SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis examines the manner in which the Portuguese Government formulated and implemented its negotiating strategy for the settlement of the Macau question with the People's Republic of China. The analysis is supported by theories of international negotiations. In addition to providing a detailed account of Portugal's negotiating strategy, the study highlights the impact that the Sino-British negotiations on Hong Kong had on the Sino-Portuguese negotiations. It also argues that the Portuguese side was mostly reactive: for domestic reasons, a key objective was to ensure that Macau's treatment was not worse than Hong Kong's, and in particular to ensure that Macau's transfer happened after Hong Kong. The thesis begins by examining the political background to the Macau question and the impact of the Hong Kong question on this. It then addresses the 1984-1987 Sino-Portuguese negotiations, which resulted in the signature of the "Joint Declaration of the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Macau". Finally the thesis analyses important issues in the Sino-Portuguese negotiations during the 1988-1999 transition period, which ended with the transfer of Portuguese administration of Macau to China. Two types of issue are considered which clearly demonstrate the tensions in the Sino-Portuguese relations and show the position of the Portuguese side during the transition period: routine matters which were present in every Joint Liaison Group meeting, namely the policies of localisation, and more delicate issues. This includes (1) the arguments over the applicability of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to Macau; (2) the dispute over the construction of the Macau International Airport; and, (3) the conflict over the Orient Foundation.