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| Capital | Macau | ||
| Largest city | Macau | ||
| Language official |
Cantonese, Portuguese | ||
| others | Mandarin, English, various forms of Yue Chinese, Spanish, Macanese (nearly extinct) | ||
| Religion | Buddhism, Roman Catholicism | ||
| Government | Presidential Republic | ||
| President | António Ng Kuok Cheong | ||
| Vice President | Sam Hou Fai | ||
| Area | 51.2 km² | ||
| Population | 520,902 | ||
| Independence | 1983 | ||
| Currency | Macanese Pataca | ||
The Republic of Macau (Full name: Republic of Macau, Hong Kong, and Greater Guang Dong, Cantonese: 澳門共和國, Yale: Maa Gaauh Guhng Woh Gwok, Portuguese: República de Macau) is a small state in the Pearl River Delta. Before Doomsday, it was an overseas possession of Portugal. Although it has since gained independence, it retains relations with the now island-based nation of Portugal.
History[]
Pre-Doomsday[]
Prior to Doomsday, the area was one of Portugal's overseas possessions. While it was slowly entering the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China, Doomsday prevented it from happening.
Doomsday[]
On Doomsday, there were no strikes in the region, but they lost contact with Portugal, their mother nation, causing unrest. However, all civil services continued to function after Doomsday, so they suffered not one immediate casualty from starvation, loss of electricity, etc. Macau set up an interim food service for police members to distribute food in supermarkets. Meanwhile, families would send their firstborns to nearby farms to gather food. Most Macanese provided entertainment to farmers and assisted in working their land in return for food. During this time period, Vasco de Almeida e Costa imposed strict military rule with control of the economy. He declared himself President of Macau, and appointed Joaquim Morais Alves as his Vice President.
One major problem throughout the chaos was refugees from nearby Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Survivors fled from their homes in makeshift rafts in hopes of reaching Macau, due to rumours that the city was in a prosperous state. However, upon reaching Macau, they found that food rations were extremely small, and policemen could not afford to provide for the newcomers without Macanese IDs. While some managed to make a living off fishing, others starved or took to the seas in hope of finding farmland, or reaching Taiwan. Many of these "boat people" did not survive.
Post-Doomsday[]
Food rations were generous at first, as de Almeida e Costa was hoping to gain support in this way, but within a few months, they were equivalent to two bowls of rice per day in processed food and farm products. In addition, the unskilled population, which were almost all involved in the services, were unable to take control of the necessary agriculture and production which were needed to keep the city alive.
Expansion into Zhuhai[]
Several weeks after Doomsday, the surrounding areas were explored in hopes of finding some functional farms. While many farms had been abandoned, several fish farms and rice farms were found intact. The Macanese, who had little farming of their own, promised the farmers access to good standard of living if they helped grow food for Macau. By the end of 1985, the entire former prefecture of Zhuhai had been annexed into Macau. Macau's new bulk was divided into four districts, one of which was Macau itself. Macau managed to make contact with the nearby survivor state of Jungsaan.
Union with Jungsaan[]
In 1989, Vasco de Almeida e Costa agreed to step down as president of Macau, and allow an elected president take over his position. He had lost support as a figurehead because many claimed he did not represent the average Chinese person. Businessman, Hong Kong refugee and one of the main leaders of food distribution projects, James Tak Wu, became the first elected Chinese ruler of Macau in history.
Shortly after the election, Macau and the state of Jungsaan to the north agreed that it would be profitable to combine forces into a single entity. The government ran as a confederation for a few months, but eventually it was decided that full unification was necessary. It was decided that as a compromise, the country would be named Macau, but the name of the islands that made up the original Macau would be changed to 澳門 in chinese (Pronunciation: Ohmuhn), or Aoman in Portuguese. Macau International Airport would be renamed Sun Yat-sen International Airport (孫中山國際機場). James Tak Wu and president of Jungsaan, 鍾世堅 (Jung Sai Gin) would rule jointly until the following election. Cantonese was established as an official language, with Portuguese having special status.
Subjugation of Toisaan[]
In 1990, Wu declared that it would be necessary to expand to the west. Wu suggested that it would provide important ports as well as fertile land that would provide food to the famished Macanese population. Wu was descended from Taishanese parents, so he made it top priority. By 1992, the majority of former Taishan District was annexed, as well as the city of Jiangmen to the north. Taishan was renamed Toisaan and Jiangmen became Jianghmuhn.
