The Portuguese established their colonial rule in Macao in the mid-19th century. On 20 December 1999, Macao was reintegrated with the People's Republic of China and reinvented as the Macao Special Administrative Region (the Macao SAR). This overview of the language situation in Macao displays that in postcolonial Macao the dynamic interplay of local, national, and global forces prevails across all sectors from politics to economy to education. The push and pull between the local, national, and global forces are also observable in Macao's sociolinguistic landscape and in Macao SAR Government's language policy and planning.