CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
future,'
tuguese nat- ality can
ly be acquired descent from rtuguese ments.
the Governor's nominations were intended to redress this
balance in favour of the 97% Chinese population. The PRC
would be opposed to a fully democratic assembly, as it would
imply a different Portuguese perception of the territory.
The debate, however, continues in Portugal and Macau. Some
Portuguese parties believe that the Portuguese Government should
propose the Governor, whom the President would then appoint.
One of the Macau political parties, the Association for the Defence of the Interests of Macau still apparently favours
reforms under which the Governor would lose the right to
appoint the five members of the Legislative Assembly and the
Assembly would no longer need a 2/3rds majority to overcome
the Government's veto.
9. In the same interview, the Governor said that there were
now 10,000 registered electors out of a total population of
400,000. In the last elections (September 1980), however,
only 2400 (mostly Portuguese) exercised their vote out of a
registered electorate of 4,000.
10.
Until the passage of the recent Portuguese Nationality bill persons born in Macau acquired Portuguese nationality automatically. Providing they had registered, they could
obtain a Portuguese passport with unrestricted access to the
metropolitan country. They could also vote in Portuguese elections. Naturalisation for those not born in Macauwas a
difficult process. The applicant had to demonstrate an
ability to speak Portuguese and a connection with Portugal.
It is unlikely that many new arrivals from China acquired
Portuguese citizenship in this way.
CONFIDENTIAL
/Macau's