A new culture-aimed magazine is always a challenge for the editors, who must face the reactions of the readers and of society.
In Macau that challenge is greater, because some similar experiences vanished in the course of time, which is, according to Marguerite Yourcenar, the "great sculptor". This magazine is published in a territory where Portuguese is the official language, the majority of the population speaks Cantonese and English is very often used both by Chinese and Portuguese to communicate among themselves. So it is understandable that this magazine, meant for a mixed population, should be published in those languages. It is also a way to spread and propagate what is done in Macau and to make its extensive Culture and History intelligible for those who look for information about this territory.
We are aware that there are not many researchers and historians of the History of Macau, but we believe that those who exist will contribute to the success of this enterprise and we hope that the People's Republic of China, Portugal, Hong Kong and also the Portuguese Communities and the Communities of Portuguese progeny will give a significant colaboration to it.
May this magazine be a connecting link between such different worlds and cultures which are, simultaneously, so important for the construction of the future. May it also be a way of communication and a link between people with the same concerns. May this magazine give prestige and dignity to the peaceful and constructive sociability and dialogue between a culture rooted in a western, European and Portuguese civilization and a culture with an eastern, Asiatic and Chinese matrix.
We wish that this magazine may have an everlasting life and that time, in its inexorable course, will not erode it definitively but will bring improvement.
We hope that this magazine will not be just another magazine for Macau, its inhabitants and its development.
The Deputy-Secretary for Education and Culture
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