China Regains Macau

On the west side of the Zhu (formerly Pearl) River Delta, 38 miles (61 km) west of Hong Kong, sits the tiny Portuguese territory of Macau. After 442 years of Portuguese control, this enclave of 430,000 residents reverts to full Chinese control on December 20, 1999.

Portugal, the mighty Renaissance-era exploration and trading power, settled at Macau in 1557 and formally annexed the territory in 1849. In the 18th and 19th centuries, China allowed only the ports of Macau and upstream Guangzhou (formerly Canton) to be open to European traders.

Although Portuguese is spoken by less than two percent of Macanese as their primary language, both Portuguese and Cantonese (spoken by 96% of the population) will remain official languages of the new Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) on December 20. In addition, the current currency, the Pataca, will remain official in the SAR.

The Macau SAR will remain highly autonomous, under the "one country, two systems," program established by China and also utilized in the Hong Kong SAR. Macau will have its own chief executive (the chief executive-designate has been chosen - Edmund Ho Hau Wah), a legislature, and judicial powers. China agrees that Macau will retain the current social and economic systems for at least fifty years.

The small, urban, territory of Macau (8.3 mi² or 21.45 km²) relies on tourism for 40% of its GNP and almost one-third of its employment. In an effort to further increase tourism, the Macau Museum opened last year and soon, the area will have its own theme park.

On December 20, a $30 million hand-over ceremony will herald a new era in Macau and for territories worldwide as one more dependent territory is relieved of their colonial government.

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