Macau, China, May 26, 2026 (Lusa) – Macau's Personal Data Protection Bureau (DSPDP) is to sign cooperation agreements with its counterparts in Cabo Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, authorities announced on Tuesday.
Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai signed two executive orders published in the official government gazette, granting authorisation to DSPDP Director Yang Chongwei.
The bureau now has the green light to sign memorandums of understanding with the National Data Protection Commission of Cabo Verde (CNPD) and the National Personal Data Protection Agency of Sao Tome and Príncipe.
Lusa requested further details from the DSPDP regarding the agreements, but has not yet received a response.
The DSPDP joined the Lusophone Personal Data Protection Network (RLPD) in early April. The network previously comprised data protection authorities from Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Portugal, and Sao Tome and Príncipe.
Brazil's National Data Protection Authority currently leads the RLPD, created in 2024, while Portugal's National Data Protection Commission oversees the Permanent Secretariat.
The DSPDP stated at the time that joining the network was "an important measure for Macau to develop its own advantages, serve national development, and build a platform for [China's] opening up to the outside world."
The bureau promised in a statement to "take advantage of the historical ties of the Portuguese language and the benefits of bilingualism" to "create a bridge of cooperation" between China and Portuguese-language countries.
Regulators see potential for "mutual learning and reciprocal benefits" in areas such as "personal data protection, data governance, and cross-border data flows", it said.
Yang Chongwei said in a 2024 speech that "data is becoming increasingly important in cooperation between China and Portuguese-language countries."
"With the popularisation of technology, especially artificial intelligence, the development of the digital economy", personal data "will become a new indispensable element," he added.
He said that China and the European Union "attach increasing importance to data utilisation and data trade" and are accelerating the construction of regulatory regimes.
Faustino Varela Monteiro, president of the CNPD, led a delegation to Macau in 2017 to meet Yang Chongwei, and "both parties agreed to deepen cooperation."
The DSPDP is responsible for monitoring, coordinating, and enforcing the personal data protection law in Macau, particularly regarding the Macau City Video Surveillance System.
VQ/RYOL // ADB.
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