Wang Guangya (born March 1950; ) is a Chinese diplomat who is the former Director of the

Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency of the State Council of the People's Republic of China responsible for promoting cooperation and coordination of political, economic and cultural ties betwe ...

of the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

. A career diplomat, Wang was previously Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served as Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations from 2003 to 2008.

Background

Education

Wang studied at Student Center of British Council, The United World College of the Atlantic, and at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in the United Kingdom. He is a graduate from the

School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1982.

Family

Wang is married to

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

's daughter Cong Jun and has a son.

Career

Wang was appointed Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 25 August 2003. He was President of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

for the month of February 2004. On 3 May 2006, when Britain and France introduced a UN Security Council resolution insisting Iran end its nuclear program, Wang commented, "I don't think this draft as it stands now will produce good results. I think it's tougher than expected." According to a September 2006 profile of Wang in ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', he was considered the top contender for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in Beijing in 2007. In October 2010 he became the second post-handover director of the

.''South China Morning Post''.
"Pan-democrats feel slighted by Beijing official"
Retrieved on 2010-01-23 There have only been two directors for the affairs office. Wang spends most of his time in Beijing. Though he did make a three-day visit to HK in 2011 to address the

Home Ownership Scheme The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing with two aims – to encourage b ...

issue. His working style is very different compared to the previous director Liao Hui who kept silent from public and worked in mystery the 13 years he was in charge of HK.

Controversy

One country two systems comment

Zhao Lianhai Zhao Lianhai (赵连海) is a Chinese dissident and former food safety worker who became an activist for parents of children harmed during the 2008 Chinese milk scandal. In 2010 he was sentenced to years imprisonment for 'disturbing social order' ...

was a worker who defended the victims of the

2008 Chinese milk scandal The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a significant Food safety incidents in China, food safety incident in China. The scandal involved Sanlu Group, Sanlu Group's milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adultera ...

. On 29 December 2010 Wang Guangya said that because of the

One country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...

Hong Kong should not interfere with the issue. He then made the controversial statement, "well water (HK) should not mix with river water (China)" (). Pro-Beijing member

Ip Kwok-him Ip Kwok-him, GBM, GBS, JP (; born 8 November 1951) is a former unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, served between 2016 and 2022. He is also former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the District Council ...

then tried to defend the director by saying that HK citizens were only concerned about mainland affairs, and that they do care about One country two systems as well as the mainland justice system.

Chief Secretary for Administration The Chief Secretary for Administration, commonly known as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Governmen ...

Henry Tang Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...

was asked to interpret what the water-river statement meant. He only smiled and did not answer. The phrase was first used by former CPC General Secretary

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...

in December 1989 when he met the

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

. He previously said "Well water should not mix with river water, river water should not mix with well water."iFeng.com
"回归前江泽民警告港英政府：绝不能你请客我掏钱"
Retrieved on 23 January 2010

References

External links

Wang Guangya biography @ China Vitae, the web's largest online database of China VIPs

at the University of Chicago's "China and the Future of the World" conference * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Guangya 1950 births Permanent Representatives of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shanghai People's Republic of China politicians from Shanghai People educated at Atlantic College People educated at a United World College Alumni of the London School of Economics Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Living people