Representatives of China and Portugal on Monday presented to the UN office in Vienna their governments' statements on Macao's participation in the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the UN International Drug Control Program (UNIDCP).

The Portuguese statement said that according to the 1987 Sino- Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao, the Portuguese government's control over Macao's foreign affairs and the territory's participation in the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the UNIDCP will cease on December 19, 1999.

The Chinese statement said that under the Sino-Portuguese joint declaration, the Chinese government will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Macao on December 20, 1999. From that day on, Macao will be a special administrative region of China and the Chinese government will be responsible for Macao's foreign affairs.

It said China's membership in the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs shall cover Macao as of December 20, 1999. Accordingly, the Chinese government acknowledges that as of December 20, 1999, representatives of the Macao Special Administrative Region should be able to continue to attend plenary sessions and special meetings of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and other drug-related international conferences in the capacity of Chinese representatives.

While respecting regulations of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Macao Special Administrative Region, with the permission of the Chinese government, should be able to participate independently, in the name "Macao, China", in Asia-Pacific anti-narcotic executives' meetings and continue to participate in relevant activities of the UNIDCP.

According to relevant international conventions, Macao's reports on narcotic and psychotropic drugs should first be sent to the central government of China which will then transfer them to UN agencies, the Chinese statement said.

Chinese representative to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna, Zhang Yishan, in a note to the UN office in Vienna, asked its director Pino Arlacchi to put China's statement on record and call the attention of all members of the UN narcotic commission to it. (Xinhua)