Hong Kong to launch smoking fixed-penalty system

HONG KONG, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong authorities will implement a
fixed-penalty system for smoking offenses, Secretary for Food and Health York
Chow said here Wednesday.

The government plans to designate public transport interchanges as
statutory no-smoking areas, he added.

Chow told lawmakers that after the expansion of no-smoking areas, some
smokers have been seen to gather around certain spots on streets close to
no-smoking areas.

"We are now evaluating the situation, as well as collecting information and
conducting research on the matter," Chow said.

The government will gauge public opinion and draw reference from the
experience and measures taken by other countries in tackling the problem of
smokers clustering and smoking in the vicinity of no-smoking areas.

He said the government will closely monitor the implementation of the
tobacco control policy as well as the community's expectation and acceptance of
its tobacco control measures.

The government will take into account public expectations when considering
the need to further expand statutory no-smoking areas or adopt other
tobacco-control measures to safeguard public health, Chow
said.

Land chief: No more casinos in Macao's new reclaimed lands

MACAO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has decided not to develop its proposed areas reclaimed from the sea for casino projects, said the SAR's Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io on Tuesday.

Under the new plan, around 60 percent of the proposed reclaimed lands will be used for non-property projects, such as roads, squares, parks and public facilities, in a bid to create more spaces for enhancing local residents' living quality, said Lau.

As the gaming hub of Asia, there are currently 31 casinos in Macao, the only place in China where gambling is legal, and a new mega casino resort is scheduled to open in June this year.

However, the SAR's Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah has announced last year a series of measures to freeze the development of Macao's gaming sector, which included not granting new lands for the use of casino projects.

According to the new reclamation plan, the reclaimed lands will take up a sea area of about 400 hectares, which is less than the originally-proposed 500 hectares, and the location of the five new reclamation sites will be more or less the same with the original ones.

Lau also said that the revised reclamation plan has been submitted to China's central government, and once given the green light, the SAR government will introduce the new plan to the public and seek different advices on it, so as to optimize the planning of the new districts.