Macao was the first Chinese territory
to fall into the hands of Western colonialists, as starting in 1553, the Portuguese
gradually asserted their power over it.
At the end of 1970s, China and Portugal reached agreement in principle on issue
of Macao. From 1986 to 1987, after peaceful and friendly negotiations, China and
Portugal signed the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Issue of Macao
on April 13th, 1987, affirming that Chinese government would resume exercise of
its sovereignty over the territory on December 20th, 1999.
At 23:42 on December 19th, 1999, the hand-over ceremony formally opened, in the
presence of PRC President Jiang Zemin, Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, and other
leading governmental officials. At zero hour on December 20th, Jiang Zemin declared
the resumption of exercise of Chinese sovereignty over Macao by Chinese government.
Then, Ho Hau-Wah, the first Chief Executive of Macao Special Administrative Region
(MSAR) took the oath of office.
Reference data
Macao
Situated on the west bank of Pearl River Delta, Macao covers an area of 23.5 square
kilometers. with a population of about 440,000. It is a place where Eastern and
Western cultures converge. Macao has a free economic system. In recent years, tourism,
gambling and various services and trades have gradually replaced manufacturing industry
in becoming economic mainstay.
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