MACAU : BACKGROUND
CONFIDENTIAL
1
It is
Macau has a land area of 6 square miles and a population of
420,000 (including some 10,000 of mixed Portugues e/Chinese decent and 80,000 ethnic Chinese holding Portuguese passports). located 40 miles South-West of Hong Kong. Exports, mainly textiles, amounted to US $ 1.4 billion in 1987 (30 per cent above 1986) GDP is
also about US $ 1.4 billion. Tourism from Hong Kong and taxes on gambling are important sources of revenue.
2
Macau has been Portuguese since the 1550s and it is to be
returned to China on 20 December 1999 under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration signed on 13 April 1987.
3
The terms of the Joint Declaration on Macau are very similar to those of the UK/China Joint Declaration on Hong Kong. The wording of the Chinese memorandum on nationality questions associated with the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration is also very similar to that of the Chinese memorandum on nationality questions
in relation to Hong Kong associated with the UK/China Joint
Declaration. But under existing Portuguese nationality law holders
of Portuguese passports in Macau have right of abode in Portugal,
whereas British Dependent Territory Citizens and British Nationals
(Overseas) in Hong Kong do not have right of abode in the UK. (Mr Hum's submission of 1 May 1987 explains the differences in more
detail.)
4
Among important local issues are proposals for an international airport, to be built either on Chinese territory
nearby or on land to be reclaimed adjacent to Macau.
CONFIDENTIAL