Macao

Macao is Chinese territory from the antiquity and was occupied by the Portuguese colonialistas at the end of century XIX. After the foundation of the New China, the Chinese Government, with the purpose of to safeguard the state sovereignty and territorial integrity, pleaded to solve this problem bequeathed of the past of pacific and adapted form when the conditions were mature for it.

In 1984, Deng Xiaoping proposed for the first time to solve the problem of Macao with the principle of “a country, two systems”, like the problem of Hong Kong. Since then and after five of years of several rounds of negotiations, Macao expeditious returned to the mother country the 20 of December of 1999.

After a year and months of return, the new practice of the principles of “a country, two systems”, “the administration of Macao by the macaenses” and a high degree of autonomy has had a good beginning and in Macao it has appeared a new atmosphere.

The public order has improved remarkably in the region. In a period previous to the return, the public order was an excellent problem in Macao while the organized delinquency was quite rampante and bought ample concern to the local residents and the community of the outside. With the return to the country, the Government of Special the Administrative Region of Macao (RAEM) took as fundamental task the solution from the problem of the public order and obtained remarkable results. Thanks to it, the incidence of serious criminal cases has lowered in great margin, the rate of detection of cases has raised considerably and the delinquency with violent force has been struck and put to ray, something that the residents have applauded with satisfaction.

The local economy has begun to rehabilitate itself generally. Between 1996 and 1999, the gross internal product (PIB) of Macao registered a negative growth by four years successive. In the year passed from the return, the Government of the RAEM has adopted with dynamism measured directed to promote the economic development and has conceived a new frame for the development in the future. By means of coordinated efforts of all the circles of the region, the economy of Macao as a whole is leaving the tunnel. In the 2000 GIP it was increased in 4%. At the same time, the Government of the RAEM has improved the atmosphere of investment actively, perfected the economic legislation, elevated the efficiency of the administration and abierto the market of movable telephones and Internet, in such a way that the local and foreign capitals have shown a grown desire to invest in Macao.

The local compatriots have unfolded the spirit of owners of their own destiny. With the return to the mother country that put aim in the long run domination of the foreigners, the administration of Macao by the macaenses represented by the patriotic ones was realized. The Government of the RAEM headed by the Executive Head Ho Hau Wah and the organs legislative and judicial has worked as he must and have persisted in implementing the principle of “a country, two systems”. In the first administrative year, according to the general principle of consisting of administration “the consolidation of fundamental and the stable development”, the Government of the RAEM has fulfilled firmness and pragmatism the administration responsibility. The public government employees has maintained its rows stable, has elevated the efficiency in certain way and has improved the public service until certain point. The compatriots and personalities of diverse sectors of the region, stimulated by “the administration of Macao by the macaenses”, have shown an ascending enthusiasm to participate in the administration and construction of the locality and in the state subjects.

Macao has fortified its bonds with the rear area and other regions of the world. Their interchange and cooperation with the interior of China have become more Straits in the fields of the economy, the education, science and technology, the culture and the sport. For example, the number of travellers arrived from the interior at Macao was increased in more than 40% in the 2000. In first half of the same year, Macao undertook 152 new projects of investment in the continental part. In comparison with the previous year the number of macaenses students enrolled for the admission increased in more than 20% in the teaching institutions superiors of the rear area. The macaenses compatriots are interested in the construction and the reunification of the country and actively gets up them, on a large scale supports with ardor the operation of the west of the mother country, they endorse to Peking by the candidacy to the Olympic Games of the 2008, and exhort and they promote the materialization of the reunification of both borders of the Straits of Taiwan with subjection to the way of “a country, two systems”. Paralelamente, Macao continues putting into play its peculiar advantages to harness its economic and cultural bows and interchanges with the outside and has unfolded more its paper of bridge between the interior of China and the European Union.

The administration by legal route has been reinforced in the region. From the return the administration of Macao has implemented itself according to the law. First of all, the RAEM has had concientiously the administration power, the legislative power and the independent judicial power including the last instance conferred by the Fundamental Law, the local residents have enjoyed right plenary sessions and liberties of word, press, association, religious creed, etc., briefed in the Fundamental Law, the interests of the residents of Portuguese ancestry have been protected by the law and their customs and cultural tradition have been respected. Secondly, considering the necessity of the social development and in agreement with the pertinent stipulations of the Fundamental Law, the Government of the RAEM has elaborated and modified a series of important laws related to the economy and the life of the population and he has been dedicated to create good surroundings for the administration governed by the law.

In short, from the return of a year ago with months, the situation of Macao has maintained a good tendency of development, the local society has lived generally a climate on unit, harmony and prosperity, and the residents feel major confidence in the principle of “a country, two systems” and in the future of the region.

The 20 of December of the 2000 a great ceremony of celebration of the first anniversary of the RAEM in the Multifunctional Theater of the Cultural Center of Macao took place. The President of the Republic Jiang Zemin, present in the ceremony, said that the return of Macao to the lap of the mother country after so many vicissitudes is been from the long and arduous fight and made an effort overcoming of the Chinese town, as well as a victory of the great thought formulated by Mr. Deng Xiaoping for “the pacific reunification and a country, two systems”. From the return to the mother country for a year and months, the Government of the RAEM headed by Mr. Ho Hau Wah, advancing in the pragmatic spirit, he has been leading to the masses of local residents to surpass all class of difficulties, from whose you are has arisen a new and encouraging atmosphere in many aspects. The facts demonstrate convincingly that the principles of “a country, two systems”, “the administration of Macao by the macaenses” and a high degree of autonomy are entirely correct, and that the local residents have total capacity to administer the region well.

The Executive Head of the RAEM, Ho Hau Wah, expressed in the occasion that the principles of “a country, two systems”, “the administration of Macao by the macaenses” and a high degree of autonomy had passed without frights the preliminary test in the region and had been appreciable successful. In the passed year, it said, the Central Government and the diverse departments of the rear area had completely implemented the spirit of “a country, two systems”, they had not made any intervention in the subjects that squared within the framework of autonomy of the RAEM, but not only had supported more active to the stability and the development of the region.

From the return, it added Ho, we have relied strictly on the stipulated thing in the Law Fundamental to practice the administration. When working of normal form, the Government of the RAEM has demonstrated to have the due capacity of administration. The civil servants of all the hierarchies have perseverado in their jobs, the atmosphere of the market has improved, the public order gradually has received a still more remarkable improvement, the economy has left the hardship of impase and it has embarked about the way of the recovery, and the society as a whole has stayed stable at the same time as it marches ahead little by little. Ho said that the administration of the government would have to count on the active collaboration and participation of the citizens to be able to be successful. During the passed year, the masses of citizens, in the spirit of being owners, have collaborated actively with the administration of the government and have made excellent contributions in many scopes.

To be invincible and to continue being developed of safe form, it concluded Ho, Macao will have to make integral, precise and exhaustive use of the guarantees provided by the basic principle of “a country, two systems” to improve of continuous the internal conditions and to lift the own competitive capacity, to assume a positive attitude to take advantage of the impetus the development of the rear area and of the rest of the world with the purpose of to intensify the mutually complementary cooperation with Guangdong, Hong Kong and the bordering regions, to accelerate the renovation and optimization of the surpassed sectors of Macao and to in this way impel the synchronous development in the other fields. In the coming years, Ho promised that the Government of the RAEM will be prepared to work inflexibly in agreement with the stipulated thing in the Law Fundamental to construct to a home of peace and happiness for the sake of the citizens of Macao.