Macao

Type of Government

Macao is governed as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. It is directly under the authority of the Chinese central government but has a high degree of independence in its economic and political affairs.

Background

Macao is one of two special administrative regions of the People’s Republic of China (the other is Hong Kong). It is located on the southeastern coast of China on the Pearl River estuary. The Macao Special Administrative Region comprises the Macao Peninsula, which extends from Guangdong province to the islands of Taipa and Colôane; the islands are connected to the mainland by bridges.

Because of its strategic location, Macao became a stopping point for international merchants early on. The area was first settled in the mid-sixteenth century by the Portuguese, who established a trading post there for commerce between Lisbon, Portugal, and Nagasaki, Japan. Beginning in 1670 Portugal leased the Macao Peninsula from China and appointed a governor to oversee its operations, though the Chinese retained official sovereignty over the territory. Macao thrived as a center of trade until the mid-nineteenth century, when it was eclipsed by Hong Kong, which became a free port under British control in the 1840s.

Portugal stopped making lease payments to China in 1849 and declared Macao independent of Chinese rule. According to the Treaty of Tianjin (1862), Macao became a Portuguese colony; however, the Chinese never ratified the treaty, so the territory was never officially ceded to the Portuguese. Macao’s status was resolved by the Protocol of Lisbon (1887), which stipulated that China would recognize Portugal’s right to occupy and govern Macao; in exchange Portugal agreed that it would not transfer the territory to another country without China’s approval.

Following a military coup d’état (sudden overthrow of a government) in Portugal in 1974, the Portuguese government granted independence to Macao and recognized the region as a Chinese territory. The Chinese, however, did not accept the territory until 1979, when diplomatic relations were established between Portugal and the People’s Republic of China. The two nations finally reached an agreement to return Macao to Chinese rule in 1987. According to the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, Macao was declared a special administrative region within China, effective on December 20, 1999.

Government Structure

Macao is governed as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. It is directly under the authority of China’s central government, which controls defense and foreign policy matters, but has a high degree of independence in its economic and political affairs. Macao’s relationship with China and its governmental structure are outlined in the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region, which was adopted in 1999.

The president of the People’s Republic of China serves as Macao’s head of state. The chief executive serves as the head of government and is appointed to a five-year term by China’s central government on the recommendation of a three-hundred-member election committee. The chief executive is advised by the ten-person Executive Council.

Macao’s legislature, the Assembleia Legislativa da Região Administrativa (Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region), is unicameral—that is, it has only one chamber. The Legislative Assembly consists of twenty-nine members serving four-year terms: twelve members are directly elected by popular vote, ten members are appointed to represent the region’s main constituencies, and seven members are chosen by the chief executive.

The Macanese legal system is based on Portuguese law. The judiciary was administered from Portugal until 1993, when an independent court system was established. The Tribunal de Ultima Instancia (Court of Final Appeal), headed by a chief justice, is the ultimate judicial authority. All judges are appointed by the chief executive on the recommendation of a selection committee.

Political Parties and Factions

Macao has no formal political parties, but several political associations are represented in the legislature, including the Associação de Novo Macau Democrático (New Democratic Macao Association), the Associação dos Cidadãos Unidos de Macau (United Citizens Association of Macao), the União para o Desenvolvimento (Union for Development), and the União Promotora para o Progresso (Union for Promoting Progress).

Major Events

After more than four centuries of Portuguese rule Macao was returned to Chinese rule in 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, which was approved by the National People’s Congress of China in 1993 and became effective in 1999, gave the Macanese the right to elect local leaders, to travel freely within China, and to preserve their unique cultural heritage; in turn, the Chinese government assumed responsibility for Macao’s defense and foreign policy. The Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region, which also took effect in 1999, serves as Macao’s constitution. The treaty and the Basic Law are to remain in effect until 2049.

Twenty-First Century

In 2000 Macao held its first elections under Chinese rule, turning out a record number of voters and electing a Chinese-majority legislature. The region’s key challenge in the twenty-first century is the preservation of its independence and unique heritage under Chinese authority.

Gunn, Geoffrey C. Encountering Macau: A Portuguese City-State on the Periphery of China, 1557–1999. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1996.

Shipp, Steve. Macau, China: A Political History of the Portuguese Colony’s Transition to Chinese Rule. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1997.

Yee, Herbert S. Macau in Transition: From Colony to Autonomous Region. New York: Palgrave, 2001.