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01/10/2025 02:52:00 pm

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University of Macau Transfers to a New Campus – In China Border

The University of Macau
(Photo : The University of Macau  )

The University of Macau is taking a bold step moving to a new campus situated in the China border. The University is leaving behind its present campus to relocate across the border of mainland China, Zhuhai.

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This new step means moving everything including its 10,000 students and faculty members, 300 laboratories, and 650,000 books from Macau to mainland China.

However, the campus is not the only thing the university is moving from Macau. Although the new campus is located in China border, it will still be governed by Macau laws and not adapting Beijing's laws. The University of Macau will start using the new campus this coming September at the start of classes. As part of the agreement in the 2009 bill, the University of Macau will still be under the governance of Macau.

Just like Hong Kong, Macau was occupied by the European colony until jurisdiction was returned to China in the 1990s. Although the jurisdiction of Macau is under the Chinese government, Macau is only governed by China semi-autonomously. Despite China's jurisdiction, the two cities (Macau and Beijing) have different passports, border control, and currencies.

The two cities also both have different laws when it comes to uncensored Internet access. Since the University of Macau will fall under Macau's laws, the university will still have the same rules with regards to Internet access. According to the Unversity's rector, Wei Zhao, "As the new campus will be under the jurisdiction of Macau, Internet and telecommunications services will continue to be provided by Macau providers... What students can access in the current campus will be accessible in the new campus, YouTube and Facebook included". It is a well-known fact that access to these two websites is restricted in Beijing.

Despite this agreement, the new campus is only a lease to the Chinese government. An associate professor of the university, Dr. Godinho, said "It's not permanent. It's a rental", referring to the lease. The government of Macau has paid China 1.2 billion Macau patacas (approximately $150 million) for its 50-year lease. 

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