The 7^th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) was held in Hue, Vietnam. Jointly nominated by the Archives of Macao and the National Archive of Torre do Tombo of Portugal, the collection of “Chapas Sínicas” (Official Records of Macao During the Qing Dynasty (1693-1886)) was recommended by the MOWCAP Register Subcommittee formed by experts and approved with unanimous vote by the participating member countries to be listed on the MOWCAP register.

The “Chapas Sínicas” comprise a total of 3,600 documents, including over 1,500 official letters written in Chinese, 5 books of Portuguese translated copies of the letters kept by the Loyal Senate of Macao and 4 packets of miscellaneous documents. The collection of “Chapas Sínicas” is composed of official and non-official documents created mainly from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. The largest part of the collection is made of official correspondence exchanged between the sub-prefects of Macao, magistrates of Xiangshan and other Chinese officials and the Procurators of the Loyal Senate of Macao during the exercise of Chinese sovereignty over Macao. Part of the records, which contain the terms and limitations that were established for the Portuguese scope of administration in Macao, reports and petitions submitted by the Portuguese authorities based in Macao and the replies received from the Chinese authorities in Guangdong, are a manifestation of the territorial and jurisdictional sovereignty of China over Macao. Records which consist of accounts, letters, deeds, contracts and other documents are reflections on the social conditions of the society, the people’s lives, urban development, industrial and agricultural production, trade and commerce, etc. Also featured in the collection is official correspondence between the Chinese and Portuguese authorities under the special circumstances when Macao was leased to Portugal. The collection of “Chapas Sínicas”, which is closely associated with the fonds of Leal Senado (Loyal Senate) preserved in the Archives of Macao, contain first-hand information of great value for the study of Macao history and the history of East-West relations. It was brought to Portugal in the 19th century and later transferred to the custody of National Archive of Torre do Tombo.

In 2015, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in archival domain was signed between the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the General Directorate for Book, Archives and Libraries of the Government of Portugal (DGLAB). The memorandum of understanding facilitated the cooperation between the Archives of Macao and the National Archive of Torre do Tombo of Portugal in the joint nomination of the collection of the “Chapas Sínicas” to be listed on the MOWCAP register, and in a bilateral collaboration for the conservation and digitization of the collection. These endeavours, which are expected to draw more attention on the cultural connotations of Macao’s archives and documentations, are in line with the objective proposed by the Macao SAR Government to transform Macao into a “City of Culturre” and strengthen the cultural exchanges between China and Portugal. Recently, the two archives have completed the submission procedures for the inscription of the “Chapas Sínicas” on the Memory of the World Register, which result  will be announced in 2017.

The UNESCO MOWCAP General Meeting is a biennial event which provides a platform for member countries to report their work and exchange ideas on the preservation of documentary heritage and the formulation of development policies. In the 7th General Meeting, 14 nominations from 10 countries were inscribed on the Asia-Pacific Register of the Memory of the World, including “Archives and Manuscripts of the Macao Kong Tac Lam Temple (16454-1980)” (Macao), “Archives of the Confucius' Family of the Ming and Qing Dynasties” (China) and “Archives of Suzhou Silk Samples of Modern and Contemporary Times” (China).