When Macau reverts to Chinese rule in December 1999 after 400 years as
a Portuguese colony, it will become the latest experiment in the policy of
"One Country, Two Systems" under which Hong Kong is now governed and which
China hopes to impose on Taiwan.
A gambling enclave at the mouth of China's Pearl River with a population
of 450,000, Macau is tiny, but it has lucrative casinos and large foreign
currency reserves that have helped fuel a crime wave in recent years. Macau's
essentially free media have frequently probed allegations that its loosely
regulated financial sector has been a haven for money-laundering activities
by corrupt Chinese gangsters, shady Portuguese officials, and mainland business
executives.
As gambling revenue has decreased during the Asian economic crisis and
uncertainty about the future under Beijing has grown, the organized crime
syndicates known as "triads'" -- notorious for their historic role in the
many vices of Macau -- have escalated their violent competition. There were
24 triad-related killings in Macau during the year, and numerous bombings
and arson attacks.
The violence has also affected journalists. A bomb planted in a motorcycle
in September injured 10 journalists and four policemen who had been lured
to the site by another blast just minutes earlier. Police said the attack
may have been an attempt to frighten the press away from aggressive coverage
of the gangs.
The criminal terror and relatively permissive legal climate under Portugal
has led many observers to believe that Macau will lose much of its separate
identity when China takes over. Residents may simply be relieved to have
a strong power replace the weak and often corrupt Portuguese administration.
A "basic law," similar to the one that governs Hong Kong, is set to provide
the legal foundation for the transition, but it is unclear whether it will
guarantee Macau's relative autonomy after China takes over. |
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