CATAMP (2)
+
MACAU
CONFIDENTIAL
TALKS WITH PORTUGUESE POLITICAL DIRECTOR: 31 MARCH
Background
SINO-PORTUGUESE NEGOTIATIONS
1.
In June 1986 Portugal and China began negotiations on the
future of Macau. After four formal rounds of talks, a draft
reached. It was initialled in Peking on 26
agreement
has been
March: we do not yet know its content.
2.
We know little of what has passed between the two sides in course the case of, the negotiations, but both have told us separately that the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong is the model for the agreement. (Indeed, as in the Joint Declaration, a 50 year transitional period has been agreed upon during which Macau's capitalist system will be retained.) The Chinese seem to have taken this for granted from the outset, thereby initially causing some offence to Portuguese pride. For their part the Portuguese approach to the negotiations seems have been ill-prepared and with no coherent policy or objectives.
3.
have been:
to
It is clear that the difficult points in the negotiations
(a)
(b)
The
The
Handover date: The Portuguese wanted a date early in the
century. twenty-first
Chinese made it a
of point
it should principle that
be no later than the
the turn of
century.
two sides
sides have settled on 20 December 1999,
after the Portuguese President apparently
decided to
accommodate Chinese wishes.
Nationality: Some 85,000 Macanese might be entitled to Portuguese nationality and Portugal wished them to be able to retain their nationality after Macau is restored to China. But the Chinese consider all ethnic Chinese Macanese to be nationals, and have always been firmly opposed to
Chinese
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.