Premier Zhu Rongji signed a State Council decree on December 20 making the map of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) effective as of December 20.

The map was approved by the State Council at its 23rd executive meeting on December 7, 1999, in accordance with the Resolution of the National People's Congress on Establishing the Macao Special Administrative Region passed at the first session of the Eighth National People's Congress, China's highest organ of power, on March 31, 1993.

According to the decree, the official boundary line between Guangdong Province and the Macao SAR as of December 20 will be delineated as indicated in the new map.

The Macao SAR of the People's Republic of China consists of Macao Peninsula, Taipa Island, and Coloane Island.

The northern boundary line of the Macao SAR connects with Gongbei Road of Zhuhai City in Guangdong Province. The area to the south of the arched door of Guanzha belongs to the Macao SAR, while the area to the north of the arched door of Guanzha up to the old flag building at the Zhuhai frontier checkpoint will remain the same as before.

The water boundaries will stay as they are on the original Macao map, said officials with the Office of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs under the State Council and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

The standard official map of the Macao SAR was drawn up by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping in three versions, with the scales of 1:20,000, 1:100,000 and 1:150,000, and in two languages -- Chinese and English.

Any map that is incompatible with the new Macao SAR map will be invalid after December 20, the officials noted.

The maps are available at the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.