For China, Macau's a way to Taiwan CINDY SUI
To the average Chinese, Macau is but a distant memory from primary school history lessons mentioned in passing after the chapter on Britain's seizure of Hong Kong during the Opium War. Many people do not know where Macau is located or what language is spoken there. Nothing close to Hong Kong mega stars like Jackie Chan ever sprang out of the sleepy backwaters. But as the tiny Portuguese colony prepares to return to China after a 443-year separation, Beijing is making sure every Chinese person knows about Macau. For, China is seizing Macau's return to its rule next week as an opportunity to rally support for its drive to regain the ultimate prize Taiwan analysts say. ``Macau is insignificant in itself. That's why China is turning the handover into a very symbolic thing,'' says Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Director of the Hong Kong-based French Centre for Research on Contemporary China. Macau will be handed over on December 20. The tiny peninsula and two islands present no economic benefits to the mainland,economists note. In fact, China in the '70s turned down an offer from Portugal to return Macau to the mainland fearing it would disrupt stability in Hong Kong. But in the run-up to the handover, China's state media is cranking up the propaganda machine and trying to rev up the patriotic spirit by running dramas, news stories and daily commercials. Each night, the central television station marks the days left before the handover. China is hoping to sway not only domestic opinion but international opinion as well in favor of Taiwan's reunification by showing Hong Kong and Macau can prosper under the ``one country, two systems'' formula. ``The pressure on Taiwan to accept the `one country, two systems' formula will be stronger after Macau's handover,'' Cabestan predicted. Hong Kong academic Joseph Cheng added: ``We're going to see more tension between Taiwan and China now.'' The propaganda appears to be working, at least domestically. What most Chinese know is that the Portuguese enclave was seized fromChina during a shameful period when the country was carved into ports dominated by foreign powers. So even those who believe it is the British who control Macau feel a sense of pride at its return. ``It must be returned to China to make China whole,'' says Deng Meng, a 20-year-old hotel cleaner who admits the handover would have little effect on her other than offering her another travel destination. Besides, Taiwan immediately pops into people's minds when they discuss the Macau handover. ``Returning Macau to China will increase China's strength. And after Taiwan returns, it will be even greater. Then no one will dare pick on us,'' a retired machinery worker says. He is not discouraged by polls that show most Taiwanese do not wish to reunite with the mainland. ``It's only a matter of time. When China's economy improves and when they see how well Hong Kong and Macau are doing, the Taiwanese people will want to come back,'' he feels. After Hong Kong, Beijing may find Macau cakewalk Hong Kong's two years of life under Chinese rule offer few clues about what the future holds for Macau as it prepares to reunite with China, Hong Kong analysts and politicians say. For, tiny, sleepy Macau is nothing like free-wheeling, dynamic Hong Kong. Portugal has been a cordial and enthusiastic partner in the discussions to hand back the last vestige of its colonial empire, unlike the tetchy, bitter Sino-British talks which led to Hong Kong's handover. Like Hong Kong, Macau's 4,50,000 residents have been promised a high degree of autonomy under the `one country, two systems' policy by Beijing. But pro-democracy activists hold out little hope that Macau will bother to cry foul at any sign of Beijing encroaching on its autonomy. Unlike in Hong Kong, Macau people have never been strongly attached to democratic institutions. Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.