December 20, 1999 CE / East Asia
Macao's Handover and the Establishment of the Special Administrative Region
China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Macao, the Macao Special Administrative Region was established, Portuguese administration in Macao ended, and new institutional arrangements began to be implemented.
The story
On December 20, 1999, China and Portugal held the Macao handover. China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Macao, and the Macao Special Administrative Region was established. Based on the 1987 Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, the one country, two systems framework and Macao's Basic Law preserved its existing social and economic system and established the special administrative region's system of governance. Macao and Hong Kong underwent separate handovers, with different dates, colonial administrative histories, and specific institutions; they cannot be merged into a single event. The map marks the handover site near the Macao Cultural Centre.
Elsewhere in the world
Macao has long connected southern China with the Portuguese-speaking world; the handover marked an important milestone in the withdrawal of European colonial administration from East Asia.
Dates and precision
December 20, 1999 CE Documented date
Positioned by the documented year, month or day; missing months and days are not inferred.
Representative map location
Macao · Cultural Centre
The point represents the area around the north plaza of the Macao Cultural Centre, where the former temporary handover venue stood. It is not the precise location of the present-day Handover Gifts Museum.
Representative coordinates · 22.19°, 113.555°
Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.
Bibliography
- Government Information Bureau of the Macao SAR | Macao Fact Sheet: Political System
- World Intellectual Property Organization | Macau Handover Ceremony, 1999
- Legislative Assembly of Macao | Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration
Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.