Macau Returns to China, Raising Pressure on Taiwan for Reunification

Strategic Insights -

The handover of Macau from Portugal to China marked the end of European colonialism in Asia and the beginning of a new era of "one country, two systems" for the tiny sliver of territory that has been a Portuguese outpost since 1557. President Jiang Zemin attended the ceremony, where he explicitly linked the turnover to Chinese expectations that Taiwan soon would agree to be ruled by China under the same formula applied to Hong Kong and Macau. Despite the festive atmosphere, the transition was marred by the arrests of around 30 practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement who slipped into Macau from Hong Kong to protest the treatment of the sect in China.

Key Takeaways:

  • Macau returns to China after 442 years of Portuguese rule, with President Jiang Zemin explicitly linking the turnover to Chinese expectations that Taiwan soon would agree to be ruled by China under the same "one country, two systems" formula applied to Hong Kong and Macau.
  • The handover marks the end of European colonialism in Asia and the beginning of a new era of "one country, two systems" for Macau.
  • Macau's autonomy has been extended to include the practice of Roman Catholicism, which is strictly outlawed on the mainland.
  • Around 30 practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement were arrested in Macau in the last hours of Portuguese rule, sparking concerns over the future of Macau's autonomy.
  • Macau's citizens are far richer than their mainland Chinese cousins and they enjoy freedoms unknown across the border.
  • Portugal's legacy to Macau consists chiefly of a collection of elegant colonial buildings, an economy almost entirely dependent on gambling, and a chronic problem of organized crime.
  • The Portuguese were relieved to be going, and under circumstances far more dignified than its previous colonial departures, according to Macau's outgoing secretary of administration, Jorge Rangel.
  • China opened its doors to the outside world, and after Britain promised to return Hong Kong, did China agree also to reclaim Macau.
  • The return of Macau raises pressure on Taiwan, which has been resisting Beijing's attempts at reunification since 1949.

Statistics:

  • 442 years: the duration of Portuguese rule in Macau.
  • 1999: the year Macau returns to China.
  • 2,500: the number of dignitaries gathered in a giant tent on reclaimed land jutting into the South China Sea.
  • 95%: the percentage of Macau's 450,000 residents who are Chinese.
  • 450,000: the population of Macau.
  • 1557: the year Portugal established its first formal settlement in Macau.
  • 1949: the year China's civil war ended with the flight of the defeated Nationalist Party to Taiwan.
  • 1992: the year Portugal recognized Chinese as an official language in Macau.

Sources:

  • Chicago Tribune, "Macau Returns to China, Raising Pressure on Taiwan for Reunification" (1999)
  • Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
  • http://www.chicago.tribune.com/