Fang Liu
Fang Liu (born 1962) (Chinese: 柳芳, Hanyu pinyin: Liǔ Fāng) is a Chinese attorney who is the twelfth and current Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). She is the first woman to hold this position.[1]
Liu Fang | |
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Born | |
Nationality | China |
Education | PhD in international law; Master’s degree in air and space law |
Alma mater | Wuhan University (China) Leiden University (Netherlands) |
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.[2]
Criticism
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.[3][4][5][6] 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.[7]
References
- "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
- Chang, Sean. "Twitter row over Taiwan virus response hits UN aviation body". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- Wert, Jakob. "ICAO excludes Taiwan from cooperation amid Coronavirus, rejects criticism". International Flight Network. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- Everington, Keoni. "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 thisis stunning..." Twitter. Retrieved 20 February 2020.