After the 1974 revolution in Portugal, a new decolonisation policy paved the way for Macau's retrocession to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Portugal offered to withdraw from Macau in late 1974, but China declined in favour of a later time because it sought to preserve international and local confidence in Hong Kong, which was still under British rule. In January 1975, Portugal recognised the PRC as the sole government of China. On 17 February 1976, the Portuguese parliament passed the Organic Statute of Macau, which called it a "territory under Portuguese administration". This term was also put in Portugal's 1976 constitution, replacing Macau's designation as an overseas province. Unlike previous constitutions, Macau was not included as an integral part of Portuguese territory. The 1987 Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration called Macau a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration". The granting of full sovereignty to the People's Republic of China was transferred in a ceremony on 20 December 1999.