MACAU HAS received qualified praise from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for the economic policies it has pursued since returning from Portuguese to Chinese rule.
The WTO's Trade Policy Review of Macau, recently released in Geneva, says: 'Neither the Asian [financial] crisis nor Macau's reversion to China in December 1999 has materially altered the territory's trade-and-investment regime, which remains among the most open in the world'.
Macau is also commended for 'having succeeded in sharply reducing crime since the reversion'.
But the review does include a raft of rather broad hints that Macau's economic decision makers should not rest on their laurels.
For example, the review's authors complain that Macau's gross-domestic-product data 'are not always readily available' and that 'transparency with respect to expenditure, especially in the area of Government procurement, could be improved'.
Although the review praises Macau for passing new legislation to comply with the WTO's agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, it cautions that 'gaps appear to remain', and raises some doubt 'as to whether the penalties actually imposed are sufficient to constitute an effective deterrent'.
In spite of relatively frequent raids by inspectors of the Economic Services Bureau, dozens of stores continue a roaring trade in pirated optical discs. In flagrant disrespect for the rule of law and Macau's international image, uniformed police officers can still be seen patronising these shops.