The 2023 Awards, Medals and Certificates Presentation Ceremony of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China was held at the Cultural Centre at which the Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, presented medals, medals and certificates to 28 representatives of individuals or entities. On the recommendation of the Nomination Committee for Medals, Medals and Awards, the Macao SAR Government awards medals, medals and certificates to the following individuals and entities in recognition of their outstanding performance in personal achievements, social contributions or service to the Macao Special Administrative Region.
The Medal of Honour is divided into the Grand Lotus Medal of Honor, the Golden Lotus Medal of Honor and the Silver Lotus Medal of Honour, which are awarded to individuals or entities who have made outstanding contributions to the image and reputation of the Macao Special Administrative Region, whether locally or overseas, or who have made significant contributions to the development of the Macao Special Administrative Region in any field. The person or entity awarded the Medal of Honor this time is: Anemone Medal of Honor Li Yu.
The Medal of Merit is divided into seven categories and is designed to recognise individuals or entities who have distinguished or distinguished themselves in any professional activity, in business and industry or in the development of industry and commerce, in the promotion and development of Macao's tourism industry, in education, in the development of arts and culture, in social welfare and charity, and in international, regional or national sporting events, or in sports worthy of commendation.
The person or entity awarded the Medal of Merit is:
Order of Professional Merit
●Macao Basic Law Promotion Association
●State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences (Macau University of Science and Technology)
●Inter-departmental Cooperation Group for Macao One Account
Medal of Merit for Industry and Commerce
●Zhang Quan Pain Relief Oil Chinese Medicine Factory (Macau) Co., Ltd
●Hollysan Pharmaceutical Sciences, Inc
●Macau Cement Factory Co., Ltd
Medal of Merit for Tourism
●The most fragrant bakery souvenir Co., Ltd
Order of Merit for Education
●Engineering Research Center for Machine Translation and Artificial Intelligence Application Technology, Ministry of Education (Macao Polytechnic University)
●Song Yong-chi
●Felizbina Carmelita Gomes
Order of Cultural Merit
● Liu Fuye
Medal of Merit for Benevolence
●Kiang Wu School of Nursing, Macau
Medal of Merit for Sport
●The 19th Asian Games Karate Men's Team Team
●Guo Jianheng
● Cai Feilong
The Distinguished Service Medal is divided into the Medal for Valor, the Medal for Meritorious Service and the Medal for Social Service, which is used to recognise individuals or entities who have distinguished themselves in the performance of their duties, participation in responding to public events or community service. The person or entity awarded the Outstanding Service Medal is:
Medal for Valor
●Anti-Corruption Bureau Project Team of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Unit L)
Medal for Social Service
●Bodhi Integrated Service Centre for the Elderly
●Liang Yuyu
●Ye Zhi Yan
The Certificate of Merit and the Certificate of Honour are used to recognize individuals or entities that have made outstanding contributions to the reputation, development or social progress of the Macao Special Administrative Region and should be particularly respected and valued by the public. The recipients of the certificate are:
Certificate of Merit
●Peizheng Middle School "A Color Blindness Examination Analyzer Based on the Principle of Color Mixing" team
●Haojiang Middle School's "A Paste to See a Scab - Secret Words Hidden Between Soil and Flowers" team
● Liu Lerou
●Huang Jun-hsien
●Aftercolor red
●Mr. Song Tzu
●Wang Liling
●Lin Xiangxiang
It is worth mentioning that in this year's award ceremony, the winner of the Anemone Medal of Honor is Macau female wushu athlete Li Yu, a 2021 graduate of the Master of Sport and Physical Education program of the Macao Polytechnic University, who is now a physical education teacher. On September 25, 2023, Li Yu won the gold medal in the women's wushu changquan final of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, which was the first gold medal won by the sports delegation of Macao, China at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
It is reported that Li Yu has been representing the Macao SAR in international competitions since 2011. In 2012, he won one gold, one silver and one bronze at the Asian Championships, one bronze at the 2013 East Asian Games, one silver at the World Championships held in the same year, a silver medal in the all-around at the 2014 Asian Games, one gold and one silver at the 2016 Asian Championships, two golds and two bronzes at the Wushu World Cup held in the same year, the first gold medal in the history of the Macao sports delegation at the 2017 World Universiade, a breakthrough since Macao's participation in the World Universiade, two bronze medals at the World Championships held in the same year, a silver medal in individual events at the 2018 Asian Games, two golds and one silver medal at the 2019 World Championships, and a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games, the all-around gold medal in martial arts, and the gold medal in gunnery at the World Championships.
