Macau became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on December 20, 1999. Its constitutional document, the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), came into force on the same day. Over the past 20 years, the MSAR government has successfully implemented the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”, “Macau people governing Macau” and a high degree of autonomy and has governed Macau in strict compliance with the Basic Law. Macau now enjoys social stability, continued fast economic growth, and harmonious coexistence among its different communities including the Portuguese and Macanese. People in Macau live and work in contentment and their living standards keep on improving. Macau enhances its role and image through active exchanges with partners in the region and the world.
According to the Basic Law, the MSAR exercises a high degree of autonomy except in defence and foreign affairs. It enjoys executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication. Under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, the socialist system and policies are not practiced in the MSAR, and the previous capitalist system and way of life remain unchanged for 50 years. In light of the principle of “Macau people governing Macau” and a high degree of autonomy, Macau permanent residents have the right to vote and the right to stand for election, and elections for the chief executive and the Legislative Council were smoothly held in accordance with law. In addition to the Chinese language, Portuguese may also be used as an official language in the MSAR.
After the establishment of the MSAR, Macau’s relationship with Portugal has entered a new phase. The MSAR government attaches importance to the traditional ties with Portugal. Edmund Ho Hau-wah, Macau’s then chief executive, visited Portugal in May 2000 and June 2006, while Fernando Chui Sai On, the current chief executive, visited Portugal in June 2010 and September 2016. Both had meetings with the Portuguese president, prime minister and relevant ministers, and agreements were signed to enhance the development and deepening of the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in the economic field and trade, culture, education, language, sports, tourism, environmental protection and other fields. Portugal’s then presidents, Jorge Sampaio and Aníbal Cavaco Silva, visited Macau in January 2005 and May 2014 respectively, which showed that the Portuguese side places importance on enhancing relations and maintaining high-level mutual visits with Macau. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa just paid a visit to Macau, from April 30 to May 1, during which he was able to closely observe the development of the MSAR in the last 20 years, and exchanged views with the government and people from various sectors on the promotion of cooperation between Portugal and Macau. In order to implement specific exchanges and cooperation in different sectors between Macau and Portugal, the two governments established the Macau-Portugal Joint Committee and took turns to host meetings in Macau and Lisbon. In October 2018, the committee’s fifth meeting was held in Macau.
O Tin Lin, director of the Macau Economic and Trade Office in Lisbon, poses at the office last December. Courtesy Puxinbao
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