I
CONFIDENTIAL
t
FROM:
PAB Thomson,
FED
DATE:
MINISTER: FOR IN. U
8 July 1983
Mr Elliott
Private Secretary
Mr Thanson FE
FED
Can we not
mr mre
2
about fana s
cc: PS/Mr Luce PS/PUS
R
RICHARD LUCE:
Mr Giffard
Mr Donald
Mr Burrows, Legal
Planning Staff
HKD
Advise
MKKC020/11 (16)
CHINA:
SPECIAL REGIMES: MACAO
1. Mr Lyscom of Planning Staff has pointed out that Mr ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈ Elliott's minute of 7 July on ''special regimes'' established by the Chinese did not mention Macao, and that the present arrangements for Macao, although not formalised by the Chinese, were relevant to what the Prime Minister had in mind in her conversation of 15 June. I have therefore summarised below the evolution of those arrangements.
2. The Portuguese received permission from the Chinese authorities in Canton to establish a settlement in Macao in 1557 but the status of Macao was not clarified legally until 1887 when, by treaty, the Chinese confirmed the perpetual occupation and government of Macao and its dependencies by Portugal as any other Portuguese possession. A further clause (included to meet British fears that the Portuguese might face pressure to cede Macao, thereby presenting a challenge to British interests in Hong Kong) stipulated that Macao should not be alienated by Portugal without the agreement of China.
3. The government of the PRC do not recognise the 1887 treaty. They regard Macao as Chinese territory, occupied by Portugal. Official PRC statements describe Macao as a problem left over from history to be resolved when conditions are ripe''.
4.
1 1
11
There is no official Chinese representative in Macao and the ''Statute of the Territory of Macao (embodied in the Portuguese constitution) provides that Macao enjoys ''administrative, economic, financial and legislative autonomy'' Macao is still represented in the Portuguese Parliament.
CONFIDENTIAL
/5.
*