On crisis and changes in Macao

I really like the guys from Destination Macau, as they always spice up the news and are obviously always very well informed: too bad that their sub department has not shown the same proficiency in adding the emails of prospective readers... These two pieces are really worth reading. Crisis? What Crisis? Changes? What changes?

October in review – holy moly!
Sorry it took us so long this month to get around to analyzing the October gaming numbers in closer detail. There are some trends that really jump out, as we will try to explain with the attached graphs below.
The first was the jaw-dropping turnover numbers. Who could ever have imagined that SJM would do MOP 90 billion in rolling-chip sales for a month? But far more spectacularly, who could have forecast an 80 per cent month-on-month increase in volumes at the three Sands China properties, pulled by a near-vertical takeoff at the Venetian? This is a group that publicly has shown nothing but disdain for the junkets. And here they are, doing as much in VIP volume as Melco-Crown, on a win-hold percentage that brought in nearly 50 per cent more revenue than their Cotai neighbor!

L'atelier des médias, November 27

Internet en Chine

Avec 300 millions d'internautes, les Chinois sont aujourd'hui la nation la plus présente sur le web. L'internet en Chine, ses us et ses usages fait l'objet d'un examen détaillé dans le prochain numéro de la revue Hermès du CNRS. Eric Sautedé, chercheur à l'Institut inter-universitaire de Macao, a coordonné le volet chinois de ce numéro de la revue plus globalement consacré à "Société civile et internet en Chine et en Asie orientale".

Eric Sautedé constate qu'internet "constitue une formidable caisse de résonance de l'expression des mécontentements et des doléances de la société chinoise". En revanche, écrit-il, "rien ne permet d'affirmer que l'Internet favorise la structuration d'une sociéét civile". Et le chercheur d'expliquer qu'internet peut autant être un "agent du changement que de la conservation".

Que font les internautes chinois sur le web? Est-ce que l'internet bouscule de pouvoir chinois? Le Net fait-il émerger des personnalités de la société civile?

http://atelier.rfi.fr/profiles/blogs/emission-1041-internet-en

Transparency: the more the better ©MDT

The release of the latest report of Transparency International on the perception of corruption in the world is pretty telling for our community: Macao is not doing well and we clearly need more surveys and elements of comparison if we are to clearly identify the issues, possibly solve them and ultimately dissipate crucial misunderstandings.

On the legislative elections in Macao

Eric Sautedé: Electoral Commission “the biggest loser” in the race

22/09/2009 01:56:00 Natalie Leung

Although the direct legislative election results were still waiting to be verified yesterday, people could already get an idea of which 12 candidates are going to win the battle.

Yet to political analyst Eric Sautedé, the results are not the most significant, instead what caught him by surprise are the failure to improve the cleanliness of the election and the powerlessness of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC).

A few lessons from the September 20th Elections

Candidates, as well as voters, would have appreciated a smoother electoral process and a more fair and balanced contest. But that – various analysts point out – would have required an effective Legislative Assembly Electoral Commission. Vasco Fong’s team came under heavy fire in a debate organised by Macau CLOSER and the Portuguese daily Ponto Final at Clube Militar. On the table were democracy, the lack thereof, the role of the internet in the 2009 campaign, and what Macau is missing in terms of discourse and politics.