Wu launched an aggressive campaign to modernise the economy of Taishan and Jiangmen, and in order to do this, people whose jobs in the services had been lost were sent to the ruins of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, to gather raw materials for factories. The food processing industry experienced productivity, and was able to export food to outlying areas. Many of the factories had been abandoned after Doomsday, and those that did not have connections in the agriculture industry simply abandoned the factories. Upper-class jobless Macanese in Oumuhn who worked in the services sought to take control of these factories. With most of the Taishanese population at their disposal, corporations began to form. However, most of them were based in Oumuhn.
Due to the success of the annexation of Toisaan, Wu resolved that during his term, expansion would continue. However, by this time, several city-states had formed in the area. Wu managed to gain allies among most of them, but others were unhappy to place themselves under "the successor to European Imperialism in China." Over the next several years, the slow process of subjugation took place.
Emigration Crisis[]
Macau had learned of the fates of foreign nations from merchant ships headed to Hong Kong. However, Macau did not fully open up to the world until the early 1990s, when success stories began coming from Macanese who had emigrated to Peru. Rumours of "the golden land" of Peru spread due to the friendly business climate, the large existing Chinese community, and the fact that Asians formed an elite while their counterparts on the Asian continent suffered. The vast middle and upper class of Macau wanted an escape from the suffering of China, and immigrated to Peru and other countries. Macau's loss of its workforce alarmed its government, and Macau's economical situation began to sag. In response, the parliament under James Tak Wu instated laws that limited emigration. Most Macanese accepted the law, although many with a Western education led protests.
Battle of Hong Kong[]
Wu's aggressive expansion campaign culminated in a major battle for control of Hong Kong (香港). Hong Kong at the time was composed of many small subsistence communities, overrun with bandits. British The so-called Pearl River Liberation Society, headed by Lau Wong-fat constantly plundered communities leaving them on marginal existence. As they maintained control over most of the area, Macau saw it necessary to get rid of them.
Whatever remained of the British Occupiers had retreated into several British forts in Hong Kong, along with most of the food stockpiles which led to the mass revolts. Soon after joining wit the remainder of the Macanese forces, the joint armies would soon occupy most of the city centres, with the PRLS retreating underground. The British armed forces would then evolve into the Hong Kong Police force, soon recruiting from the local population to bolster their ranks.
Macau launched a surprise attack of the underground PRLS base in the former district of Kwai Tsing. Many leaders were captured but Lau fled to the island stronghold of Kiu Tsui Chau. A bizarre war around Port Shelter eventually ended in Macanese victory, giving Macau partial control of Hong Kong. Lau Wong-fat continued to operate criminally in Hong Kong and the surrounding area.
The nearby survivor state of East Shenzhen was subordinated by the PRLS, so Macau took the opportunity to gain control over it in 1994. Although most the port city was destroyed, the east contained many buildings that were only partly damaged.
Confucian Era[]
In 1994, the unlikely candidate Tse Jung-fan won the Macanese presidential election, making him Macau's fourth individual president. He was a former Chinese communist party member in Zhongshan, but later sought to create a democratic society based on Confucianism rather than Western ideals.
Tse got approval from the Macanese Assembly to reform the Portuguese-based government into a uniquely Chinese-style democracy based on Confucian ideals. He increased the authority of the government over the economy and politics significantly. He also set up a system in which half of seats in the Macanese Assembly and lower assemblies would be appointed through a civil service exam. Propaganda in education also became more common. Private schools were required to teach The Analects in place of western philosophy.
Tse Jung-fan is credited for restoring order to Macanese territories, and cracking down on bandits throughout the country, and combatting political instability within the government. He is also famous for increasing literacy and hygiene. However, he was criticised for crushing opposition both among civilians and government members. In addition, he placed strict regulations on the gambling industry, the backbone of Macau's past economy, as there were little tourists thanks to Doomsday and the only ones frequenting the casinos were refugees and locals who could have better used their time cultivating land,causing local GDP to decline. He also introduced fishing and farming as a major part of the local economy. To this day, he is still credited as "father of modern Macau."
Ao Administration[]
Ao Man-long was elected into office in 1999. He advocated reforms that reduced the government's control of Macau's economy. He also revised the constitution to allow a degree of direct democracy. His most famous accomplishment was redistricting Macau into legislative districts which would ensure assembly members were not all from Oumuhn. Despite this, Macau's economy did not improve during this period.
Ao also began a plan to combat raiders in Dongguan and Zhongshan that came from Guangzhou. The area had several hard-scrabble clans that, like in former Hong Kong, terrorised people in the north of the Delta. Ao assembled a Counterterrorist Militia (Macanese Hong Kong Counterterrorist Special Forces, 澳門香港反恐特工隊)and began the conflict with two of the three most powerful clans: the Dung Ng (Eastern Ng) Triads and Ip, who had participated in raids and acts of terror against Macau. The conflict has continued until present-day, with the clans controlling some of urban Shen Zhen.
