A Model for Macau?
1986; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00927678.1986.9933664
ISSN1940-1590
Autores Tópico(s)Economic Zones and Regional Development
Resumon 24 May 1985, during a visit made by Portuguese President Antonio n Ramalho Eanes to Beijing, it was announced that negotiations between China and Portugal over the Macau question would start in 1986. A joint Chinese-Portuguese communique indicated that the principles for solving the Hong Kong question could apply to Macau as well.' The first round of talks between delegations from the two countries were then scheduled for 30 June 1986 in Beijing, where the agenda was agreed upon.2 Although the outcome of the talks is of vital importance for the future of Macau, there has been very little public discussion in Macau. The attitude of the people of Macau toward the future seems to be passive, almost apathetic.3 No person has emerged so far as a mouthpiece of the Macau people -comparable, for example, to Dr. Martin Lee in Hong Kong. This seems surprising in view of Macau's colorful history, the anomaly of its legal position, and the vivid, sometimes hysterical interest that (between 1982 and 1984) accompanied the talks over Hong Kong's future. The Portuguese negotiation team, led by the former United Nations Ambassador Rui Medina, does not appear to be in the best possible situation to represent Macau's interests in Beijing. Neither former Governor Almeida e Costa, who had earned credit in Macau as well as the respect of the Chinese government, nor any other Macau insider is a member of the team. The implicit Portuguese attitude toward the negotiations is worrying local leaders. By contrast, O Chi Ping, head of Nam Kwong Company (China's political representative in Macau), is a member of the Chinese delegation. Given little public expression of interest on the part of both the Macau population and the Portuguese, one wonders how the oldest European settlement in the
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