Transfer of sovereignty over Macau
The transfer of sovereignty of Macau (Chinese: 澳門回歸; Portuguese: Transferência da soberania de Macau) from Portugal to the People's Republic of China (PRC) occurred on 20 December 1999.
Transfer of sovereignty over Macau 澳門回歸 Transferência da soberania de Macau | |
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Date(s) | 20 December 1999 |
Location(s) | Macau |
Participants | China Portugal |
Transfer of sovereignty over Macau | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 澳門回歸 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 澳门回归 | ||||||||||
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Portuguese name | |||||||||||
Portuguese | Transferência da soberania de Macau |
History of the People's Republic of China (PRC) |
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1976–1989 |
1989–2002 |
2002–2012 |
2012–present |
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China portal |
Macau was settled by Portuguese merchants in 1557, during the Ming dynasty and was subsequently under various degrees of Portuguese rule until 1999. Portugal's involvement in the region was formally recognised by the Qing dynasty in 1749. The Portuguese governor João Maria Ferreira do Amaral, emboldened by the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking, attempted to annex the territory, expelling Qing authorities in 1846, but was assassinated.[1] After the Second Opium War, the Portuguese government, along with a British representative, signed the 1887 Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking that gave Portugal perpetual colonial rights to Macau on the condition that Portugal would cooperate in efforts to end the smuggling of opium.[1]
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and the transfer of China's seat to the PRC at the United Nations in 1971, then Foreign Minister Huang Hua appealed to the UN Special Committee on Decolonization to remove Macau (and Hong Kong) from its list of colonies, preferring bilateral negotiations ending in a return of the territory, rather than the independence of the territory as was implied by its inclusion on the list.
On 25 April 1974, a group of left-wing Portuguese officers organized a coup d'état, overthrowing the right-wing dictatorship that had been in power for 48 years. The new government began to transition Portugal to a democratic system and was committed to decolonization. The government carried out decolonization policies, and proposed Macau's handover to China in 1978.[2] The Chinese government rejected this proposal, believing that an early transfer of Macau would impact relations with Hong Kong.[2]
On 31 December 1975, the Portuguese government withdrew its remaining troops from Macau. On 8 February 1979, the Portuguese government decided to break off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China the next day. Both Portugal and the People's Republic of China recognized Macau as Chinese territory. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 20 December 1999, when it was transferred to China and became the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. This marked the end of nearly 600 years of the European colonial era.
Negotiations
On 20 May 1986, the People's Republic of China, along with Portugal, officially announced that talks on Macanese affairs would take place in Beijing on 30 June 1986. The Portuguese delegation arrived in Beijing in June, and was welcomed by the Chinese delegation led by Zhou Nan.[3][4]
The talks consisted of four sessions, all held in Beijing:
- The first conference: 30 June – 1 July 1986
- The second conference: 9–10 September 1986
- The third conference: 21–22 October 1986
- The fourth conference: 18–23 March 1987
During the negotiations, Portuguese representatives offered to return Macau in 1985, but Chinese representatives rejected that year (as well rejecting previous requests for 1967, 1975, and 1977). China requested 1997, the same year as Hong Kong, but Portugal refused. 2004 was suggested by Portugal, as well as 2007 as that year would mark the 450th anniversary of Portugal renting Macau. However, China insisted for a year before 2000 as the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group in Hong Kong would be dissolved in 2000 as envisioned in 1986 (the Joint Liaison Group would be dissolved in 1999).[5] Eventually the year 1999 was agreed upon.[6]
On 13 April 1987, the Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau by the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Portuguese Republic was formally signed by the Prime Ministers of both governments in Beijing.[7]
Transition period (1987–1999)
The twelve years between the signing of the "Sino-Portuguese Declaration" on 13 April 1987 and the transfer of sovereignty on 20 December 1999 were known as "the transition".
On 15 January 1988, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Department announced the Chinese members of the groups that would begin the talk on the issues of Macau during the transition. On 13 April, the "Draft of the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region Committee" was established during the seventh National People's Congress, and on 25 October, the committee convened the first conference, in which they passed the general outline of the draft and the steps, and decided to organise the "Draft of the Basic Law of Macau Special Administrative Region Information Committee".[8] On 31 March 1993, the National People's Congress passed the resolution on the Basic Law of Macau, which marked the beginning of the latter part of the transition.[9]
Transfer
In the afternoon of 19 December 1999, the 127th Portuguese Governor of Macau Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira lowered the flags in Macau, which was the prelude of the ceremony for the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region.[10] The official transfer of sovereignty was held at midnight on that day at the Cultural Centre of Macau Garden. The ceremony began in the evening and ended at dawn of 20 December.
