China.org: In Macao, Portuguese remains a very important language, actually one of the official languages in the region. What is the situation of the Portuguese language in Macao nowadays?

Ambassador: Portuguese is, I believe, more spoken and learnt in Macao now than it was during our administration. And why? For the reasons I have just underlined when I referred to the strategic importance of the Portuguese language as a trade and business language. As you know, Macao has acted as a hub for the interchanges between China and the Portuguese speaking countries. Some of them, namely Angola and Brazil, are very important economic and trade partners for China, and as a consequence the number of Chinese corporations and businesses established in Brazil and Angola is increasing. Therefore, people in Macao understand that learning the language is an instrument to enhance the chances to improve their living conditions, since they will have encouraging perspectives of getting a good salary in the Portuguese speaking countries working for those Chinese companies or as interpreters and translators. We have now, for instance, one thousand three hundred adults learning Portuguese in the Portuguese Orient Institute, which is supported by the Portuguese Government. But our language is also taught in the Portuguese School of Macao; in some Chinese-Portuguese schools with Portuguese sections and Portuguese learning programs; in the University of Macao and in the Polytechnical Institute of Macao. Therefore, I would say that Portuguese has curiously developed more since the handover of the administration to the Chinese authorities than it had before. In 2003, giving a tangible expression to the role of Macau as a platform for contacts between China and the Portuguese speaking countries, the Macau Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum between China and Portuguese speaking countries was set up. It is still a young institution, but it has been very important in making the people in Macao more aware of the importance of the Portuguese “factor” in their identity and heritage and to lead them to consider the knowledge of Portuguese language as a practical asset for their lives.

China.org: And not only in Macao, but also in continental China, the teaching of Portuguese has registered a very fast development.

Ambassador: Exactly, I think for the same reason, a large number (relatively speaking) of Chinese youngsters are studying it. We have five hundreds students (more or less) in mainland China in different official courses, two in Beijing and one in Shanghai, with our support, and seven unofficial. We have had requests from other universities to create courses of Portuguese in different parts of China. Unfortunately, we cannot still satisfy all these requests. But I think it is quite encouraging the number of people in mainland China seeking to learn Portuguese to become teachers, interpreters, and translators.