Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic
Prime Minister
President of the Supreme Court of Justice
President of the Constitutional Court
Governor
Madam President of the Legislative Assembly
President of the High Court of Justice
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am both honoured and pleased to be taking part in this solemn ceremony that pays tribute to Macau in the person of the recipients who represent the best there is in service to the State and to the community.

I am sure that for all of us here today this moment is loaded with history, reminiscences and feelings that are stronger than any words. Those of us who are leaving are already missing this city of the Name of God and its people, testimony to and pledge of a mission, forever unfinished, of bringing people, nations and cultures closer together. The sense of a duty fulfilled - by and for history - enables us to share the fate of those who remain and partake of their confidence in a future of peace and freedom within a tolerant, pluralist community. In this sense this is, above all, a moment of hope.

The men and women of my generation faced times of far-reaching changes where the big decisions that led to the end of the European empires repeatedly tested our capacity, our will and our vision. We have, as Portuguese, sought to provide an answer, acknowledging our past with respect and the new challenges ahead with responsibility.

It is too soon to make a balance and it would be pretentious to guess the verdict of history. Time will show if our path was the right one.

Today, in this place, I am strongly tempted to say that we did take the right path. Macau's external projection underlines its specific qualities in the acknowledgement that solid political and judicial institutions were established, a stable and peaceful community formed and a dynamic economy developed at the crossroads of civilisations. Macau is a modern city prepared for change, made for and by its peoples - the Macanese, the Chinese and the Portuguese, united by their common duty.

Portugal and the Portuguese have good reason to be proud of Macau. Since the Luso-Chinese Joint Declaration was signed in 1987, work has been persistently continued to adapt the institutions, the laws and the administration and to guarantee a framework of permanent articulation at all levels with the People's Republic of China to ensure strict compliance with the bilateral agreements and make what was initially a complex transition process proof of the mature relations between the two States. Similarly, against all pessimistic expectations an accelerated strategy of economic and social development, deemed essential to strengthen Macau's conditions of autonomy, was pursued resulting in such eloquent examples as the international airport and Macau Cultural Centre.

As President of the Republic, and personally, I must emphasise, Governor, your remarkable merit for this major enterprise. Your dedication, your intelligence, your governing skills evidenced over so many years, during the good and the bad times, make the last Portuguese Governor of Macau an example of how to serve one's country. Portugal and Macau owe you a debt. Well done, General Rocha Vieira!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

History does not wait for us. At day's end tomorrow a new era begins for Macau and for relations between China and Portugal.

The Luso-Chinese Joint Declaration guarantees the future Special Administrative Region of Macau a special statute of autonomy. During the next fifty years Macau will continue to have its own institutions, its law, its economic model and its way of life. Its people's civic and political rights are guaranteed within a framework guided by the rule of law which includes the main international human rights covenants.

Relations between China and Portugal, relations that have existed for centuries between these two old nations and states, have grown stronger with this common undertaking, and this is demonstrated at the highest level with the leaders wishing to make the transition in Macau an example of reciprocal respect.

Portugal, a full member of the European Union, and the People's Republic of China share growing responsibilities in the emergence of an international community based on the rule of law, and for defending the balances that are necessary in international relations. The experience of the past will continue as a solid reference guiding our bilateral relations in the future.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The poet ordered us to brave the unknown seas and this we did. Macau holds the mark of that destiny and a part of our history, which we hope will benefit the future of the people of this land, to whom we have came to pay tribute.

Thank you