Macao Special Administrative Region: Annual Report for 2022

Summary:

Report published by the European Union's External Action Service (EEAS) on 18 August 2023 concerning the latest political and economic developments in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), covering 2022.

Further information:

Since the handover of Macao to the People’s Republic of China in 1999, the European Union (EU) and its Member States have followed political and economic developments in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.

This annual report shows a growing focus on national security that bears the risk of undermining fundamental freedoms in Macao and eroding the one country, two systems principle and Macao's high degree of autonomy. in December 2022, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill to amend its national security law from 2009. Its aim was to enable the law to safeguard national security to the same extent as the laws of mainland China and the other SAR.

In the first 11 months of 2022, the European Union (EU) overtook mainland China to become Macao's largest trading partner in goods.

Official

European Commission: Press Release, 18/08/2023: Macao: EU report highlights growing emphasis on national security that risks undermining fundamental freedoms https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4185

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