Feature: Macao-born Portuguese Content with Present LifeJust like the name of Root in Macao implies, many Macao-born Portuguese have truly taken Macao as their home.Root in Macao is one organization of people who have a Portuguese origin but were born here. There are over 10,000 such people in Macao. After the Portuguese rule over Macao ended on December 20 last year, most Macao-born Portuguese chose to stay on in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. They have witnessed improving public security and recovering economy over the year past. "We have blended ourselves with other residents, and all of us hold the responsibility of contributing to the development of the SAR and see to it that the 'one country, two systems' principle is successfully carried out," said Jose Joaquim das Neves, secretary-general of Root in Macao. The members of Root in Macao come from various social sectors, including government officials, legislators, judges, police and company employees. Jose Joaquim is a personnel manager with the Macao Electric Company. According to a survey conducted by Macao Today, a Portuguese-language newspaper, in the middle of this year, a major part of Macao-born Portuguese said that they felt content with the work of the Macao SAR government, and that Macao residents had more freedom than they did before the handover. They also said they were equally respected, their political and social status was not affected, and their life style did not change. The SAR government strictly observed the Macao Basic Law. "We feel much encouraged by the fact that our specialty and competence are well recognized, and the government is willing to accept our suggestions," said Joao Manhao, who was promoted to be vice-director of Macao's Judiciary Police not long ago. He noted that the SAR government performed well in the past year and scored achievements much greater than people had expected."We feel confident about the future," Joao Manhao said. In comparison, many Macao-born Portuguese used to be uncertain about their prospects after the handover. They thought they might face discrimination. The reality has proved that the worry is quite unnecessary. "Our friendship with the Chinese here does not change and we get along rather well," Joao Manhao said. Ironically, some Macao-born Portuguese, who left for Portugal and other places before the handover, are considering coming back to Macao. In November next year, a large gathering of Macao-born Portuguese will be held here. It is expected that thousands will come from various parts of the world. "We will use the opportunity to make people know more about Macao," said Jose Manuel de Oliveira Rodrigues, who is in charge of organizing the gathering. |
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