Gao Zhikai (; born 1962) is a Chinese lawyer, academic and media spokesman for the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
(CCP). He is the Vice President of the Beijing based
Center for China and Globalization (CCG), and Chair Professor of
Soochow University. He was formerly a translator for the CCP leader
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
.
Biography
Gao graduated with a
J.D. degree from
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
.
He received an M.A. in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from
Yale Graduate School
The Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the graduate school of Yale University. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest graduate school in North America, and was the first North American graduate school to confer a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D ...
. He graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in English Language and Literature from
Soochow University and
Beijing University of Foreign Studies respectively.
Gao was a translator for Deng Xiaoping from 1983 to 1988.
He is a Director of the
China National Association of International Studies and an Executive Director of Beijing Private Equity Association. Gao is the vice president of the
Center for China and Globalization.
According to ''
Foreign Policy'' "Gao was once treated as a reputable interlocutor in U.S.-China relations."
Views
Hong Kong
In 2014 Gao condemned
pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as illegal and provocative. He supports the
National Security Law and the continued integration of Hong Kong into China.
AUKUS
In September 2021 Gao referred to the
AUKUS
AUKUS (, ) is a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, announced on 15 September 2021 for the Indo-Pacific region. Under the pact, the US and the UK will help Australia to acquire nuclear-powered ...
pact as a "gross violation of international law," claimed that "Armed with nuclear submarines, Australia itself will be a target for possible nuclear attacks in the future," and referred to Australians as "brainless." He also warned that Australia's moves towards nuclear-powered submarines would lead to the country "being targeted with nuclear weapons," in a future nuclear war. Gao repeated his warning to Australia during an interview on
''60 Minutes Australia'' television programme in November 2021: "I would say the AUKUS deal in itself by enabling Australia to build nuclear submarines will have one big consequence for Australia, that is, Australia will no longer enjoy the benefit and the very rare privilege of not being targeted with nuclear weapons going forward."
[Prepare for Armageddon: China's Warning to the World](_blank)
''60 Minutes Australia'', November 2021. (video)
The interviewer challenged Gao by reminding him that Australia was planning to buy nuclear ''powered'' submarines and not nuclear ''armed'' submarines, and asked: "Why should Australia then be a target of nuclear weapons?" Dismissing the distinction, Gao insisted: "Listen to me: the tubes in the submarine can be armed with both nuclear warheads and conventional warheads. Now, in the heat of a battle or in the heat of a war, do you think Australia will allow inspections as to what kind of warhead you put into that big tube? I can bet you, in the heat of battle no one will pause – and the safe approach is to target Australia as a nuclear-armed country.
Taiwan
Gao supports "any means possible" to achieve
Chinese unification.
In October 2021 Gao claimed that most supporters of Taiwanese independence were of Japanese descent. Gao then called for the
ethnic cleansing of those of Japanese descent following any unification with Taiwan.
In August 2022 Gao argued that the "Chinese military’s mission is to liberate Taiwan."
COVID-19
Gao believes that any search for the origins of the COVID-19 virus in China are part of "a conspiracy" because it "existed earlier than the outbreak of Wuhan in other parts of the world, including, most logically, in the United States, centering on Fort Detrick."
Peng Shuai
In February 2022, Gao claimed on the Australian
''60 Minutes Australia'' program that the Chinese tennis player
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
could not have been raped by a CCP official because of her physical athleticism as a professional athlete.
Other
Gao opposes
Scottish Independence and criticized the UK for allowing the
2014 Scottish independence referendum to happen at all.
In June 2021 Gao said that “The G7 and Nato have been distorted into anti-China platforms.”
Gao believes that NATO expansion and potential missile defense system emplacements were the cause of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
. According to the South China Morning Post "He said the same scenario could occur between England and Scotland, if a country like Russia wanted to deploy nuclear weapons on Scottish territory." He has claimed that Ukraine joining NATO would "trigger armageddon."
References
Further reading
;Biographies
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;Opinion pieces on/by Gao
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Victor
Living people
Yale Law School alumni
Beijing Foreign Studies University alumni
1962 births
Soochow University (Suzhou) alumni
Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni