Chinese flag,Raised over Macau
Chinese celebrate,In Tiananmen Square
The red and gold banner of the People's Republic of China has been hoisted over Macau after the tiny Portuguese enclave formally reverted to China after colonial rule lasting 450 years. Following the departure of the Portuguese President, Jorge Sampaio, the Chinese President and the Chinese leadership went on to oversee the swearing in of chief executive Edmund Ho and the inaugural ceremony for the new Special Administrative Region's assembly.
Jiang Zemin and his Portuguese counterpart, Jorge Sampaio, both witnessed the historic transition of power. In a solemn ceremony on the stroke of midnight, the Portuguese flag was lowered for the last time over the enclave on the tip of southern China. President Jiang promised that the island of Taiwan would be next to return to the motherland. The event marks the end of centuries of European colonialism in Asia.
Taiwan politically separated from the mainland in 1949 at the end of a civil war between Nationalists and Communists. China considers Taiwan a renegade province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland, and has stepped up its pressure on the island in the run-up to today's hand-over.
In China, bad weather upset months of precision planning for the historic hand-over. A gala fireworks display had been organised to mark the occasion, but the show had to be scrapped because of strong winds. A specially selected crowd of 30,000 people did, however, brave the bad weather in Beijing to welcome the return of Macau with a countdown in Tiananmen Square.
The square was decorated for the occasion with huge boards displaying "Celebrating the Return of Macau" and a giant clock counting down the seconds before the hand-over at the stroke of midnight. Thousands of people from Beijing and neighbouring cities have flooded the square, despite the freezing temperatures.
