Macau, China, June 22, 2026 (Lusa) - The 18th China-Portuguese Language Countries Cultural Week is being held for the first time in the Chinese province of Qinghai, but without the participation of Angolan artists due to concerns over the Ebola epidemic, the organisers announced on Monday.
The organising body, the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese Language Countries (Macau Forum), today presented the programme for the event, which will run from 27 June to 10 July in Macau, Qinghai in western China, and Beijing, under the slogan “Sino-Portuguese-Speaking Cultural Encounters: Friendship Without Borders”.
The programme includes artistic performances, sightseeing tours and the Gastronomic Fair of Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as a handicrafts exhibition, which will bring together 158 pieces from nine countries, and a Short Film Competition for young people from China and Portuguese Language Countries.
Confirmed participants include Portuguese-speaking chefs Carlota da C. Freitas, Marina de Senna Fernandes and Luís Américo, and artists such as José de Holanda, Maurício Tizumba and Sérgio Pererê (Brazil), Elly Paris (Cabo Verde), PATCHEDIRIMA & Andérking Skididi (Guinea-Bissau), Fistong Boy (Equatorial Guinea), Az Khineira (Mozambique), Miranda (Portugal), Banda Vungo Téla (São Tomé and Príncipe) and New Arquiris (Timor-Leste).
In Beijing, the events will take place at the Acoustic Shell Square in Chaoyang Park, “in a distinct venue, yet one that retains the capital’s essential character”, noted Ji Xianzheng, leader of the Macau Forum, today.
The organisation confirmed to Lusa that Banda Duia, from Angola, will not be taking part in this year’s event due to health restrictions, but emphasised that the Forum is maintaining dialogue with the Angolan authorities regarding future collaborations.
The Deputy Secretary-General of Forum Macau, Danilo Henriques, indicated that the decision was due to instructions from the territory’s health authorities.
The Macau Government has decided to impose a 21-day monitoring period on all travellers arriving from the 10 African countries at risk due to the Ebola epidemic.
Among these countries is Angola, which shares a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the outbreak began and subsequently developed into an epidemic.
The DRC today raised the death toll from the Ebola virus to 254, included among the 1,003 confirmed cases in the epidemic that was declared on 15 May in the east of the country.
The epidemic has also spread to neighbouring Uganda, where 19 confirmed cases have been detected, including 14 cases considered to have been imported from the DRC, with two deaths; however, Angola has not yet recorded any confirmed cases of Ebola.
As for the choice of Qinghai as the venue for the event, Ji pointed out that, unlike China’s coastal provinces, Qinghai province has “fewer opportunities to come into contact with Portuguese-speaking artists”.
He emphasised that Xining, the provincial capital, will host “a large number of activities and sessions”, including cultural and business exchanges, with the aim of “raising the profile of businesspeople” and bringing business representatives to inland China.
“We will try to attract more spectators from inland areas and collaborate with the media in inland China to increase publicity for the event,” said Ji.
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