THE MACAU ISLANDS

The name has stolen the title of many newsreports recently,following the allegations against Mr V A Arunkumar,son of the former Kerala CM Mr.V S Achuthanandan. He is alleged to have visited the place on several occasions.It is good for the Keralites to know something about ths place.

        Macau,also spelt Macao is one of the 2 Special Administrative Regions(SAR )of the People’s Republic of China,the other region being Hongkong.

     Macau was a Portuguese colony and was the first and last Europian colony in China.The Portuguese settled in the Island nation during the 16^th century AD and administered the region till  20^th December,1999. On that  day it was handed over to PRC (People’s Republic of China )as per a joint declaration accepting a One Country,Two Systems policy.(Just like HongKong.)

      Macau has an area of just 30 Square Km and had a population of 5.5 lakhs in 2010. 95 % of the population are Chinese,and the rest are Portuguese and other ethnic groups.It is the most thickly populated region in the world ( 18428 /Sq Km )

     The region has the second highest life expectancy in the world.     The Currency is Pataca.1 pataca =0.98 HonKong dollar.The territory’s economy is largely dependent on Gambling and Tourism and to some extent on textile exports.

The special economic status promised will be in force till 20^th December 2049 ( valid for 50 years )