Ma Man-kei (; October 1919 – May 26, 2014) was a Chinese-

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

businessman,

tycoon A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, entrepreneur and politician. A strong supporter of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

, Ma was a proponent of the

transfer of sovereignty over Macau The handover of Macau from the Portuguese Republic to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 20 December 1999. This event ended 442 years of Portuguese rule in the former settlement, which began in 1557. Macau was settled by Por ...

from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to the People's Republic of China, which took place in 1999. Ma was vice chairman of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

's (

CPPCC The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s united front system. Its members advise and put proposals ...

) eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh sessions, beginning in 1993. Ma was born in 1919 in

Nanhai County Nanhai County was a former county in Guangdong Province, China, named after the South China Sea. Its former area now makes up Chancheng and Nanhai Districts in Foshan, and Liwan District in Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanizatio ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. He moved to Hong Kong and opened his first business during the late 1930s. He later went to

in the 1940s and expanded his business. He aided the

during the 1950s by importing commodities from Macau and Hong Kong to

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

. Ma served as the vice chairman of the committee which drafted the basic laws for the

Macau Special Administrative Region Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

and had a hand in the territory's transfer. He was also president of the Macau Chamber of Commerce for life. Ma was a former member of the

Legislative Assembly of Macau The Legislative Assembly of the Macau Special Administrative Region is the organ of the legislative branch of Macau. It is a 33-member body comprising 14 directly elected members, 12 indirectly elected members representing Functional constitu ...

. Ma was also the chairman of the Chinese Literature Foundation.

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

penned the title for one of Ma Man-kei's poems in 1998. In 2001, Ma was one of the first recipients of the Grand Lotus Medal of Honour. Ma died at a Beijing hospital on May 26, 2014, at the age of 95, where he had been hospitalized with heart disease for several years. His funeral was held at the

Macau Forum Macau Forum (, ) is a venue connected to the adjacent Macao Polytechnic University Multisport Pavilion and Media Centre located at Avenida de Marciano Baptista, in Sé, Macau, China. Macao Forum used to be the largest indoor venue in Macau befor ...

. Minor planet 228158 Mamankei is named in his honor.

References

1919 births 2014 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Macau People's Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Politicians from Foshan Businesspeople from Guangdong Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong 20th-century Macau politicians 21st-century Macau politicians 20th-century Macau businesspeople 21st-century Macau businesspeople {{Macau-bio-stub