Wu Hongbo (; born May 1952 in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

) is a Chinese

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Until July 2017 he was the

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

in the

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

. He replaced

Sha Zukang Sha Zukang (; born 1947) is a Chinese diplomat who was head of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs from 2007 to 2012. He was previously the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Education and diplo ...

as the head of DESA. Wu held various high-ranking positions and collected extensive experience in diplomacy. He has worked as Assistant Foreign Minister and Chinese Ambassador to Germany prior to this appointment. He has also worked in a number of locations including

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, and

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. He graduated from

Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ), is a public university in Beijing, China. BFSU boasts the oldest language programs in China offering the largest number of foreign language majors on different educational levels. Located in Haidia ...

and also studied at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

Controversy about impartiality

In 2018, Wu told a studio audience that while he was an "international civil servant", who by the

UN Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...

are not allowed to take orders from their own country's government, that rule had exceptions, saying: "When it comes to Chinese national sovereignty and security, we will undoubtedly defend our country’s interests." As an example, he cited an incident where on his behest,

Dolkun Isa Dolkun Isa (; ; born 2 September 1967) is a Uyghur activist based in Germany, designated as a terrorist, by the Chinese Government since 2003. He is the 3rd and current president of the World Uyghur Congress, in office since 12 November 2017. He ...

, president of the

World Uyghur Congress The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups that claims to "represent the collective interest of the Uyghur people" both inside and outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's R ...

, was expelled from a United Nations Office where Isa was attempting to speak about the situation of Uyghurs in China.

References

External links

* http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/06/01/323-Chinese-diplomat-competent-in-UN-job-FM-spokesman.html, * http://www.china-botschaft.de/det/dshd/t804180.htm Living people Diplomats of the People's Republic of China Chinese officials of the United Nations Ambassadors of China to Germany 1952 births People from Tai'an {{China-politician-stub