Macao
Special Administrative Region
(Population: 455,000)
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Located west of the Pearl River estuary
in Guangdong Province, 40 nautical miles west of Hong Kong, Macao’s 24 sq km of
area comprise the Macao Peninsula, Taipa Island and Coloane Island. Macao has
been a part of Chinese territory since ancient times. In 1553, the Portuguese
bribed local government officials in Guangdong to gain permission to drop
anchor in Macao’s harbor and engage in trade. In 1557, the Portuguese began to
settle nearby. In the period following the Opium War of 1840, taking advantage
of the weakness of the Qing government, the Portuguese successively seized
Taipa and Coloane islands to the south of the Macao Peninsula.
The government of the PRC has consistently maintained that at the appropriate
time a
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peaceful, negotiated solution to this problem inherited from the past should be
found. Between June 1986 and March 1987, delegations from the two governments
held four rounds of talks. Finally, on April 13, 1987, the “Joint Declaration
on the Question of Macao by the Governments of the People’s Republic of China
and the Republic of Portugal” was formally signed in Beijing.
On December 20, 1999, the Chinese and Portuguese governments held a hand-over
ceremony as scheduled in accordance with the “Joint Declaration on the Question
of Macao,” marking the resumption of sovereignty by China over Macao. At the
same time, the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) was formally
established, and the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region,
adopted in March 1993 at the First Session of the Eighth NPC, came into effect.
The Chinese government implements the basic policies of “one country, two
systems,” “administration of Macao by the Macao people” and “a high degree of
autonomy” in Macao, as stipulated by the Basic Law. The MSAR enjoys a high
degree of autonomy, and its political, economic, cultural and educational
systems are similar to those of the HKSAR. )
Since the founding of the MSAR, Ho Hau-Wah (何厚骅), the first Chief Executive, and
the government of the MSAR have scrupulously abided by their duties, promoting
Macao’s economic development and social stability and making the situation of
public order much better than the past.
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| Mr. Edmund Ho was made Chief
Executive-elect on 15 May 1999 by the Selection Committee for the Chief
Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR). He was appointed
Chief Executive-designate on 20 May of the same year by the Premier of the
State Council, Zhu Rongji, and was formally sworn in as Chief Executive at a
special ceremony marking the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative
Region on 20 December 1999.
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