Macau, the last European colony on the Asian continent near the Pearl River Delta in the South China Sea, has been under Portuguese colonial rule for almost 442 years. The first Portuguese explorer, Jorge Alvarez, arrived on the island in 1513. In 1553, Portuguese traders were allowed to set up temporary bases there.Portugal leased the peninsula from China in 1556 and established Asia's first European trading center there, and in 1817 declared a final declaration of sovereignty over Macau.
Macau has been a province of Portugal since 1951. China and Portugal then signed a joint declaration on April 13, 1986, and Macau came under Chinese rule on December 20, 1999, with the aim of implementing the "One Country, Two Principles".
Hong Kong was annexed by China on July 1, 1997, after 157 years of British rule, almost two years before Macau was annexed by China. Under Chinese rule, Hong Kong and Macau became two special administrative regions of China. Hong Kong and Macau have a chief executive as leaders, and the two areas enjoy some autonomy.Democracy and the capitalist economic system are limited to implementing "one country, two policies" in these two areas outside the mainland of China.
Since its incorporation into the Chinese regime in 1996, there have been a series of protests in Hong Kong against the Chinese government's authoritarian behavior.Protests against the National Security Reform Bill in 2003 erupted across Hong Kong. Protests erupted in 2012 when Chinese authorities changed the school curriculum in Hong Kong to include Chinese traditions and culture. On September 26, 2014, protesters took to the streets with umbrellas to demand the participation of pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong's elections.After that, intense agitation started in Hong Kong from June 12, 2019 demanding the cancellation of the extradition bill. The controversial bill was withdrawn in the face of protests. Hong Kong is once again in the throes of a new national security law.
