Painting by Ahn Gyeon (안견/安堅), Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land (몽유도원도/夢遊桃源圖), 1447.

5.10.09

Treaty of Peking (1887)

The Sino-Portuguese equivalent of the Treaty of Nanking, though much less onerous to China. It was only made possible, after three centuries of Portuguese rule in Macau, because of Qing weakness in the face of Western encroachment under the 'Treaty System'. For the first time, Portuguese sovereignty over Macau was recognised.
The Portuguese Constitution of 1976 clarified that Macau was under Portuguese administration only: China held de jure sovereignty, while Portugal de facto exercised it.
This stance from newly-democratic Portugal, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the PRC, in 1979, and the example of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, in 1984, all paved the way for the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, in 1987 (on the centenary of the Treaty of Peking), and the resumption of full sovereignty by the PRC on 20 December 1999.


1 comment:

  1. José Gonçalo Silva10 February 2010 at 10:11

    I've recently posted on my blog regarding this Treaty and some relevant facts surrounding it.
    Please go to http://is.gd/7T0IW

    ReplyDelete