Portugal, China, and the Macau Negotiations, 1986–1999 (Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series) - Tapa dura

Setting Portugal's approach to the Macau question in the context of broader domestic and international political dilemmas, Mendes provides a nuanced picture of the institutional inertias, party rivalries, and post-colonial exhaustion that shaped the entire negotiation process. She shows, paradoxically, that although these factors weakened Portugal's position relative to China, this weakness sometimes put Portugal in the driver's seat at the negotiating table. -- Cathryn Clayton, author of Sovereignty at the Edge: Macau and the Question of Chineseness Mendes gives us a clear and balanced historical account of the Macau negotiations. We are told that 'history is an argument without end,' but this is the first book written not by an actor in the events but by an independent academic observer. This important book will help considerably in our understanding of China-Portugal relations. -- Jose Duarte de Jesus, Portuguese ambassador to China,1993-1997 Portugal, China and the Macau Negotiations, 1986-1999 is not only a very valuable insight into the negotiations on the future of Macau but also a useful guide to understanding the larger relationship between Portugal and China. -- Antonio Costa Lobo, Portuguese Ambassador to China, 1982-1985

On December 20, 1999, the city of Macau became a Special Administrative Region of China after nearly four hundred and fifty years of Portuguese administration. Drawing extensively on Portuguese and other sources and on interviews with key participants, this book examines the strategies and policies adopted by the Portuguese government during the negotiations. The study sets these events within the larger context of Portugal's retreat from empire, the British experience with Hong Kong, and changing social and political conditions within Macau. A weak player on the international stage, Portugal was still able to obtain concessions during the negotiations, notably in the timing of the retrocession and continuing Portuguese nationality arrangements for some Macau citizens. Yet the tendency of Portuguese leaders to use the Macau question as a tool in their domestic political agendas hampered their ability to develop an effective strategy and left China with the freedom to control the process of negotiation.