Macau Yearbook 2013 - Macao Yearbook

Macao Yearbook 2013academic institutions to conduct a study on the direction for amendments to the Press Law and theBroadcasting Law of Macao. The tender for gathering public opinions on the revision was launchedin the first quarter of 2011. Deliberative opinion polling was first introduced in Macao to conductextensive, objective and scientific opinion gathering and analyses. In addition, the GCS activelyliaised with the newspaper industry and professional organisations to listen to all opinions.After gathering and analysing the views of the press industry and the results of the deliberativeopinion polling, the Government decided to defer any amendment of the Broadcasting Law whileproceeding to amend the Press Law under the principle of “limited to deletion only” any clause tothe law. The controversial provisions to be deleted included the one regulating the Press Council,and the other on the Code of Practice for Journalists. Some wording was also amended to align withrelevant laws. Another round of public consultation will be launched upon completion of the draft.Government Information BureauThe Government Information Bureau (GCS) is a bureau-level administrative entity under thesupervision of the Chief Executive. It assists Government departments and the media by coordinatingand conducting research regarding public communication, disseminating Government informationand arranging media interviews. The GCS regularly publishes Macao magazine, the MacaoInformation booklet and the Macao Yearbook in Chinese, Portuguese and English.In line with the development of civil society and information technology in mass media, inMarch the Government promulgated the by-law, Organisation and Operation of the GovernmentInformation Bureau (GCS), to enhance the transparency of administration, facilitate communicationwith citizens and further safeguard the public interests and the right to information.Under the new framework, the GCS is restructured from one department with three divisionsand one team to two departments with five divisions: the Information Department – under whichis the Media Relations Division; the Research and Publicity Department – under which are thePublicity and Promotion Division and the Publication Division; the IT and Archive Division; andthe Administration and Finance Division.Disseminating Government InformationThe GCS has also established the Information Broadcast System (IBS) for local media and accreditedcorrespondents. The IBS facilitates media access to official information and photographs bydistributing them via the Internet. This enables the media to remotely access official informationat any time.During 2012, the Information Department wrote and distributed more than 9,996 press releases,interview notices, important notices, and speeches in Chinese, Portuguese and English; anddistributed 1,426 photographs on behalf of the MSAR Government and its departments.Registration of Periodical PublicationsThe Administration and Accounting Section of the GCS is responsible for registering newspapers,312