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Vice president of Macau's Federation of Trade Unions, Lau Cheuk-wah, felt that the agreement was satisfactory because it took into consideration the interests of the
community as a whole.
He urged the people of Macau to participate actively in the drafting of the Basic Law.
Prominent business leaders including Ho Hau-wah, Tso Kee-chung, Tong Sing-chiu and
Sung Yat-chuen all pledged support to the joint declaration.
Chairman of the Macau Civic Association, Henrique Senna Fernandoes, told the
electronic media personally that he was not satisfied with the nationality arrangement.
Mr Fernandoes said that he was worried for his grandchildren as the memorandum
stipulated that anyone born after 1999 could not claim Portuguese citizenship.
Another Macau lawyer said that it was unfair to make it mandatory for anyone born in Macau after 1999 to become Chinese nationals. He urged clarification.
In HK, some local scholars and leading businessmen, including Sir Y.K. Pao, David Li, Lawrence Chu, Edward Chen and Victor Sit hailed the agreement as another piece of evidence that the "one country two systems" formula is both acceptable and effective.
However, Legco member Lee Yu-tai availed himself for another chance to criticise the British authorities for their nationality policy towards the HK people.
His criticism was shared by Dr Joseph Cheng of the Chinese University.
Children born to Portuguese nationals in Macau after December 20, 1999 could obtain Portuguese citizenship under the Portuguese nationality act 1981, the Oriental Daily News reported prominently (28.3) quoting a Macau official.
The official explained that the Portuguese memorandum in the Macau agreement was referring to territorial link when it said that no person would acquire Portuguese citizenship by virtue of a connection with Macau. The stipulation meant that after the handover, Macau-born residents could not obtain Portuguese citizenship through naturalisation.
In moderate coverage, the papers reported that an editorial in the
People's Daily welcomed the Sino-Portuguese agreement and said the smooth solution to the Macau question proved the strength and vitality of the "one country, two systems" concept. The paper said in the past two years, HK had not only maintained its prosperity and stability but also achieved economic advances.
A China News Service report quoted the chairman of Macau's Legislative Assembly, Carlos d'Assumpcao, as saying that the agreement displayed mutual respect, mutual under- standing and mutual accommodation between China and Portugal and that the people in Macau could put their hearts at ease. He said the Macau Government should appoint more locals in senior posts.