u and Portuguese government of Macau remained unchanged.[23] After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Beijing government declared the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Amity and Commerce to be invalid as an “unequal treaty” imposed by foreigners on China. However, Beijing was not ready to settle the treaty question, leaving the maintenance of “the status quo” until a more appropriate time.[24] Influenced by the Cultural Revolution in mainland China and by general dissatisfaction with Portuguese government, riots broke out in Macau in 1966. In the most serious, the so-called 12-3 incident, 6 people were killed and more than 200 people were injured.[25][26] On 28 January 1967, the Portuguese government issued a formal apology. Shortly after the overthrow of the Salazar dictatorship in 1974 in Lisbon, the new Portuguese government determined it would relinquish all its overseas possessions. In 1976, Lisbon redefined Macau as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration" and granted it a large measure of administrative, financial, and economic autonomy. Three years later, Portugal and China agreed to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under (temporary) Portuguese administration".[14][27] The Chinese and Portuguese governments commenced negotiations on the question of Macau in June 1986. The two signed a Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration the next year, making Macau a special administrative region (SAR) of China.[28] The Chinese government assumed formal sovereignty over Macau on 20 December 1999.[29] Government and politics Main articles: Politics of Macau, Legislative Assembly of Macau, Legal system of Macau, and Municipalities of Macau Headquarters of the Government of Macau, previously the Governor's House until 1999. Office building of the Legislative Assembly of Macau. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, Macau's constitution promulgated by China's National People's Congress in 1993, specify that Macau's social and economic system, lifestyle, rights, and freedoms are to remain unchanged for at least 50 years after the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1999.[10] Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Macau enjoys a high degree of autonomy in all areas except in defence and foreign affairs.[10] Macau officials, rather than PRC officials, run Macau through the exercise of separate executive, legislative, and judicial powers, as well as the right to final adjudication.[30] Macau maintains its own separate currency, customs territory, immigration and border controls, and police force.[31][32] The government in Macau is headed by the chief executive, who is appointed by the central government upon the recommendation of an election committee, whose three hundred members are nominated by corporate and community bodies. The recommendation is made by an election within the committee.[33] The chief executive's cabinet is made up of five policy secretaries and is advised by the Executive Council that has between seven and eleven members.[34] Edmund Ho Hau Wah, a community leader and former banker, is the first chief executive of the Macau SAR, replacing General Vasco Rocha Vieira at midnight on December 20, 1999. Ho is currently serving his second term of office.[35] The chief executive and the cabinet have their offices in the Macau Government Headquarters, located in the former area of the St. Lawrence Parish. The legislative organ of the territory is the Legislative Assembly, a 29-member body comprising 12 directly elected members, ten indirectly elected members representing functional constituencies and seven members appointed by the chief executive.[36] Any permanent residents at or over 18 years of age are eligible to vote in direct elections.[37] Indirect election is limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and a 300-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies.[38] The original framework of the legal system, based largely on Portuguese law or Portuguese civil law system, was preserved after 1999. The territory has its own independent judicial system with a high court. Judges are selected by a committee and appointed by the chief executive. Foreign judges may serve on the courts.[39] Macau has a three-tier court system: the Court of the First Instance, the Court of the Second Instance and the Court of Final Appeal.[40] In February 2009, the Legislative Assembly passed a security bill based on the withdrawn security legislation previously introduced in Hong Kong.[41] Democracy advocates feared that the bill's excessively broad scope could lead to abuses, a concern which has been heightened after a number of prominent supporters of democracy in Hong Kong were denied entry into Macau in the run-up to the bill's passage.