Saturday, 11 September 2010

Sha Zukang, China's Top U.N. Diplomat, Goes On Drunken Rant Against Americans

The Huffington Post

click here for story

China's top-ranking U.N. diplomat Sha Zukang rather undiplomatically launched a drunken rant against U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon during a dinner at a U.N. retreat last week which left officials cringing, according to reports.

"I know you never liked me, Mr. Secretary-General," Sha reportedly said during his roughly 15-minute rant at the retreat in Austria. "Well, I never liked you, either."

According to reports, Ban nodded awkwardly as other U.N. officials tried to convince the 62-year-old Sha to put down the microphone. Yet Sha, who was appointed the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs in 2007, insisted on continuing -- and, as if for good measure, he then laid into American U.N. official Bob Orr. " I don't really like him," Sha said. "He's an American, and I really don't like Americans."

Fortunately, a presumably worse-for-the-wear Sha likely realized he'd let the mask of diplomacy slip amidst the liquor the next day, and requested a meeting with Ban, during which he was said to be "deeply apologetic," according to Farhan Haq, the acting deputy U.N.

No comments: