Wang Guangya

Wang Guangya (born March 1950; simplified Chinese: 王光亚; traditional Chinese: 王光亞; pinyin: Wáng Guāngyà)[1] is a Chinese diplomat who is the former Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. 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.

HE Ambassador
Wang Guangya
王光亚
Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
In office
October 2010 – 22 September 2017
PremierWen Jiabao
Li Keqiang
Preceded byLiao Hui
Succeeded byZhang Xiaoming
Permanent Representative and Ambassador of China to the United Nations
In office
August 2003 – September 2008
Preceded byWang Yingfan
Succeeded byZhang Yesui
Personal details
BornMarch 1950 (age 73)
Funing County, Jiangsu, China
Political partyCommunist Party of China
Alma materLondon School of Economics
Johns Hopkins University
In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang (王).

Background

Education

Wang studied at Student Center of British Council, The United World College of the Atlantic, and at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom. He is a graduate from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1982.[2]

Family

Wang is married to Chen Yi's daughter Cong Jun and has a son.[3]

Career

Wang was appointed Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 25 August 2003.[4] He was President of the United Nations Security Council 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."[5]

According to a September 2006 profile of Wang in The New York Times Magazine, he was considered the top contender for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in Beijing in 2007.[6]

In October 2010 he became the second post-handover director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.[7] There have only been two directors for the affairs office. Wang spends most of his time in Beijing.[7] Though he did make a three-day visit to HK in 2011 to address the Home Ownership Scheme 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.[8]

Controversy

One country two systems comment

Zhao Lianhai was a worker who defended the victims of the 2008 Chinese milk scandal. On 29 December 2010 Wang Guangya said that because of the One country, two systems Hong Kong should not interfere with the issue. He then made the controversial statement, "well water (HK) should not mix with river water (China)" (Chinese: 井水不犯河水; pinyin: Jǐngshuǐ bùfàn héshuǐ). Pro-Beijing member Ip Kwok-him 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.[9][10] Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang was asked to interpret what the water-river statement meant. He only smiled and did not answer.[11] The phrase was first used by former CPC General Secretary Jiang Zemin in December 1989 when he met the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He previously said "Well water should not mix with river water, river water should not mix with well water."[12]

References
  1. "China Vitae : Biography of Wang Guangya".
  2. "Alumni News". Johns Hopkins Magazine. February 2004.
  3. "Sohu" in Chinese
  4. "中华人民共和国外交部".
  5. "Britain, France Introduce Iran Resolution". ABC News. 3 May 2006.
  6. James Traub, "The World According to China", The New York Times Magazine, 3 September 2006.
  7. South China Morning Post. ""Pan-democrats feel slighted by Beijing official" Retrieved on 2010-01-23
  8. South China Morning Post. June 21, 2011. "Wang's a former diplomat, and it shows"
  9. RTHK.org. "王光亞：趙連海案已妥善解決" Archived 1 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2 December 2010.
  10. RTHK.org. "葉國謙：港區人大關心趙連海案 不涉河水井水" Archived 1 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 29 December 2010.
  11. HKdailynews.com.hk. ""唐英年遊工展會 買豉油蠔油小食" Retrieved on 2010-12-29.
  12. 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
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