Training in Portuguese emphasized by Macao

The Macao Special Administrative Region has attached "unprecedented" importance to cultivating people able to speak both Mandarin and Portuguese, language and culture scholars said.

They added that the efforts by Macao are one answer to the country's call for the SAR to become a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Only 0.6 percent of Macao residents speak Portuguese, according to official statistics. The total population of Macao is more than 650,000.