CNN's Tim Schwarz on the Macau transition anniversary

CNN Producer Tim Schwarz reports on the first anniversary of Macau's return to Chinese sovereignty after centuries of Portuguese rule.

Q: How has the transition gone over the last year in Macau?

SCHWARZ: Generally, if you're talking about the people of Macau, they are really quite happy about the way the transition has gone. There's no great nostalgia among the larger part of the population for the centuries of Portuguese rule.

The Portuguese culture, though it was important for Macau and has left a legacy in terms of the look and achitecture of the place, was really more of a patina on the surface of Macau, which has always been a very Chinese region. The vast majority of the population are Chinese and have never spoken any Portuguese or been a part of the Portuguese culture.

So, in a way, it's very normal for Macau to return to China. There have been some positive aspects for most people in the return to Chinese rule in that the last few years of Portuguese rule were marked by a certain amount of gang violence, which has disappeared since the Chinese took over.

When the Chinese took over and the People's Liberation Army moved over the border, they were warmly welcomed by most people and not a lot has happened so far in Macau to make people change their minds that they were better off under Portuguese rule.

Q: At the same time, the anniversary comes as we get reports from Macau that there were scuffles with Chinese police and Falun Gong members. Should the international community be concerned that this might be a sign of things to come in Macau?

SCHWARZ: This shows that some tensions do exist. It also shows the authorities in Macau are taking their orders from Beijing and that they are not going to permit things happening in Macau on this particular day when Chinese President Jiang Zemin is visiting. They are not going to permit things to happen that could embarrass him.

The Falun Gong are a minority group, so it is not necessarily going to cause a big wave of concern among the general population of Macau; limiting Falun Gong protests will not necessarily produce a large amount of discontent among the general population of Macau.

The crackdown may be more a result of the fact that the president of China is visiting. If Falun Gong members were demonstrating on a different day, it might not be such a problem.

Q: What are the big tests for Macau in the coming years?

SCHWARZ: Macau is facing some changes in the coming years. The Macau economy has since at least the 1960s been heavily based on the gambling industry, which accounts for over half the government's revenue.

Until recently, the gambling has been controlled by one monopoly run by Stanley Ho. In the next year, plans are to break up the gambling monopoly in which the casinos and all the gambling will be opened to bid tenders. That will be the test of Macau's new law and order: Whether their new law and order can survive the obvious jockeying of position that will come into play when the new gambling and gaming tenders go out.

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Macau Government (Chinese, Spanish, English)
Falun Gong and Master Li
Universal Declararion of Human Rights
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