The Republic of China had done a good job of undoing China’s century of humiliation. Land had been returned to China and unequal treaties had ended. But the legacies of European imperialism remained. One such legacy was the Portuguese colony of Macau. Portugal had been in China long before any other European power. The Portuguese Presence in Macau went all the way back to the 16th century. Portugal was also the European power most committed to retaining it’s colonial holdings. The majority of the population there was Han Chinese. Similar to other parts of the Portuguese Empire, the natives did not have the same rights as the Portuguese. By the mid-20th century, the native population of Macau was losing its patience with Lisbon.
(The ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau shows the Portuguese influence in the city)
The geopolitical situation had changed in a relatively short period of time, and it had not changed to Portugal’s advantage. Instead of a fractured nation, China was now a unified, rising power. In the event of a war, Portugal would not be able to do anything to stop China from quickly seizing the city. Thus, an uneasy peace continued, with the Portuguese colonial administrators understanding that China could swoop in at any moment. Fears of a Chinese invasion became more real when India took Goa. Despite this, China would not take Macau by force. Chiang Kai-shek wanted the transfer of power to be peaceful. China also had much more pressing concerns than Macau for most of his time in office.
Behind the scenes, China had agitators stirring up trouble in Macau (as well as Hong Kong). The Kuomintang was active in Macau, and membership in the Macau KMT grew exponentially in the years following the end of the Civil War. The KMT soon became the largest and most influential organization representing the Chinese population of the city. Occasionally, local Kuomintang activists would lead protests against the Portuguese governing authorities. Sometimes protests would turn into riots and would need to be put down by those authorities. In 1962, one such riot led to the death of two rioters by police. Relations between Chinese and Portuguese continued to sour. Local activists called for democratic elections. Knowing that elections would see the Portuguese minority heavily outvoted, the authorities would not budge.
As the 1960s went on, Chiang Kai-shek began to take more interest in Macau. Part of the reason for this is that he became increasingly worried about maintaining good public opinion. He sought to take advantage of the rising discontent within the Portuguese colony. In the Summer of 1964, the Chinese government funded activists in their efforts to organize reunification marches. These marches were accompanied by strikes and acts of civil disobedience. Governor António Lopes dos Santos declared the protests illegal, and the police began to arrest protesters. This caused even more unrest and violence between protestors and the police ensued.
(António Lopes dos Santos)
All this time the government of China called upon the Portuguese colonial government to enter negotiations with the protesters. While Portugal initially rejected these offers, they soon changed their tune. China had increased its military presence in Guangdong Province, where soldiers under Dai Jitao were considered a threat even if Chiang Kai-shek’s official position was peaceful reunification. More importantly, China threatened to cut off food shipments into Macau, something the Macanese heavily relied on. Portugal clearly had to make a compromise. What was determined was that the government would negotiate with the protesters. The Chinese would have to be allowed to have a say in the city’s government. An assembly was formed.
The Macanese assembly in 1964 consisted of Portuguese colonials along with local business and community leaders. The Portuguese opposed a transfer of Macau to China, while the majority of Chinese supported it. There was some opposition to reunification among the Chinese population, notably among the gambling magnates and some criminal elements. The Assembly would elect businessman Ho Yin as the first Premier of Macau. He was chosen because of he had good relations with both the Portuguese and the Chinese. While not a member of the Kuomintang, Ho was sympathetic to the KMT agenda. By 1965, the Macanese Assembly was effectively the government of Macau, with Lisbon essentially allowing the assembly to govern the city as it pleased. Later that year, Chiang Kai-shek visited Macau and met with Ho Yin, the de facto leader of the city. The two men discussed the plan for the transition of ownership of Macau from Portugal to China.