Macau

 ( People's Republic Of China ) 

Although the Portuguese were initially prohibited from fortifying Macau or stockpiling weapons, the Fortaleza do Monte was constructed in response to frequent Dutch naval incursions. The Dutch attempted to take the city in the 1622 Battle of Macau, but were repelled successfully by the Portuguese. Macau entered a period of decline in the 1640s following a series of catastrophic events for the burgeoning colony: Portuguese access to trade routes was irreparably severed when Sakoku in 1639, and after the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640, Portuguese Malacca fell to the Dutch in 1641...

Maritime trade with China was banned in 1644 following the Qing conquest under the Haijin policies. It was limited only to Macau on a lesser scale while the new dynasty focused on eliminating surviving Ming loyalists.. While the Kangxi Emperor lifted the prohibition in 1684, China again restricted trade decades later under the Canton System in 1757.. Foreign ships were required to stop first at Macau before further proceeding to Guangzhou.. Qing authorities exercised a much greater role in governing the territory during this period; Chinese residents were subject to Qing courts and new construction had to be approved by the resident mandarin beginning in the 1740s.. As the opium trade became more lucrative during the 18th century, Macau again became an important stopping point en route to China..

Following the First Opium War and the establishment of Hong Kong by the British, Macau lost its role as a major port.. Firecracker and incense production, as well as tea and tobacco processing, were vital industries in the colony during this time... Portugal was able to capitalise on China's postwar weakness and assert its sovereignty; the Governor of Macau began refusing to pay China annual land rent for the colony in the 1840s,. and annexed Taipa and Coloane, in 1851 and 1864, respectively.. Portugal also occupied nearby Lapa and Hengqin. But these were returned to China by 1887, when perpetual occupation rights over Macau were formalised in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. This agreement also prohibited Portugal from ceding Macau without Chinese approval.. Despite occasional conflict between Cantonese authorities and the colonial government, Macau's status remained unchanged through the republican revolutions of both Portugal in 1910 and China in 1911.. The Kuomintang further affirmed Portuguese jurisdiction in Macau when the Treaty of Peking was renegotiated in 1928.

During the Second World War, the Empire of Japan did not occupy the colony and generally respected Portuguese neutrality in Macau. However, after Japanese troops captured a British cargo ship in Macau waters in 1943, Japan installed a group of government "advisors" as an alternative to military occupation. The territory largely avoided military action during the war except in 1945, when the United States ordered air raids on Macau after learning that the colonial government was preparing to sell aviation fuel to Japan. In 1950, the United States paid Portugal more than US$20 million in compensation for the damage during the war..

Refugees from mainland China swelled the population as they fled from the Chinese Civil War. Access to a large workforce enabled Macau's economy to grow as the colony expanded its clothing and textiles manufacturing industry, developed its tourism industry, and legalised casino gaming.. However, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, residents dissatisfied with the colonial administration rioted in the 1966 12-3 incident, in which 8 people were killed and more than 200 were injured. Portugal lost full control over the colony afterwards, and agreed to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party in exchange for continued administration of Macau..

Following the 1974 Carnation Revolution, Portugal formally relinquished Macau as an overseas province and acknowledged it as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration".. After China first concluded arrangements on Hong Kong's future with the United Kingdom, it entered negotiations with Portugal over Macau in 1986.

These concluded with the signing of the 1987 Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, in which Portugal agreed the handover of the colony in 1999 and China guaranteed Macau's political and economic systems for 50 years after the handover.. In the waning years of colonial rule, Macau rapidly urbanised and constructed large-scale infrastructure projects, including the Macau International Airport and a new container port.. The handover of Macau was at midnight on 20 December 1999, after 442 years of Portuguese rule.

Following the handover, Macau liberalised its casino industry (which previously operated under a government-licensed monopoly) to allow foreign investors, starting a new period of economic development. The regional economy grew by a double-digit annual growth rate from 2002 to 2014, making Macau one of the richest economies in the world on a per capita basis.. Political debates have centred on the region's jurisdictional independence and the central government's adherence of "one country, two systems". While issues such as national security legislation have been controversial, Macanese residents generally have high levels of trust in the government. Kwong and Wong explain this by comparing Macau to Hong Kong: "The case of Macau shows that the very small size of a 'microstate' helps central authorities to exercise political control, stifle political pluralism, and monopolize opinions, all of which strengthen regime persistence."

