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Saturday, May. 03, 2008
Olympic torch begins relay in Chinese city Macau
By MIN LEE
AP Photo
Torch relay runner, Macau tycoon Stanley Ho, center, runs at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch relay in Macau, China Saturday, May 3, 2008.
The executive vice-president of the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee, Yan Shu'an, says the torch is now close to Chinese soil.
The executive vice-president of the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee, Yan Shu'an, says the torch is now close to Chinese soil.
MACAU The Olympic torch began its relay Saturday past glitzy Las Vegas-style casinos and pastel colored colonial buildings in the Chinese city of Macau - the world's most lucrative gambling center.
The flame was expected to get a warm patriotic welcome in the former Portuguese enclave that returned to Chinese rule in 1999. Protests are relatively rare in the tiny city on China's southern coast - the only place in the country where casino gambling is legal.
The torch arrived from Hong Kong, where it completed a relay Friday that was not disrupted by protesters - a contrast from many other stops during the torch's 20-nation tour. In several cities, the torch run was marred by pro-Tibet protesters and others demonstrating against China's human rights record.
Spectator Si Wai Pan, 14, was thrilled to see the torch. "I'm very happy. I'm very honored," the student said.
The torch was to pass the new Las Vegas-style casinos that have helped this Chinese territory surpass the Las Vegas Strip as the world's top gambling center.
The relay route also included plenty of colonial-style buildings painted in pastel pink, yellow and peach - structures built when Macau was ruled by Portugal.
Before Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1999, the territory was a darker, more dangerous place where criminal gangs, or triads, waged turf wars with drive-by shootings, kidnappings and car bombs that scared away tourists.
But under Chinese rule, the violent crime rate has dropped and tourists have been flooding into the city, less than one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C. Macau is made of a peninsula on China's mainland and two islands: Coloane and Taipa.
Like Hong Kong, Macau is governed under a "one country, two systems" formula, designed to give the territory a wide degree of autonomy.
After returning to Chinese rule, the city broke up a monopoly on the gambling business. Casino tycoons from Las Vegas and other places were allowed into the market, creating a big gaming boom.
The magnates include billionaires Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands Corp., who opened the $2.4 billion Venetian mega-resort complete with Italian-style gondolas floating down indoor canals.
In 2006, Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's epicenter of gambling. Its casinos rang up $6.95 billion in gambling revenue, while the Strip made $6.69 billion, regulators in the cities said.
Last year, Macau's casinos raked in more than $10.3 billion in gaming revenue, an increase of 46 percent over the previous year, the government said.
But Macau's leader, Edmund Ho, recently announced the booming city would not issue any new casino licenses soon. He said it's time for the government to review the industry's development before new projects are approved.