Chou Administration and the Pax Macana[]
In 2001, Ao was found to have channeled almost a million dollars into his personal savings, and was assisted by family members. The assembly ordered his immediate impeachment once the court ruled him guilty on all charges, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
Susana Chou Kei Jan, the vice president under Ao Man-long's rule, was cleared from all charges, and assumed the presidency shortly after. She was allowed to have a full four-year term under Tse Jung-fan's constitution. She was known for alleviating the political crisis and pointed fingers that threatened stability. She professed that she did not represent the upper-class Macanese but rather a Chinese common woman. Although she was the daughter of an industrial tycoon, she adopted common clothing rather than Portuguese clothing and led a relatively simple lifestyle. In this way, despite her gender, she became a symbol of unity for the common mainland Chinese and "upper-class" European descendants of Macau, as well as between men and women.
Chou's rule was marked by relative peace and consolidation. The economy began to improve once Ao's illegal personal gains were confiscated and used to invest in infrastructure. As a result, Macau's unemployment fell from 40% to around 33% during her term, with jobs created in new factories, fishing and research. She also attempted to restart the service and gambling industry in order to attract worldwide investment, a move fiercely debated by historians and regarded as one of the most controversial moves of her time. To this day, most regard it as a failed experiment, though there remains much to be debated.
Tam Era[]
Francis Tam Pak Yuen was elected in 2006 for his pro-business outlook on the Macanese economy. He wanted to continue the prosperity of Susana Chou Kei Jan's rule, and worked to provide the same assistance to Macau's rural areas while at the same time expanding Macau's business sector. While Tam did not launch any sweeping reforms, he helped build and repair major transportation routes connecting China and Hong Kong.
Tam made contact with the remote, struggling city of Luoding early in his term, and declared a state of emergency in 2009 when horrific floods displaced over 100,000 individuals. Macau sent aid to assist in repairing any damage, and subordinated Luoding's government to that of Macau.
Conflict with the Western Ng[]
Macanese troops in Guangzhou were suffering from low amount of success due to the ferocity of the Eastern Ng clan. However, by 2007, with the Eastern Ng's leadership destroyed with the help of the Western Ng forces that had long held a grudge against their Eastern counterparts, the Western Ng turned against Macau in attempt to keep control of territory in northern Guangzhou. Sporadic conflicts continue to this day.
Recent News[]
3 April 2011, António Ng Kwok Cheong was elected president on a populist platform that was supported by both Macanese and mainlanders who wanted an increase in the general Macanese quality of life rather than promoting overseas tourism. He also pledged to reduce the number of Assembly Members chosen by civil service exams instead of popular vote.
Government[]
The government of Macau is a presidential democracy. The president, vice president and parliament are elected by popular vote. Right now the political parties are:
Politics[]
Tse Jung-fan Party (right-wing traditionalist) - Confucian democracy, adherents throughout Macau.
Hong Kong Socialist Party (centre-left) - The party advocates free trade and free market, as well as worker's rights and unions. Supported by Hong Kong's businessmen and traders.
Chinese Conservative Liberalist Party (centre-right) - Proposes to expand throughout much of China, and then reunify with Portugal, adherents mostly in Oumuhn.
Workers' Party (centre-left) - Successor to the pro-Beijing camp and Chinese Communist Party, currently concentrated in Jungsaan and Zhuhai, and inland of the Western Provinces.
Economy[]
Macau, mainly a tourist-based and port city-state, has since lost much of its economy after Doomsday. Most people aren't keen to go on vacations to a gambler's den nestled between nuclear strikes, unfortunately. Now, Macau mostly relies on fishing and trade of commodities, as well as being a regional shipping hub. Outside the cities, Macau is dependent on farming and various forms of light industry that survived Doomsday.
Military[]
The Macanese military is armed with the left-behind remains of nearby parts of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and some of the Portuguese Empire's armed forces. The Macanese Army is armed with the Type 56 Assault rifle, and utilises the Type 69 main battle tank for land warfare in the mainland. The Macanese Navy uses ships left over from the PLA Navy which include both vessels that were in Macau's harbour, and vessels that fled to Macau after China was destroyed. The Macanese Air Force uses a handful of the various planes the PLA Air Force used.
International Relations[]
Macau has been a member of the League of Nations since 2015. The Macanese have established relations with nearby Chinese survivor states Yunnan and Hainan. Macau also has connections to the South American Confederation and Singapore. It currently does not have any enemies, and is neutral in most affairs.
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