We’re almost halfway into 2020 and, since the turn of the year, so much has changed for every person across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live, work and look at the globe in just a few months. Science necessitates change more than any other field of study and only with it can science evolve, adapt and reach new levels of understanding and invention. As the frantic search for a COVID-19 vaccine continues, scientific endeavour has never been as crucial as it is right now and that’s why we’ve chosen to dedicate our main features in this issue to science – in particular, to Macao’s scientific contributions.
Enjoy our piece on our city’s first satellite, Macao Science 1, which will soon be launched into space, marking a milestone for the local development of aerospace technology. Join us as we investigate the major scientific discoveries that have been made in Macao over the past two decades, including breakthroughs in AI and robotics and cancer treatments. Finally, toast the Macao Science Center and its team, which successfully shifted all its educational content online during COVID-19.
Macao discharged its last COVID-19 patient from hospital on 19 May in a moment which was met with much relief across the city. But many other countries, such as the UK, have so far not been as fortunate. We talk to a Macao resident living in London – Dr Jessica Mok, a frontline volunteer working at the capital city’s Nightingale Hospital – about what it’s like over there now. While in London, we also catch up with astronomer Tania de Sales Marques – a shining representative of Macao at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich.
Change is in the air and in Macao we can see it at every turn – literally. Across the city, dozens of roads are being renewed and major infrastructure projects are underway – either in the planning phase or already being built. Read about these projects in our in-depth article and dig into the Macao government’s 2020 Policy Address, made on 20 April, in this issue too. With clear guidelines established in the address by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng – which set out a raft of policies to stabilise and stimulate the economy – positive changes are on the way for us.
*Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Cheong Kam Ka