The regional government is composed of three branches:

• Executive: The Chief Executive is responsible for enforcing regional law, Chapter IV Article 50. can force reconsideration of legislation, Chapter IV Article 51. and appoints Executive Council members, a portion of the legislature, and principal officials. Acting with the Executive Council, the Chief Executive can propose new bills, issue subordinate legislation, Chapter IV Article 58. and has authority to dissolve the legislature. Chapter IV Article 52.
• Legislature: The unicameral Legislative Assembly enacts regional law, approves budgets, and has the power to impeach a sitting Chief Executive. Chapter IV Article 71.
• Judiciary: The Court of Final Appeal and lower courts, whose judges are appointed by the Chief Executive on the advice of a recommendation commission, Chapter IV Article 87. interpret laws and overturn those inconsistent with the Basic Law. Chapter VIII Article 143.

The Chief Executive is the head of government, and serves for a maximum of two five-year terms. Chapter IV Article 48. The State Council (led by the Premier of China) appoints the Chief Executive after nomination by the Election Committee, which is composed of 400 business, community, and government leaders.. Chapter IV Article 47.

The Legislative Assembly has 33 members, each serving a four-year term: 14 are directly elected, 12 indirectly elected, and 7 appointed by the Chief Executive.. Indirectly elected assemblymen are selected from limited electorates representing sectors of the economy or special interest groups.. All directly elected members are chosen with proportional representation..

Twelve political parties had representatives elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2017 election.. These parties have aligned themselves into two ideological groups: the pro-establishment (the current government) and pro-democracy camps.. Macau is represented in the National People's Congress by 12 deputies chosen through an electoral college, and 29 delegates in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference appointed by the central government.

Macau has generally congenial relations with China's central government.

Chinese national law does not generally apply in the region, and Macau is treated as a separate jurisdiction. Its judicial system is based on Portuguese civil law, continuing the legal tradition established during colonial rule. Interpretative and amending power over the Basic Law and jurisdiction over acts of state lie with the central authority, however, making regional courts ultimately subordinate to the mainland's socialist law civil law system. Decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress can also override territorial judicial processes.. In 2021, after similar actions were taken in Hong Kong following the protests associated with the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, 21 candidates running for office in the territorial elections were disqualified as a result of allegedly failing to support the Basic Law, although no specific violations were noted by the territory's electoral commission.

The territory's jurisdictional independence is most apparent in its immigration and taxation policies. The Identification Department issues passports for permanent residents which differ from those issued by the mainland or Hong Kong, and the region maintains a regulated border with the rest of the country.. All travellers between Macau and China and Hong Kong must pass border controls, regardless of nationality.

Chinese citizens resident in mainland China do not have the right of abode in Macau and are subject to immigration controls. Chapter III Article 24. Public finances are handled separately from the national government, and taxes levied in Macau do not fund the central authority. Chapter V Article 104.

The Macao Garrison is responsible for the region's defence. Although the Chairman of the Central Military Commission is supreme commander of the armed forces, Chapter 3 § 4 (93). the regional government may request assistance from the garrison.. Macau residents are not required to perform military service and the law also has no provision for local enlistment, so its defence force is composed entirely of nonresidents..

The State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle diplomatic matters, but Macau retains the ability to maintain separate economic and cultural relations with foreign nations. Chapter II Article 12. The territory negotiates its own trade agreements and actively participates in supranational organisations, including agencies of the World Trade Organization and United Nations.

The regional government maintains trade offices in Greater China and other nations..

Public political demonstrations in Macau are generally rare.

Macau is located on China's southern coast, west of Hong Kong, on the western side of the Pearl River estuary. It is surrounded by the South China Sea in the east and south, and neighbours the Guangdong city of Zhuhai to the west and north.. The territory consists of Macau Peninsula, Taipa, and Coloane.. A parcel of land in neighbouring Hengqin island that hosts the University of Macau also falls under the regional government's jurisdiction. The territory's highest point is Coloane Alto, above sea level.

Urban development is concentrated on peninsular Macau, where most of the population lives.. The peninsula was originally a separate island with hilly terrain, which gradually became a tombolo as a connecting sandbar formed over time. Both natural sedimentation and land reclamation expanded the area enough to support urban growth.. Macau has tripled its land area in the last century, increasing from in the late 19th century to in 2018.

Cotai, the area of reclaimed land connecting Taipa and Coloane, contains many of the newer casinos and resorts established after 1999. The region's jurisdiction over the surrounding sea was greatly expanded in 2015, when it was granted an additional of maritime territory by the State Council.. Further reclamation is underway to develop parts of the Macau New Urban Zone.. The territory also has control over part of an artificial island to maintain a border checkpoint for the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge.

Macau healthcare authorities send patients to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong in instances where the local Macau hospitals are not equipped to deal with their scenarios, and many Macau residents intentionally seek healthcare in Hong Kong because they place more trust in Hong Kong doctors than in Mainland-trained doctors operating in Macau.