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Article 16: This article deals with the SAR managing on its own the administrative affairs of the region, and the new version drops a final phrase "in accordance with the relevant provisions of this law". Again this phrase, which is not perhaps strictly necessary, had been based on the equivalent article in the Hong Kong Basic Law.
Article 19: the article refers to the need for the Chief Executive to make a statement concerning acts of state in relation to court cases, whereas the previous version spoke of him issuing a certificate. The latter is the formula used in the Hong Kong Basic Law equivalent article.
Chapter III: Fundamental Rights and Duties
4. A specific reference to the protection of the rights and interests of women is added in Article 38 and a reference to the right to education is included in the list in Article 37 (residents have the freedom of "education, academic research, literary and artistic creation and other cultural pursuits") . the drafting has been tightened up is some places:
Article 24 (which deals with definitions of Macao resident). The old sub-section (3) has been merged into the two previous one; a redundant reference to "before or after the establishment of the Macao SAR" has been dropped; the phrase "which state their right of abode" has been added to description of permanent ID cards obtainable by permanent residents.
Chapter IV: Political Structure.
5.
There are some changes to the powers of the Chief Executive. The scope of principal officials whose appointment need be reported to the central government is reduced by the omission of Deputy Secretaries (50:6). His powers of appointment of Legislative Councillors are more specifically limited to "a portion of the Legislative Councillors" which is more in line with the Annexes.
6. Those eligible for membership of the Executive Council (Article 58) are defined as "principal officials of the government, members of the Legislative Council, and public figures. Similar phraseology is used in the Hong Kong Basic Law but did not appear in the earlier version of the Macao one.
7.
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Article 53, dealing with the dissolution of the Legislative Council, has been redrafted but without materially altering its
sense.
8. Principal officials (Article 64) are now required to declare their assets to the President of the Court of Final Appeal and put them on record.
9. Articles 69 and 70 of the earlier draft dealing with the formation of the Legislative Council have been amalgamated. In the process the concession that "permanent residents of the region who
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