The evening of 19 December began with dragon and lion dances. These were followed by a slideshow of historical events and features of Macau, which included a mixture of the religions and races of the East and the West, and the unique society of native Portuguese born in Macau. In the final performance, 442 children who represented the 442 years of Portuguese history in Macau were presented along with several international stars to perform the song "Praise for Peace".
Aftermath
After the transfer of the sovereignty of Macau to China, the Macau Special Administrative Region, the Legislative Assembly and the Judiciary were all put into practice accordingly under the regulation of the Basic Law.
The introduction of the Individual Visit Scheme policy made it easier for Chinese mainland residents to travel back and forth. In 2005 alone, there were more than 10 million tourists from mainland China, which made up 60% of the total number of tourists in Macau. The income from the gambling houses in Macau reached almost US$5.6 billion.[11] On 15 July 2005, the Historic Centre of Macau was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site. The increasing development of tourism became a major factor in the rapid development of the economy of Macau.
For Portugal, the transfer of the sovereignty of Macau to China marked the end of the Portuguese Empire and its decolonisation process and also the end of European imperialism in China and Asia.[12]
Before and after handover
Unchanged after 20 December 1999 | Changed after 20 December 1999 |
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See also
- Handover of Hong Kong
- One country, two systems
- Handover Gifts Museum of Macao
- Time Capsule (Macau)
References
- Mayers, William Frederick (1902). Treaties Between the Empire of China and Foreign Powers (4th ed.). Shanghai: North-China Herald. pp. 156–157.
- Naked Tropics: Essays on Empire and Other Rogues, Kenneth Maxwell, Psychology Press, 2003
- 朱杏桂. "澳門回歸". 中葡文化交流.
4月13日,中國國務院總理 趙紫陽、葡萄牙總理 席爾瓦分別代表兩國政府在北京正式簽署《中華人民共和國政府和葡萄牙共和國政府關於澳門問題的聯合聲明》,確認中華人民共和國政府將於1999年12月20日對澳門恢復行使主權。
- 《澳門歷史的見證:中葡關於澳門問題聯合聲明簽署儀式圖輯》. 澳門日報出社. January 2000.
- "Sino-British Joint Liaison Group | South China Morning Post". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- Cheng, Kris (27 November 2017). "Declassified: Portugal may have hoped for a 2004 Handover of Macau to China, instead of 1999". Hong Kong Free Press.
- Portugal, China Sign Accord to Return Tiny Macao to Chinese Control in 1999, United Press International, Los Angeles Times, 14 April 1987
- 关于澳门特别行政区基本法起草委员会名单(草案)的说明,中国人大网,1988年08月29日
- 澳門中華總商會:澳門主權交接祖國大事記 Archived 2005-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
- 澳督府降旗:澳門移交開始,BBC中文網1999年12月19日
- "Voice of America (Chinese): The gambling income in Macau is catching up with Las Vegas".
- "港澳比較調查顯示:澳門市民比香港市民支持政府". hkupop.hku.hk.
- Portuguese makes comeback in Macau "portuguese-makes-comeback-macau Portuguese makes comeback in Macau". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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Further reading
- Lai, Pauline Pou San. "Civil service training in the Macau Government" (Chapter 7). In: Podger, Andrew and John Wanna (editors). Sharpening the Sword of State: Building Executive Capacities in the Public Services of Asia-Pacific. ANU Press, 2016. ISBN 9781760460723 (paperback), 9781760460730 (ebook). HTML version of the chapter.
- Chan, Ming K. (August 2003). "Different Roads to Home: The Retrocession of Hong Kong and Macau to Chinese sovereignty" (PDF). Journal of Contemporary China. 12 (36): 493–518. doi:10.1080/10670560305473. S2CID 925886.
- Silva Fernandes, Moisés. "Portuguese Behavior Towards the Political Transition and Regional Integration of Macau in the Pearl River Region" (PDF).
External links
- Official website
- The Chinese garrison in Macau (in Chinese)