Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau
| Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau 民政總署 Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais |
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| Area | |
| • Total | 29.2 km2 (11.3 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 542,200 |
| • Density | 20,166/km2 (52,230/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Macau Standard Time (UTC+8) |
| Website | Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau |
The councils and assemblies of the municipalities of Macau were abolished on 1 January 2002, and their functions transferred to the Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais, slightly more than 2 years after Macau became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. They had been put in place under the administration of Portugal.
The current administrative body is the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Portuguese: Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais, Traditional Chinese: 民政總署) under the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Secretaria da Administração e Justiça) of the SAR government.
History
Each municipality was run by a municipal council (câmara municipal), with a supervising municipal assembly (assembleia municipal).
The two municipalities (sing. município or concelho) of the Portuguese era, abolished in 2002, were:
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Municipality of Macau Concelho de Macau 澳門市 |
Coterminous with the Macau Peninsula. Its seat was also known as Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau (= City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, full motto: Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau, Não Há Outra Mais Leal, lit. City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, None Is More Loyal) |
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Municipality of the Islands Concelho das Ilhas 海島市 |
Coterminous with the islands of Taipa and Coloane. |
After the reunification with the People's Republic of China in 1999, these structures were kept provisionally in place: the Provisional Municipal Council of Macau (臨時澳門市政執行委員會, Câmara Municipal de Macau Provisória, officially in broken Portuguese, should be Câmara Municipal Provisória de Macau), the Provisional Municipal Council of the Islands (臨時海島市政執行委員會, Câmara Municipal das Ilhas Provisória, officially in broken Portuguese, should be Câmara Municipal Provisória das Ilhas), and the Provisional Municipal Assembly (Assembleia Municipal Provisória, 臨時市政議會) of each municipality.[1]
The Portuguese-era coat-of-arms, with two angels as heraldic supporters, was changed to a simpler design of a key with two birds as supporters.[2]
On 31 December 2001, all the provisional organs were dissolved and the new Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais [IACM], 民政總署) took on the role of the provisional municipal councils, starting from 1 January 2002, under the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Secretaria da Administração e Justiça) of the SAR government.[3][4]
The IACM was given a logo based on the Chinese Han character 民, for "civilian".
Parishes
There are seven parishes (sing. freguesia) in Macau. 5 are in Concelho de Macau and 2 in Concelho das Ilhas. Under Portuguese rule, they were administrative subdivisions of the municipalities. After 1999, they are still officially recognised but for symbolic reasons only.
- Municipality of Macau
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Our Lady of Fatima Parish (Freguesia de Nossa Senhora de Fátima) 花地瑪堂區 (Pinyin: Huādìmǎtáng Qū) |
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St. Anthony Parish (Freguesia de Santo António) 聖安多尼堂區 (Pinyin: Shèng'ānduōnítáng Qū) or 花王堂區 |
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St. Lazarus Parish (Freguesia de São Lázaro) 望德堂區 (Pinyin: Wàngdétáng Qū) |
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Cathedral Parish (Freguesia da Sé) 大堂區 (Pinyin: Dàtáng Qū) |
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St. Lawrence Parish (Freguesia de São Lourenço) 風順堂區 (Pinyin: Fēngshùntáng Qū) or 聖老愣佐堂區 |
- Municipality of the Islands
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Our Lady of Carmel Parish (Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo) 嘉模堂區 (Pinyin: Jiāmútáng Qū) Coterminous with the island of Taipa |
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St. Francis Xavier's Parish (Freguesia de São Francisco Xavier) 聖方濟各堂區 (Pinyin: Shèngfāngjìgètáng Qū) coterminous with the island of Coloane |
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Cotai Landfill Zone (Zona do Aterro de Cotai) 路氹城海區 (Pinyin: Lùdàngchéng Hǎiqū) The reclaimed land between the islands of Taipa and Coloane, had not been assigned to any of the parishes as of 2005[update]. |
External links
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