Opinion

Beijing has 'major role' behind Macao's rise on international stage

By Huang Xiangyang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-17 11:37

MACAO: Beijing has played a major role in the dramatic rise of Macao's international status since the region's return to China a decade ago, said Lu Shumin, Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

"Macao's fate has always been interlinked with that of its motherland," Lu said.

Macao had "remained basically unknown under the colonial rule of the Portuguese", he said, adding that it was only after its return to China that the SAR gained international popularity, especially for its successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy.

Since Dec 12, 1999, Macao's Chief Executive Edmund Ho has paid official visits to about a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, and several foreign heads of state and ministers have visited Macao.

The high frequency of exchanges between Macao and the rest of the world "was unimaginable in pre-handover days", Lu said.

Beijing has 'major role' behind Macao's rise on international stage

According to the Basic Law, the Macao SAR government can join international organizations or attend conferences, where statehood is required, as a member of the Chinese delegation or in a capacity - such as Macao, China - approved by the central government.

After its return to the motherland, Macao representatives have attended more than 420 international conferences and joined 13 inter-government global organizations, Lu said.

"And it has not been easy," Lu said.

"Macao could not have done so much without strong support from the motherland," the commissioner said.

With help from the central government, Macao, an enclave of Portugal for more than four centuries, has become a bridge between China and the Portuguese-speaking world, taking advantage of its similarities in language, history, and culture to those countries and regions, he said.

In 2003, Macao hosted the first Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking nations.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the forum is made up of the Chinese mainland, Macao, Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Angola, as well as East Timor.

Beijing has 'major role' behind Macao's rise on international stage

Trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries reached $77 billion in 2008, five times as much as in 2003, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Macao became the host of the Secretariat of the Typhoon Committee, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific/World Meteorological Organization in 2005, making it the first inter-government international organization to set up a secretariat in Macao.

As more Macao residents travel, work and study abroad, the Office of the Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in Macao has beefed up coordination and communication work to help protect its citizens' rights and interests overseas, Lu said.

In 2008, Chinese embassies and consulates worldwide helped more than 30 Macao residents deal with problems concerning visas or loss of passports.

In November last year, an anti-government protest in the Thai capital of Bangkok paralyzed its airport and left thousands of passengers stranded.

After the Macao government decided to send a passenger cargo plane to bring the 173 stranded Macao tourists back home, the office of the commissioner immediately contacted the Chinese embassy in the Thai capital to make sure that relevant procedures were cleared in time for the cargo plane to complete its mission, Lu said.

"We will always try our best to carry out the concept of 'people first' in providing help to Macao residents overseas," he said.