Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background of this research topic Macau went through three distinct periods in its legal history: a period of mixed Chinese-Portuguese jurisdiction (1557-1849), a colonial period (1849-1974) and a post-colonial period (1974-1999).1 It is now in its fourth period: Chinese Administration under special conditions". Macau is a small place with a total land area measured 29.9 km2,3 and a population of 582,000.4 Around 11,141 people out of the total population are disabled. 5 As the development goes by, how to provide them a proper education becomes a necessary topic. Special education in Macau keeps a stable pace in development. Legislation promotion plays an indispensable role in the development of special education in Macau and such legislation can play a major role in solving this problem. On of August, 1991, the Macau government promulgated the Law No. 11/911M. The Law No. 11/91/M was known as the Law of the Education System of Macau. Article 13 of Chapter Two (Organization of the education system) in the Law No.11/91/M further described the aims, classification, methods and so on of special education in Macau. On 1 St of July, 1996, the government published the Decree Law No.33/96/M for a better protection of the education right of the students with special education needs. This Decree Law was known as the Macau Decree Law of Special Education System. It was a law in the development of the Law No. 11/91/M.6 On 20 th of December, 1999, since the Government of the People's Republic of China resumed its sovereignty over Macau, Macau has changed rapidly. It was a significant transformation period for adjustment and development for Macau. It was a significant transformation period for the adjustment and the development of Macau. After 20th of December, 1999, Macau government published a series of laws base on the situation of the society at that time and for better regulation of the future development; one of them was the Law No.9/2006 which is the Macau Fundamental Law of Non-Tertiary Education System. The Decree Law No.33/96/M (the Macau Decree Law of Special Education System) is still valid at resent. However, as nearly two decades went by, the defects of the Decree Law No.33/96/M (the Macau Decree Law of Special Education System) has become clearer and clearer, and it was not efficient to fully protect the education right for the students with special education needs; an updated legislation of special education may be needed. We will focus on the defects of the law of special education in Macau in the subsequent chapters.