MACAO TO KEEP EXISTING SYSTEM FOR 50 YEARS
Portuguese Prime Minister Anibal Cavaco
Silva said Portugal would hand back Macao to China on December
20, 1999, but added the existing political, economic and social
system there would be maintained until the year 2050.
    Cavaco Silva, speaking on national television hours before
the initialling in Peking of an agreement on the handover, said
that under the accord Macao would be a special administrative
region of China and would have a large measure of autonomy.
    Under the accord, Portuguese administration of the
territory would end on December 20, 1999 but the existing
system there would be maintained until the year 2050, Cavaco
Silva said.
    "The existing way of life in Macao, the Portuguese laws,
basically our political, economic and social system, will
remain in force for a further 63 years from now," he said.
    Cavaco Silva said he would go to Peking in the first half
of next month to formally sign the agreement with China, which
would then be submitted to Portugal's parliament for approval.
    Cavaco Silva said that after Portuguese administration of
Macao formally ended in 1999, the future government of the
territory would enjoy complete autonomy except in the areas of
defence and foreign relations. It would however be able to make
economic, trade and finance agreements with other countries.
    The head of government would be named on the basis of
elections held for the post.
    Macao would have an elected legislative assembly and an
independent judiciary. There would be religious freedom, a free
press and freedom of expression. The Portuguese language could
continue to be used in the government, assembly and courts.
    Cavaco Silva said the current financial system would
continue after the year 2000. The existing banks and freedom of
capital movements would be maintained as would the
convertibility of the pataca as the territory's monetary unit
and the legal protection of foreign investment.
    Only the Macao government would be able to collect taxes.
    Cavaco Silva said that those among Macao's 400,000
population who held Portuguese nationality on the date of the
handover would thereafter continue to be able to use their
Portuguese passports and their nationality rights.
    The nationality issue had been one of the points of
disagreement in the complex handover talks.
    The special administrative status to be granted to Macao
after its handover mirrors a similar accord for the nearby
British colony of Hong Kong, which reverts back to Chinese rule
in 1997 under a 1984 Sino-British agreement.
 Reuter
