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 the offer in favour of a later time because it sought to preserve international and local confidence in Hong Kong, which was still under British rule, and also because it prioritised the reunification of Taiwan. In January 1975, Portugal recognised the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China and ended ties with the Nationalists in Taipei. In 1976, Portugal unilaterally changed the legal designation of Macau from a "colony" to "territory under Portuguese administration". In 1987, the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration was signed and Macau became a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration". On 20 December 1999—two years after the handover of Hong Kong—Macau was returned to Chinese rule.