The Cultural Affairs Bureau (ICM) will hold an academic research lecture about the historical influence of Portuguese civilisation in Macau and Goa at 6.30pm tomorrow in its Tap Seac auditorium.
Dr Gu Weimin, a professor and doctoral tutor at the Philosophy Department of Shanghai Normal University, will talk about  the historical influence of Portuguese civilization in Goa and Macau during the 15th-17th centuries.
Goa and Macau were amongst the numerous Asian colonies established by the Portuguese Seaborne Empire after the 15th century Age of Discovery.
Goa and Macau were two indispensable links in the sea-lane connecting East and West, which started in Lisbon, bypassing the Cape of Good Hope to the coast of East Africa, Goa, Malacca, Macau, and finally arrived at Nagasaki in Japan.
In terms of administration and parish sub-divisions, however, there were differences in their subordination relations in both trading and missionary work.
Whether in the past or nowadays, Goa and Macau "are similar in appearance", an ICM statement said.
The lecture will focus on a comparative study of the influence of Portuguese civilization on the two cities during the 15th-17th centuries, covering trading, intermarriage, urban pattern, missionary work, religious life, architecture and art.
Trade relations and communication between the two cities and the challenges and pressures they encountered will also be explored.
Dr Gu is also a council member of the Chinese Religions Studies Association, a member of the International Committee of Historical Science in Italy, the Commission of History of International Relation in Milan and the India Christian History Studies Association in Bangalore.
He is as well a researcher of Modem Thoughts Studies Institution in East China Normal University. Majoring in the history of Catholicism in China and communication between China and the west, he has authored a number of publications including Christianity and Modern Society of China, The Chronicle History of the Roman Catholic Church in China (635-1949) and A History of Christian Arts in Modern China.
The lecture will be given in Mandarin with Cantonese, Portuguese and English simultaneous interpretation. The event is of free admission for the public.