Human Rights in Macau

Human rights in Macau refers to the basic rights of citizens of Macau, a former Portuguese colony that reverted to Chinese administration in 1999. As a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Macau enjoys a high degree of autonomy, except in defense and foreign affairs, and its citizens have basic freedoms and enjoy legally protected rights. The Macau Basic Law is the SAR's constitution, promulgated by PRC's National People's Congress (NPC) in 1993. The 1987 Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law specify that the SAR is to continue to enjoy substantial autonomy and its economic system and way of life are to remain unchanged for the first 50 years under PRC sovereignty. The government is led by a chief executive, chosen by a 300-member election committee, which, in turn, is chosen by a preparatory committee composed of 60 SAR and 40 mainland representatives appointed by the NPC. In August, the committee re-elected Edmund Ho to a second term as chief executive. The most recent legislative elections were in 2001, when voters elected ten of the legislature's 27 members in direct elections based on geographical constituencies. Interest groups in functional constituencies elected ten others, and the chief executive appointed the remaining seven members. There are limits on the types of bills that may be initiated by individual members of the legislature. The judiciary is independent.

The Public Security Police, which was created at the time of the handover through a merger of the various police force branches, has primary responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of public order. The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the police. The People's Liberation Army maintained a garrison of approximately 800 soldiers in the SAR. According to the Macau Garrison Law, the Chief Executive can call on the garrison to maintain public order, but it has never been used for this purpose. There were no reports that security forces committed human rights abuses.

The market-based economy was fueled by textile and garment exports, infrastructure investment, and construction, along with tourism and gambling. The population was approximately 461,000. The economy grew at an annual rate of 30.5 percent in the first nine months of the year.

The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. These problems included the limited ability of citizens to change their government, limits on the legislature's ability to initiate legislation, and a lack of legal protection for strikes and collective bargaining rights.