Macau to close representative office in Taiwan

Macau will today temporarily suspend operations of its representative office in Taiwan.

Closure of Macau’s Taiwan office follows closely on the heels of the closure of Hong Kong’s representative office in Taiwan, the reason for which is cited as Taiwan’s interference in China’s internal affairs. As Special Administrative Regions (SAR), Macau and Hong Kong are notionally semi-autonomous from Beijing. However, recent legal actions have placed them more under direct control of the Chinese Central government. Taiwan is still one of Macau’s largest trading partners with nearly $100 million in trade each year.

Beijing banning activities commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre in Hong Kong and Macau, and Police lockdowns on June 4^th were a stark reminder of Beijing’s increased influence in the governance of the SARs.

Expect both Macau and Hong Kong to establish trade representative offices in Taiwan when relations cool down to stabilize the economic relationship. Today’s closure represents a more unified anti-Taiwan-independence stance from China and its SARs, meaning Taiwan will need to increasingly rely on Western partners to maintain its notional independence and economy. Decreased trade with China due to political considerations will significantly impact Taiwan’s economy as over 24.3% of Taiwan’s total trade is with China.

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