In an exclusive interview with our reporter on the occasion of receiving the Silver Lotus Medal of Honor, Li Yu said that he is very grateful to the government for its continuous support and encouragement to Macao athletes, and that he feels a great responsibility on his shoulders to receive the Silver Lotus Medal of Honor, and will do his best to inherit Chinese martial arts and train the next generation of young athletes in the future.
Rector of the University of Macau, Song Yonghua, was awarded the Medal of Merit in Education in recognition of his outstanding contributions to education. Mr Song thanked the HKSAR Government for its full recognition of his work and said that it was an honour for UM as a whole to receive the award. Thanks to the support, support and assistance of the state, the SAR government, and all sectors of society, as well as the joint efforts of all UM teachers and students, UM has achieved satisfactory results in talent cultivation and scientific research and innovation in recent years. In the future, UM will continue to adhere to the development orientation of "establishing a foothold in Macao, jointly building the Greater Bay Area, integrating into the country and going global", actively cooperate with the deployment of the SAR government, cultivate high-level talents in the fields of health, high-tech, modern finance, cultural tourism, convention and exhibition, and create more scientific research results for transformation, so as to further serve all aspects of society.
Song Yonghua is currently the ninth president of UM, as well as the Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering and the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart Cities. He has made systematic and creative contributions to the research on the safe, efficient and low-carbon operation of energy and power systems, and has received many awards and honors at home and abroad for his internationally recognized achievements. Song Yonghua was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the European Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of the United States, and received a Doctor of Science degree from Brunel University, an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Bath, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Edinburgh, and won the second prize of the 2020 National Science and Technology Progress Award and the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award, the Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award in 2022, and the 3rd National Innovation Competition Award in 2023.
Song Yonghua has extensive experience in leadership at Chinese and foreign universities, having served as Vice-Chancellor of Brunel University, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, Assistant to the President of Tsinghua University and Executive Vice President of Zhejiang University. Since Song Yonghua became president of the University of Macau in 2018, Macao has expanded moderately on a large scale, continuously improved its educational standards, and made breakthroughs in its international reputation, rising for the sixth consecutive year in both the Times Higher Education (THE) and QS World University Rankings, ranking 193rd and 254th respectively in 2024, ranking among the world's top 200 and top 300 for the first time, ranking first among universities in Macao and top 20 in Greater China.
The Engineering Research Centre for Machine Translation and Artificial Intelligence Application Technology of the Ministry of Education (Macao Polytechnic University) was awarded the Medal of Merit in Education in recognition of its outstanding contribution to education. President of the Macao Polytechnic University, Mr Yim Siu Kei, received the "Medal of Educational Merit" on behalf of the Centre. Mr Yim said that he would like to thank the country, the Macao SAR Government and all sectors of society for their continuous care and support, and that being awarded the Medal of Merit in Education by the Macao SAR Government is a recognition of the University's education, scientific and technological innovation research achievements and talent training. In the future, PolyU will continue to contribute to the development of Macao's education, science and technology, so as to promote the moderate diversification of Macao's "1+4" economy, and contribute to the development and construction of relevant industries in Macao, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Portuguese-speaking countries and the "Belt and Road" countries.
Established on December 26, 2019, the Engineering Research Center of Machine Translation and Artificial Intelligence Application Technology of the Ministry of Education of Macao Polytechnic University has set up a research team based on advantageous disciplines such as Chinese-Portuguese language and information technology, carried out basic technology research and applied technology research, obtained a number of patents in the field of electronic engineering, and made breakthroughs and achievements in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. In order to promote the application of Chinese medicine in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, we will actively carry out the translation and publication of books and periodicals on Chinese medicine and health. The R&D products such as the translation system, the smart mobile app and the conference recording system of the Engineering Research Centre have been widely used in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Portuguese-speaking countries, generating socio-cultural and economic benefits with high technological content, giving full play to Macao's role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and continuously promoting the development of scientific and technological innovation in Macao.