[42] Geography Main article: Geography of Macau The map of Macau, showing Macau Peninsula, Cotai, Taipa and Coloane. Landscape of Penha Hill in Macau. Macau is situated 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Hong Kong and 145 kilometres (90 mi) from Guangzhou.[6][43] It consists of the Macau Peninsula itself and the islands of Taipa and Coloane. The peninsula is formed by the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xijiang (West River) on the west.[43] It borders the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in mainland China. The main border crossing between Macau and China is known as the Portas do Cerco (Barrier Gate) on the Macau side, and the Gongbei Port of Entry on the Zhuhai side.[44] Macau Peninsula was originally an island, but a connecting sandbar gradually turned into a narrow isthmus, thus changing Macau into a peninsula. Land reclamation in the 17th century transformed Macau into a peninsula with generally flat terrain, though numerous steep hills still mark the original land mass.[43] Alto de Coloane is the highest point in Macau, with an altitude of 170.6 metres (559.7 ft).[6] With a dense urban environment, Macau has no arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland. Macau has a humid subtropical climate, with average humidity between 75% and 90%.[45] Seasonal climate is greatly influenced by the monsoons, and differences in temperature between summer and winter are marked. The average annual temperature of Macau is 22.3 °C (72.1 °F).[46] July is the warmest month, with average temperature being 28.6 °C (83.5 °F). The coolest month is January, with average temperature 14.5 °C (58.1 °F).[45] Located in the coastal region of south of China, Macau has ample rainfall, with average annual precipitation being 2,030 millimetres (79.9 in).[47] However, winter is mostly dry due to the monsoon from mainland China. Autumn in Macau, from October to December, is sunny and warm with low humidity. Winter (January to March) is warm and sunny. Humidity starts to increase in spring from April to June, and in summer from July to September, the climate is warm to hot and humid with rain and occasional typhoons.[45] Weather data for Macau Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 17.7 (64) 17.7 (64) 20.7 (69) 24.5 (76) 28.1 (83) 30.3 (87) 31.5 (89) 31.2 (88) 30.0 (86) 27.4 (81) 23.4 (74) 19.6 (67) 25.2 (77) Average low °C (°F) 12.2 (54) 13.1 (56) 16.2 (61) 20.2 (68) 23.6 (74) 25.7 (78) 26.3 (79) 26.0 (79) 24.9 (77) 22.3 (72) 17.8 (64) 13.8 (57) 20.2 (68) Precipitation mm (inches) 32.4 (1.28) 58.8 (2.31) 82.5 (3.25) 217.4 (8.56) 361.9 (14.25) 339.7 (13.37) 289.8 (11.41) 351.6 (13.84) 194.1 (7.64) 116.9 (4.6) 42.6 (1.68) 35.2 (1.39) 2,122.9 (83.58) Sunshine hours 132.4 81.8 75.9 87.8 138.4 168.2 226.2 194.7 182.2 195 177.6 167.6 1,828 % Humidity 74.3 80.6 84.9 86.2 85.6 84.4 82.2 82.5 79 73.4 69.3 68.8 79.3 Avg. precipitation days 6 10 12 12 15 17 16 16 13 7 5 4 133 Source: WMO - Macau[48] 2007-11-12 & Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau[49] Economy Main article: Economy of Macau Employed population by occupation 2007[50] Occupation no. ('000) Senior officials/managers 14.6 Professionals 9.9 Technicians 28.1 Clerks 83.7 Service & sale workers 63.2 Workers in agriculture/fishery 0.8 Craft & similar workers 33.7 Nightview of Macau Tower, a communication and entertainment tower that has various restaurants, theaters, shopping malls and a variety of adventurous activities. The central business district of Macau. The building shown is the BNU tower. Macau's economy is based largely on tourism, much of it geared toward gambling. Other chief economic activities in Macau are export-geared textile and garment manufacturing, banking and other financial services.[7] The clothing industry has provided about three quarters of export earnings, and the gaming, tourism and hospitality industry is estimated to contribute more than 50% of Macau's GDP, and 70% of Macau government revenue.[34] Macau is a founding member of the WTO and has maintained sound economic and trade relations with more than 120 countries and regions, with European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries in particular; Macau is also a member of the IMF.[51] The World Bank classifies Macau as a high income economy[52] and the GDP per capita of the region in 2006 was US$28,436. After the Handover in 1999, there has been a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors due to China's easing of travel restrictions. Together with the liberalization of Macau's gaming industry in 2001 that induces significant investment inflows, the average growth rate of the economy between 2001 and 2006 was approximately 13.1% annually.[53] In a World Tourism Organization report of international tourism for 2006, Macau ranked 21st in the number of tourists and 24th in terms of tourism receipts.