Signs of the times Macau awoke yesterday to the sun gleaming on its new symbols of mainland rule. In the hours after midnight teams of council workers swarmed the territory removing Portuguese flags and replacing them with China's national emblem. Relics of Lisbon's rule were quickly removed from public buildings, most notably the Portuguese coat of arms, replaced above the Praia Grande Palace, the seat of Macau's legislature, by the emblem of the People's Republic of China. New life A baby boy weighing 3.49kg was born 15 minutes after the handover, making him the first child born in the new Macau SAR. The child's mother, Wong Pui-sim, is a hospital nurse and father Lei Kit-lam is a constable in the Macau Public Security Police. Top story Macau's two Portuguese-language daily newspapers welcomed the handover. 'Macau changes flag,' was the front-page headline in Jornal Tribuna de Macau, with a colour photograph of the handover ceremony. 'New era,' was the headline in Macau Hoje. US party More than 400 New York Chinatown residents threw a colourful party to celebrate Macau's historic return to the mainland. The New York crowd lined the streets and exploded into loud cheers, banged drums and waved flags when Macau's new flag was raised alongside China's.
