. All are taught in Portuguese at the university. Gloria Yang Junyi, a 21-year-old UM senior studying Portuguese, attended a government-funded exchange program at the University of Lisbon from February to June. She recalled being immersed in a Portuguese-language environment and making remarkable progress in her language competency, as well as deepening her understanding of Portuguese culture. I believe the study tour will allow me to stand out amid fierce competition in the job market, Yang said. Meanwhile, according to Yao, the UM educator, Chinese-Portuguese bilingual education is being promoted in elementary and secondary schools. Beginning last year, Chinese-Portuguese bilingual classes were launched in two local public schools in Macao, aiming to give priority to the training of bilingual talent for government positions. The Macao government introduced teaching materials combining Chinese and Portuguese. In addition, Macao has established Asia's largest Portuguese teaching institute - the Chinese-Portuguese Bilingual Teaching and Training Center - in a bid to establish what it said is a reference framework for Portuguese language education targeting Chinese students. The center first opened its doors in May last year. With these efforts, the city has experienced an upsurge of interest in learning Portuguese, Yao said. Looking forward, experts are calling for more exchange programs and internship opportunities for local students in Portuguese-speaking countries. With more exchanges and communication, people from Portuguese-speaking countries have begun to understand China and its development strategies, leading to more in-depth and high-level collaboration between both sides, said Chao Peng, master's degree program director of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries at City University of Macau. custom awareness wristbandscustom his and her braceletscolorfilled wristbandsusb wristbands customembossed wristbands
[Photo/IC] At the critical juncture of the denuclearization process, every move made by the two neighbors on the Korean Peninsula is closely watched and will undoubtedly have a decisive impact on the future of the peninsula. While Pyongyang is reportedly showing openness to allow inspectors into the country's main nuclear complex, signaling its attempts to push forward the implementation of denuclearization, Seoul, in contrast, is planning to buy two Israeli early warning radar systems, a move seen to reinforces its air defenses against Pyongyang despite fast-improving relations. Reuters quoted the Republic of Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (or DAPA) on Tuesday as saying the decision to adopt the Green Pine Block C radar systems, built by ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, was made at a defense acquisition committee. DAPA did not specify the value of the order, but an official at the defense ministry put it at 330 billion won ($292 million), saying the systems would be deployed in the early 2020s. The project is intended to boost the ROK capabilities to detect and track ballistic missiles from a long distance at an early stage, DAPA said in a statement. Meanwhile, a senior diplomatic source from the ROK on Tuesday told Yonhap news agency that Pyongyang will start to shut down its nuclear sites, and was ready to allow inspectors to witness the process. Zhao Lixin, a professor and director of the School of International Politics at Yanbian University, noted that the reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula may experience more ups and downs as any perceived duplicity from either side will cast uncertainty on the process of denuclearization. Zhao noted while Pyongyang is taking an approach to reshape its international image and strike a compromise on denuclearization, Seoul's decision to buy and deploy more weapons may damage the thaw on the peninsula. The move shows the country's swing position and its duplicity in the promises to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, he said. In addition, the United States said it was not aware of Pyongyang's willingness to allow inspectors in and whether there had been new developments. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Tuesday that she was not aware of any of that but Washington still looks forward to Chairman Kim (Jong-un) fulfilling his commitments. Washington has stressed the importance of verification as it negotiates with Pyongyang on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but Pyongyang has accused Washington of showing no interest in lifting or reducing economic sanctions, which it said is brigandish. Reuters contributed to this story.
