Macau

Macau (Cheenese: 澳門), an aw spelled Macao, is, alang wi Hong Kong, ane o the twa special admeenistrative regions o the Fowkrepublic o Cheenae. It lies on the wastren side o the Pearl River Delta, borderin Guangdong province tae the north an facin the Sooth Cheenae Sea tae the east an sooth. The territory's economy is hivily dependent on gamblin an tourism but includes manufacturin an aw. Macau wis a Portuguese colony an baith the first an last European colony in Cheenae. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16t century an subsequently admeenistered the region till the haundower on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration an the Basic Law o Macau stipulate that Macau operates wi a hie degree o autonomy till at least 2049, fifty years efter the transfer. Unner the policy o "ane kintra, twa seestems", the PRC's Central Fowr Govrenment is responsible for the territory's defense an foreign affairs, while Macau maintains its awn legal seestem, polis force, monetary seestem, customs policy, an immigration policy. Macau participates in mony internaitional organizations an events that dae no require members tae possess naitional sovereignty. Accordin tae the CIA factbeuk, Macau haes the heichest life expectancy in the warld. Etymology Afore the Portuguese settlement in the early 16t century, Macau wis kent as Haojing (Oyster Mirror) or Jinghai (Mirror Sea). The name Macau is thocht tae be derived frae the A-Ma Temple (Cheenese: 媽閣廟; Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3 Miu6), a temple built in 1448 dedicatit tae Matsu — the goddess o seafarers an fishermen. It is said that when the Portuguese sailors laundit at the coast juist ootside the temple an asked the name o the place, the natives replied "媽閣" (jyutping:Maa1 Gok3). The Portuguese then named the peninsula "Macau". The present Chinese name (澳門) means "Inlet Gates". Internaitional relations Twin touns — Sister ceeties Macau is twinned wi: São Paulo, Brazil Lisbon, Portugal Kolkata, Indie Porto, Portugal Brussels, Belgium Linköping, Swaden References Freemit airtins Portal o the govrenment o Macau Archived 2006-08-29 at the Wayback Machine