Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, ?Chinese:??????????????? short form Macau or Macao (short form of Chinese: ???also informally known as "??") (see Names), is a small territory on the southern coast of China. It is 70 km southwest of Hong Kong and 145 km from Guangzhou. It was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The Portuguese government transferred sovereignty over Macau to the People's Republic of China in 1999, and it is now run as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC. Residents of Macau mostly speak Cantonese natively; Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and English are also spoken.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Macau

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The chief executive is appointed by the People's Republic of China's central government after selection by an election committee, whose members are nominated by corporate bodies. The chief executive appears before a cabinet, the Executive Council, of between 7 and 11 members. Edmund Ho, a community leader and banker, is the first China-appointed chief executive of the Macau SAR, having replaced General de Rocha Vieira on December 20, 1999.

Related Topics:
Chief executive - People's Republic of China - Executive Council - Edmund Ho - General de Rocha Vieira - December 20 - 1999

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The legislative organ of the territory is the Legislative Assembly, a 23-member body comprising 10 directly elected members, 10 appointed members representing functional constituencies and seven members appointed by the chief executive. The Legislative Assembly is responsible for general lawmaking and like many other legislatures, it has power to impeach the Chief Executive. It has power to amend the makeup of its successors after 2009.

Related Topics:
Legislative Assembly - Functional constituencies

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The legal system is based largely on Portuguese law. The territory has its own independent judicial system, headed by the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), which makes final judgments on court cases. Judges are selected by a committee and appointed by the chief executive.

Related Topics:
Portuguese law - Court of Final Appeal

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