[54] From 9.1 million visitors in 2000, arrivals to Macau has grown to 18.7 million visitors in 2005 and 22 million visitors in 2006,[55] with over 50% of the arrivals coming from mainland China and another 30% from Hong Kong. Macau is expected to receive between 24 and 25 million visitors in 2007.[56] Since the Handover, Triad underworld violence, a deterring factor for tourists, has virtually disappeared, to the benefit of the tourism sector.[citation needed] Starting in 1962, the gambling industry had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly ended in 2002, and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. With the opening of the Sands Macau, the largest casino in the world as measured by total number of table games,[57] in 2004 and Wynn Macau in 2006,[58] gambling revenues from Macau's casinos were for the first time greater than those of Las Vegas Strip (each about $6 billion),[59][60] making Macau the highest-volume gambling centre in the world.[61] In 2007, Venetian Macau, at the time the second (now fourth) largest building in the world by floor space, opened its doors to the public, followed by MGM Grand Macau. Numerous other hotel casinos, including Galaxy Cotai Megaresort and Ponte 16, are also to be opened in the near future. Casinos are everywhere in Macau. Pictured here are the Wynn Macau, Casino Lisboa and Grand Lisboa In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and six casino operating concessions and subconcessions are granted to Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho (daughter of Stanley Ho), and the partnership of Melco and PBL. Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau, but in 2004, the opening of the Sands Macau ushered in the new era.[57][62][63] Macau is an offshore financial centre, a tax haven, and a free port with no foreign exchange control regimes.[64][65][66] The Monetary Authority of Macau regulates offshore finance,[67] while the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute provides services for investment in Macau.[68] In 2007, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Macau's foreign and local currency government issuer ratings to 'Aa3' from 'A1', citing its government's solid finances as a large net creditor. The rating agency also upgraded Macau's foreign currency bank deposit ceiling to 'Aa3' from 'A1'.[69] As prescribed by the Macau Basic Law, the government follows the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strive to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its gross domestic product. All the financial revenues of the Macau Special Administrative Region shall be managed and controlled by the Region itself and shall not be handed over to the Central People's Government. The Central People's Government shall not levy any taxes in the Macau Special Administrative Region.[70] Demographics Main articles: Demographics of Macau and Religion in Macau Residents' usual language spoken at home[71] Language Percentage of population Cantonese 85.7% Other Chinese dialects 6.7% Portuguese 0.6% Mandarin 3.2% English 1.5% Others 2.3% A-Ma Temple, a temple built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Matsu. Ruins of St. Paul's, the façade of what was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul built in 1602. Macau is the most densely populated region in the world, with a population density of 18,428 persons per square kilometre (47,728/sq mi).[72] 95% of Macau's population is Chinese; another 2% is of Portuguese and/or mixed Chinese/Portuguese descent, an ethnic group often referred to as Macanese.[71] According to the 2006 by-census, 47% of the residents were born in mainland China, of whom 74.1% born in Guangdong and 15.2% in Fujian. Meanwhile, 42.5% of the residents were born in Macau, and those born in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Portugal shared 3.7%, 2.0% and 0.3% respectively.[71] The growth of population in Macau mainly relies on immigrants from mainland China and the influx of overseas workers since its birth rate is one of the lowest in the world.[73] According to a recent survey conducted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Macau is the top country/region for life expectancy at birth with an average of 84.36 years,[74] while its infant mortality rate ranks among the lowest in the world.[75] Both Chinese (Cantonese) and Portuguese are Macau's official languages.[76] Standard Macanese Portuguese is identical to European Portuguese. Other languages such as Mandarin, English and Hokkien are also spoken by some local communities.[77] The Macanese language, a distinctive creole generally known as Patuá, is still spoken by several dozen Macanese.[78] Many signs and establishments make use of Chinese and Portuguese names with English becoming commonplace as well. Most Chinese in Macau are profoundly influenced by their own tradition and culture, of which most take part in Chinese folk religion, of which the faiths of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, form an integral part.[34] Macau has a sizable Christian community; Roman Catholics and Protestants constitute 7% and 2% of the population respectively. In addition, 17% of the population follow original Mahayana Buddhism.[79] Since Macau has an economy driven by tourism, 14.6% of the workforce is employed in restaurants and hotels, and 10.3% in the gambling industry.[77] With the opening of several casino resorts and other major constructions underway, many sectors reportedly experience a shortage of labor, and the government seeks to import labor from neighboring regions. The number of imported workers stood at a record high of 98,505 in the second quarter of 2008, representing more than 25% of the labor force in Macau.[80] Some local workers complain about the lack of jobs due to the influx of cheap imported labor. Some also claim that the problem of illegal labor is severe.[81] Another concern is the widening of income inequality in the region. Macau's Gini coefficient, a popular measure of income inequality where a low value indicates a more equal income distribution, rose from 0.43 in 1998 to 0.48 in 2006. It is higher than those of neighboring regions, such as mainland China (0.447), South Korea (0.316) and Singapore (0.425).[82] Education Main article: Education in Macau The administrative building of the University of Macau, the first modern university in the region. A fifteen-year free education is currently being offered to residents, that includes a three-year kindergarten, followed by a six-year primary education and a six-year secondary education. The literacy rate of the territory is 93.5%. The illiterates are mainly among the senior residents aged 65 or above; the younger generation, for example the population aged 15–29, has a literacy rate of above 99%.[71] Currently, there is only one school in Macau where Portuguese is the medium of instruction. Macau does not have its own universal education system; non-tertiary schools follow either the British, the Chinese, or the Portuguese education system. There are currently 10 tertiary educational institutions in the region, four of them being public.[34] In 2006, the Programme for International Student Assessment, a worldwide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance coordinated by OECD, ranked Macau as the fifth and sixth in science and problem solving respectively.[83] Nevertheless, education levels in Macau are low among high income regions. According to the 2006 by-census, among the resident population aged 14 and above, only 51.8% has a secondary education and 12.6% has a tertiary education.[71] As prescribed by the Basic Law of Macau Chapter VI Article 121, the Government of Macau shall, on its own, formulate policies on education, including policies regarding the educational system and its administration, the language of instruction, the allocation of funds, the examination system, the recognition of educational qualifications and the system of academic awards so as to promote educational development. The government shall also in accordance with law, gradually institute a compulsory education system. Community organisations and individuals may, in accordance with law, run educational undertakings of various kinds.[70] Healthcare Main article: List of hospitals in Macau Macau is served by one major public hospital, the Hospital Conde S. Januário, and one major private hospital, the Hospital Kiang Wu, both located in Macau Peninsula, as well as a university hospital called Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital in Cotai. In addition to hospitals, Macau also has numerous health centres providing free basic medical care to residents. Consultation in traditional Chinese medicine is also available.[84] Currently none of the Macau hospitals is independently assessed through international healthcare accreditation. There are no western-style medical schools in Macau and thus all aspiring physicians in Macau have to obtain their education and qualification elsewhere.[34] Local nurses are trained at the Macau Polytechnic Institute and the Kiang Wu Nursing College.[85][86] Currently there are no training courses in midwifery in Macau. The Health Bureau in Macau is mainly responsible for coordinating the activities between the public and private organisations in the area of public health, and assure the health of citizens through specialised and primary health care services, as well as disease prevention and health promotion.[87] The Macau Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was established in 2001, which monitors the operation of hospitals, health centres, and the blood transfusion centre in Macau. It also handles the organisation of care and prevention of diseases affecting the population, sets guidelines for hospitals and private health ca