Macau: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Macau official long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) official short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) etymology: name is thought to derive from the A-Ma Temple - built in 1488 and dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen - which is referred to locally as "Maa Gok" and which in Portuguese became "Macau"; the Chinese name Aomen means "inlet gates" |
|---|---|
| Dependency status | special administrative region of the People's Republic of China |
| Government type | presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the PRC |
| Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China) |
| Independence | none (special administrative region of China) |
| National holiday | National Day (anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December (1999) is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
| Constitution | previous 1976 (Organic Statute of Macau, under Portuguese authority); latest adopted 31 March 1993, effective 20 December 1999 (Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as Macau's constitution); amended 2005, 2012 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system based on the Portuguese model |
| Citizenship | see China |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (973 were registered in the 2009 legislative elections) and a 400-member Election Committee for the Chief Executive drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, central government bodies, and elected Macau officials |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) head of government: Chief Executive Fernando CHUI Sai On (since 20 December 2009) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the chief executive elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 August 2014 (next to be held in 2019); note - the Legislative Assembly in August 2012 voted to expand the Election Committee to 400 from 300 seats for the 2014 election election results: Fernando CHUI Sai On reelected chief executive; Election Committee vote count - 380 of 396 |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Legislative Council or Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (33 seats; 14 members directly elected by proportional representation vote, 12 indirectly elected by an electoral college of professional and commercial interest groups, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 15 September 2013 (next to be held in September 2017) election results: percent of vote - ACUM 18.0%, UMG 11.1%, UPP 10.8%, NE 9.0%, NUDM 8.9%, UPD 8.2%, APMD 7.5%, ANMD 6.0%, APM 6.0%, other 14.5%; seats by political group - ACUM 3, UMG 2, UPP 2, NE 2, NUDM 1, UPD 1, APMD 1, ANMD 1, APM 1; 12 seats filled by professional and business groups; 7 members appointed by the chief executive |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Court of Final Appeal of Macau Special Administrative Region (consists of the court president and 2 associate justices) judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the Macau chief executive upon the recommendation of an independent commission of judges, lawyers, and "eminent" persons; judge tenure NA subordinate courts: Court of Second Instance; Court of First instance; Lower Court; Administrative Court |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Change or APM (Melinda CHAN Mei-yi) Macau-Guangdong Union or UMG (MAK Soi-kun) New Democratic Macau Association or ANMD (an electoral list of the New Macau Association) New Hope or NE (Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO) New Macau Association or ANM (Sulu SOU Ka-hou) New Union for Macau's Development or NUDM (Angela LEONG On-kei) Prosperous Democratic Macau Association or APMD (an electoral list of the New Macau Association) Union for Development or UPD (KWAN Tsui-hang) Union for Promoting Progress or UPP (HO Ion-sang) United Citizens Association of Macau or ACUM (CHAN Meng-kam) note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Bar-Bending Workers' Association (WONG Wai-Man) Civic Power (Agnes LAM lok-fong) Democratic Action (LEE Kin-yun) Macau New Chinese Youth Association (LEONG Sin-man) Macau Worker's Union (HO Heng-kuok) New Macau Association (Antonio NG Kuok-cheong) Workers' Self-Help Union (CHEONG Weng-fat) |
| International organization participation | ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (Special Administrative Region of China) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau |
| Flag description | green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in the center of the arc and two smaller on either side; the lotus is the floral emblem of Macau, the three petals represent the peninsula and two islands that make up Macau; the five stars echo those on the flag of China |
| National symbol(s) | lotus blossom; national colors: green, white, yellow |
| National anthem | note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" is the official anthem (see China) |