DATE=12/20/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA-MACAU (L-O) NUMBER=2-257327 BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO DATELINE=BEIJING CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The return of Macau to Chinese sovereignty has provided an opportunity for China's leaders to once again praise the country. Correspondent Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing Chinese authorities say the reunification of the country is not complete, though, until China recovers Taiwan. TEXT: Chinese leaders are celebrating Beijing's recovery of Macau as a festival of national unity. Nearly the entire front page of the "Beijing Youth Daily" is covered with a photo of the midnight handover festivities at Tiananmen Square. The five big characters superimposed over the picture read, simply, Macau comes home. Chinese president Jiang Zemin rushed home to attend a special celebration in the Chinese capital, which was televised live to the entire nation. In his speech, Mr. Jiang - speaking through an interpreter - announced the beginning of a new future for Macau after more than 400-years under Portuguese rule. // JIANG INTERPRETER ACT // Today, Macau has victoriously returned to China, as the new China is confidently marching toward prosperity and strength. // END ACT // Mr. Jiang promised China would observe a one-country, two-systems policy in Macau - which means the territory can keep its current social and economic systems, and most of its laws. This system is in place in Hong Kong, which returned to China from Britain in 1997. The Chinese president says his government also plans to use it to reunify Taiwan - an island Beijing considers part of Chinese territory. // JIANG INTERPRETER ACT // To achieve a complete national reunification, in accordance with the one-China principle, is the shared aspiration of all the Chinese people, including the Taiwan compatriots, and an inevitable trend, which no force on earth can ever resist. It is our hope that the Taiwan authorities will not go against the tide of history. // END ACT // In Taiwan, Vice-President Lien Chan criticized Mr. Jiang's comments. Mr. Lien says the one-country, two- systems formula is not valid for Taiwan because the island is not a colony, like Hong Kong and Macau were. Back in Beijing, 30-thousand hand-picked Chinese citizens braved arctic winds and sub-zero temperatures to come to Tiananmen Square. They counted down the seconds to Macau's return, along with a huge clock set up for the occasion. // COUNTDOWN SOUND - FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT // Several blocks from the Square, police held back a handful of people not invited to attend the celebrations. For many Chinese people, though, the details of the Macau handover were not as important as the fact that the government gave everyone the day off. (SIGNED) NEB/HO/RAE 20-Dec-1999 09:44 AM EDT (20-Dec-1999 1444 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
