In the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, did you notice some new and very cute decorative lanterns of the Chinese zodiac in the city?

Every year, the government spends much money on the decoration of streets; many decorative lanterns are being hung or placed in the streets during the holidays, enhancing the mood of festivals. But, how many people will think about what will be the fate of these decorative lanterns after the festivals?

Jeffery Wong, a UM student said, "This year, the decorative lanterns were very beautiful, my friends and I took many photos with some of them." And he thought that after the festival, these lanterns would be destroyed.

Sarah Leong, another UM student said, "Yes, I have seen some of the decorative lanterns were damaged. I thought they would be taken to be recycled after the festivals."

Wing Chan, a UM student said that she has seen some visitors or teenagers tear the lanterns or write things on them.

Mrs. Lee, a Macau's citizen said, "I do not know how the government deals with decorative lanterns after festivals." And she observed that every year there are many new decorative lanterns, maybe the government buys new decorative lanterns annually, she suggested.

Mr. Gao, a clerk of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (CMAB), said that it is CMAB which is in charge of installing, keeping, repairing and purchasing decorative lanterns.

CMAB is mainly in charge of yearly evaluation whether old decorative lanterns can be used in the coming year or not. If they do not have any impairment, they will be stored in the Equipment Department, which has various warehouses in Barra Hill and Coloane. He added that if they are in a very bad condition, they would be destroyed, but never be thrown away.

According to the government figures, the whole government expenditure was MOP10 million on celebration activities in 2005, including all of the decorations of each festival.

Mr. Gao added that many of the decorative lanterns were deliberately damaged by people, so his department will spend lots of money to buy new decorative lanterns for celebrations. He said that the more decorative lanterns are damaged, the more money the Macau government will have to spend on replacing them. Therefore, it is every citizen's responsibility not to damage decorative lanterns so as to save the government money on buying and repairing the decorative lanterns, he said.

At least, people should cherish the decorative lanterns as our own property, he added.

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