Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-15-Speech-3-055"
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"en.19991215.4.3-055"2
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"Mr President, four days away from the transfer of power in Macao, the resolution, with which we agree, is extraordinarily valuable because it is confident and because it provides guarantees for the future. Over these few days, there are two other curious coincidences taking place here in Strasbourg. Firstly, with us here we have Xanana Gusmão, who has just arrived from East Timor. Although in different circumstances, which are painful and very harsh, Timor is like Macao: it represents another promise of progress for human rights, freedom and for the rule of law in Asia, another beacon of hope with links to European culture through Portuguese culture and experience.
The second coincidence is that the interparliamentary meeting with the People’s Republic of China is being held now, which gives us the opportunity to communicate the depth of our feeling and the strength of our expectations for Macao and its future.
Portugal takes pride in the efforts that have been made in the territory of Macao and in the hopeful signs that several centuries of peaceful coexistence have left there. One of the lasting symbols that should now be highlighted is the utter uniqueness of Macao, the open cultural tolerance between peoples and cultures, religious freedom, traces of unique symbiosis and a legal culture founded on the principles and values of the rule of law and human rights.
In this peaceful process, one of dialogue between Portugal and China, it was essential that China clearly embraced Macao’s unique nature. It also had to give solemn guarantees that it would preserve and value it in the context of its autonomy, enshrined in law. For China, this is how its policy known as “one country, two systems” works. For us, it is the direct expression of the inalienable rights of the citizens of Macao.
I am delighted at the broad convergence that we have been able to obtain on this joint resolution as well as on the positions stated by the Presidency, by the Council and by the Commission. They are a very positive and promising sign for which the citizens of Macao are grateful and which we Portuguese, still speaking on their behalf, also appreciate. This collective attention on the part of Europe is the best additional, practical guarantee that we can give, the best way that we have of guaranteeing that Macao’s unique nature is safeguarded, and of continuing to deal with Macao in a unique way, not by putting it into the pot with every other country."@en1
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