Wu Dawei
Encyclopedia
Wu Dawei is the special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs and former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
.
Wu's career has largely taken him back and forth between China and Japan
. His first assignment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MOFA) was as an attaché to the Chinese embassy in Japan, lasting from 1973 to 1979. He returned to China in 1979 to take a position in the MOFA's Department of Asian Affairs, and in 1980 was promoted to deputy office director of the General Office. He went to Japan again in 1985 to serve as second secretary and later first secretary in the Chinese embassy; after coming back to China in 1989, he continued to work his way up through the ranks of the Department of Asian Affairs. In 1994, he was posted back to Japan as minister counselor.
Wu's first ambassadorial-level assignment was to South Korea
, lasting from September 1998 to July 2001. Controversies which arose during his tenure there include his 1999 remarks in which he condemned South Korean and non-governmental organisation involvement with the issue of North Korean refugees in northeast China
, deriding it as "neo-interventionism", and claimed that the safety of refugees repatriated to North Korea had been guaranteed. His comments spurred South Korean human rights
activists to hold protests at the Chinese embassy in Seoul and circulate a petition urging the United Nations
to grant refugee status to North Koreans in China.
Following his time in South Korea, Wu became China's ambassador to Japan, serving from July 2001 until August 2004; he returned to China to take up his post as Vice Minister of Foreign affairs at the end of that assignment. He was the chairman of the Six-party talks
and has been China's representative from 2005 to 2007 when the talks broke down.
Wu is married and has one daughter.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Wu's career has largely taken him back and forth between China and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. His first assignment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China is an executive agency responsible for foreign relations between the People's Republic of China and other countries in the world. The agency is led by the Foreign Minister. The current minister is Yang Jiechi...
(MOFA) was as an attaché to the Chinese embassy in Japan, lasting from 1973 to 1979. He returned to China in 1979 to take a position in the MOFA's Department of Asian Affairs, and in 1980 was promoted to deputy office director of the General Office. He went to Japan again in 1985 to serve as second secretary and later first secretary in the Chinese embassy; after coming back to China in 1989, he continued to work his way up through the ranks of the Department of Asian Affairs. In 1994, he was posted back to Japan as minister counselor.
Wu's first ambassadorial-level assignment was to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, lasting from September 1998 to July 2001. Controversies which arose during his tenure there include his 1999 remarks in which he condemned South Korean and non-governmental organisation involvement with the issue of North Korean refugees in northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
, deriding it as "neo-interventionism", and claimed that the safety of refugees repatriated to North Korea had been guaranteed. His comments spurred South Korean human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activists to hold protests at the Chinese embassy in Seoul and circulate a petition urging the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to grant refugee status to North Koreans in China.
Following his time in South Korea, Wu became China's ambassador to Japan, serving from July 2001 until August 2004; he returned to China to take up his post as Vice Minister of Foreign affairs at the end of that assignment. He was the chairman of the Six-party talks
Six-party talks
The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.There has been a series of meetings with six participating states:* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ;...
and has been China's representative from 2005 to 2007 when the talks broke down.
Wu is married and has one daughter.