Resumption by China of the Exercise of Sovereignty over Macao

While signing the Joint Declaration, the Chinese and Portuguese sides also exchanged a memorandum of understanding between them, in which they expressed their respective positions on the citizenship of the inhabitants in Macao.

The Joint Declaration is a very important historical document. It gives full expression to such principles as "one country, two systems", "Macao people administering Macao"and a high degree of autonomy. It has laid a sound legal foundation for the smooth resumption of the exercise of sovereignty by China over Macao and for the continued stability and development in Macao.

According to the Joint Declaration, a Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group will be set up when this Joint Declaration enters into force. The Joint Liaison Group shall be an organ for liaison, consultation and exchange of information between the two Governments. It shall not interfere in the administration of Macao, now shall it have any supervisory role over that administration. It shall perform the following functions: to conduct consultations on the implementation of the Joint Declaration and its Annexes; to exchange information and conduct consultations on matters relating to the transfer of government of Macao in 1999; to conduct consultations on actions to be taken by the two Governments to enable the Macao Special Administrative Region to maintain and develop external economic, cultural and other relations; and to exchange information and conduct consultations on other subjects as may be agreed by the two sides. Matters on which there is disagreement in the Joint Liaison Group shall be referred to the two Governments for solution through consultations. The Joint Liaison Group has altogether held 37 plenary meetings and many experts meetings to discuss matters related to a smooth transition and transfer of government in Macao. All these meetings have contributed to a successful settlement of the three big problems that Macao faced during its transitional period (namely, localization of public servants and localization of laws as well as the official status of the Chinese language) and many other problems such as Macao's accession to or its continued membership in international organizations concerned, the application of the relevant international conventions to Macao and inheritance of assets and archives of Macao. As a result, they have contributed to the smooth transition and transfer of government in Macao. The Joint Liaison Group concluded its mission on 1 Jan. 2000.

The drafting of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. In September 1988, the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region was set up under the National People' s Congress, which was responsible for the drafting of the Basic Law. The Committee was composed of 48 members with Mr. Ji Pengfei as its Chairman. On 31 March 1993, the Eighth National People's Congress adopted the draft Basic Law at its first session. The Basic Law is composed of the Preamble, General Principles, Relationship between the Central Authorities and the Macao Special Administrative Region, Fundamental Rights and Duties of Residents, Political Structure, Economy, Cultural and Social Affairs, External Affairs, Interpretation and Amendment of the Basic Law, Supplementary Provisions and three Annexes. China's basic policies toward Macao are thus specified in the form of a law. It gives full expression to the principles of "one country, two systems", "Macao people administering Macao" and a high degree of autonomy. It is thus a constitutional law for the Macao Special Administrative Region. It serves as a legal foundation for the Macao SAR to formulate all the necessary laws and policies.