MACAO : THE CASINO CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

• Macau or Macao (澳門) – Officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China is a special administrative region on the western side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China
• With a population of 667400 and an area of 32.9 km² (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world
• Macau was formerly a colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557
• Portugal governed the area under titular Chinese sovereignty and authority until 1887, when it was given perpetual colonial rights for Macau
• The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China. As a special administrative region, Macau maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China
• Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands – the territory has become a major resort city and the top destination for gambling tourism
• It is the ninth-highest recipient of tourism revenue
• Its gaming industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas
• Although the city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it has severe income inequality
• Its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity is one of the highest in the world and higher than any country in the world in 2014 according to the World Bank
• Macau has a very high Human Development Index
• The government of Macau calculates its own HDI
• Macau has the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world
• The territory is highly urbanised and most development is built on reclaimed land
• Two-thirds of total land area is reclaimed from the sea

Government and politics of Macao

• The legislature meets in the Legislative Assembly Building in Sé
• Macau is a special administrative region of China, with executive, legislative, and judicial powers devolved from the national government
• The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration provided for economic and administrative continuity through the transfer of sovereignty, resulting in an executive-led governing system largely inherited from the territory’s history as a Portuguese colony
• Under these terms and the “one country, two systems” principle, the Basic Law of Macao is the regional constitution
• Because negotiations for the Joint Declaration and Basic Law began after transitional arrangements for Hong Kong were made, Macau’s structure of government is very similar to Hong Kong’s
• The regional government is composed of three branches :

• Executive: The Chief Executive is responsible for enforcing regional law can force reconsideration of legislation and appoints Executive Council members, a portion of the legislature and principal officials
• Acting with the Executive Council, the Chief Executive can propose new bills, issue subordinate legislation and has authority to dissolve the legislature
• Legislature: The unicameral Legislative Assembly enacts regional law, approves budgets, and has the power to impeach a sitting Chief Executive
• Judiciary: The Court of Final Appeal and lower courts whose judges are appointed by the Chief Executive on the advice of a recommendation commission, interpret laws and overturn those inconsistent with the Basic Law
• The Chief Executive is the head of government, and serves for a maximum of two five-year terms
• The State Council (led by the Premier of China) appoints the Chief Executive after nomination by the Election Committee, which is composed of 400 business, community, and government leaders
• The Legislative Assembly has 33 members, each serving a four-year term: 14 are directly elected, 12 indirectly elected, and 7 appointed by the Chief Executive
• Indirectly elected assemblymen are selected from limited electorates representing sectors of the economy or special interest groups
• All directly elected members are chosen with proportional representation
• Twelve political parties had representatives elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2017 election
• These parties have aligned themselves into two ideological groups : the pro-establishment (the current government) and pro-democracy camps
• Macau is represented in the National People’s Congress by 12 deputies chosen through an electoral college and 29 delegates in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference appointed by the central government

 

The Macau Government Headquarters is the official office of the Chief Executive

• Chinese national law does not generally apply in the region and Macau is treated as a separate jurisdiction
• Its judicial system is based on Portuguese civil law – continuing the legal tradition established during colonial rule
• Interpretative and amending power over the Basic Law and jurisdiction over acts of state lie with the central authority, however, making regional courts ultimately subordinate to the mainland’s socialist civil law system
• Decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress can also override territorial judicial processes
• The territory’s jurisdictional independence is most apparent in its immigration and taxation policies
• The Identification Department issues passports for permanent residents which differ from those of the mainland or Hong Kong, and the region maintains a regulated border with the rest of the country
• All travellers between Macau and China and Hong Kong must pass border controls, regardless of nationality
• Chinese citizens resident in mainland China do not have the right of abode in Macau, and are subject to immigration controls
• Public finances are handled separately from the national government, and taxes levied in Macau do not fund the central authority
• The Macao Garrison is responsible for the region’s defence. Although the Chairman of the Central Military Commission is supreme commander of the armed forces the regional government may request assistance from the garrison
• Macau residents are not required to perform military service and current law also has no provision for local enlistment, so its defence force is composed entirely of nonresidents
• The State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle diplomatic matters, but Macau retains the ability to maintain separate economic and cultural relations with foreign nations
• The territory negotiates its own trade agreements and actively participates in supranational organisations, including agencies of the World Trade Organization and United Nations
• The regional government maintains trade offices in Greater China and other nations

• Cotai, the area of reclaimed land connecting Taipa and Coloane, contains many of the newer casinos and resorts established after 1999
• The region’s jurisdiction over the surrounding sea was greatly expanded in 2015, when it was granted an additional 85 km² (33 sq mi) of maritime territory by the State Council
• Further reclamation is currently underway to develop parts of the Macau New Urban Zone
• The territory also has control over part of an artificial island to maintain a border checkpoint for the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge

Economy