Liu Fang (Chinese: 柳芳; pinyin: Liǔ Fāng; born February 1962) is a Chinese attorney who was the twelfth Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a position she has held from 2015 until 2021[1] when Juan Carlos Salazar was appointed the new Secretary General.[2] She was the first woman to hold this position.[3]
Liu Fang | |
|---|---|
 Liu in 2018 | |
| Born | February 1962 (age 62) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Education | PhD in international law; Master’s degree in air and space law |
| Alma mater | Wuhan University Leiden University |
| Employer | ICAO |
| Known for | Secretary General of ICAO |
Prior to joining ICAO, Liu served the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), where over the course of twenty years she eventually became responsible for China's international air transport policy and regulations, bilateral and multilateral relations with international and regional organizations including ICAO, the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
During her career with the CAAC, Liu was elected chair of the Aviation Group of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and was nominated by China to sit on the Air Transport Regulation Panel in ICAO. She also served as an expert on mediation and dispute resolution. She was chief negotiator for the Chinese government for bilateral and multilateral air transport agreements with foreign countries.[4]
Criticism
editIn 2016, despite Taiwan being a recognized international air traffic hub, Taiwan was not permitted to attend the September 27th ICAO meeting.[5]
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICAO came under fire for denying Taiwan access to participation in crisis coordination efforts and subsequently attempting to silence such criticism on Twitter.[6][7][8][9] In some cases, the agency offered to unblock users who were willing to publicly reverse their comments, provoking further suspicion about the motives of the agency under Liu's leadership.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Former Secretaries General".
- ^ "Secretary General".
- ^ "Dr. Fang Liu of China Becomes First-Ever Woman Appointed Secretary General of ICAO". www.icao.int.
- ^ https://www.icao.int/DownloadDocsFix/liu_biography_en.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "International Civil Aviation Organization Shuts out Taiwan". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
- ^ Chang, Sean. "Twitter row over Taiwan virus response hits UN aviation body". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Wert, Jakob (28 January 2020). "ICAO excludes Taiwan from cooperation amid Coronavirus, rejects criticism". International Flight Network. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Everington, Keoni (18 February 2020). "5 Canadian MPs denounce ICAO's exclusion of Taiwan". Taiwan News. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. "UN aviation agency blocks critics of Taiwan policy on Twitter". Axios. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Rush Doshi on Twitter: For an international organization to demand a self-criticism like this is stunning..." Twitter. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
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