MACAU: HANDOVER TO CHINA WRAP

(19 Dec 1999) Mandarin/Nat

Macau is back in Chinese hands.

Portugal has handed the tiny gambling enclave back to China, ending 442 years of colonial rule and bringing Portuguese people to tears as jubilant local Chinese party in the streets.

China President Jiang Zemin said Macau was entering a new era and he welcomed its Chinese residents back to what he called the \"embrace of the motherland\".

President Jiang arrived in Macau on Sunday to witness Portugal's handover of its last bit of empire.

Macau has been under Portuguese rule since 1557, when China allowed Portuguese seafarers to settle in the southern tip of the peninsula.

On Sunday afternoon, Governor General Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira abandoned his mansion, home to Portuguese rulers here since 1846.

Household staff wept as he filed past to shake everyone's hand.

At the Governor's Palace, a flag-lowering ceremony marked the end of an era.

The handover was preceded by a gala evening attended by 2-thousand-500 dignitaries and presided over by Chinese President Jiang and his Portuguese counterpart Jorge Sampaio.

Former governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, was present, along with the province's chief executive, Tung Chee-Hwa.

He sat beside the wife of the late Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping.

Shortly before the flag ceremony marking the transfer of power, President Sampaio made a speech vowing solidarity with Macau - the first established meeting point for people from the Far East and the West.

SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese)
\"It will thus continue in its centuries-old vocation as an intermediary at the crossroads of peoples, civilizations and interests, and so strengthen its own identity.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Jorge Sampaio, Portuguese President

Like Hong Kong, Macau will be governed as a Special Administrative Region, with considerable local autonomy.

The Chinese national anthem was played as the Portuguese flag was lowered for the last time in Macau.

Immediately after the stroke of midnight, the Chinese and Special Administration Region flags were raised in a smooth handover which has seen little of the rancour that accompanied Britain's return of nearby Hong Kong.

For Beijing, returning Macau to the fold two years after getting Hong Kong back from Britain leaves just one big prize still to be claimed - Taiwan - an idea facing fierce opposition from many Taiwanese.

In his speech, President Jiang called for an early settlement of the Taiwan issue and complete national reunification.

SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
\"The implementation of the concept of one country, two systems in Hong Kong and Macau has played, and will continue to play an important exemplary role for our eventual settlement of the Taiwan question. The Chinese government and people are confident and capable of an early settlement of the Taiwan question and complete national reunification.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Jiang Zemin, Chinese President

As the Portuguese took their leave of Macau, the enclave's first Chinese leader was being sworn in.

Edmund Ho, a banker, spent years speaking for local Chinese residents when they took issue with the way Portugal was running its colony.

Ho says law and order will be the priority of his new administration, which took control shortly after the handover.

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