Chinese Official Sha Zukang

Sha Zukang (沙祖康), a career diplomat, has always been a rather colorful character, and an animated and robust speaker.

After the World Health Assembly had decided not to take up the issue of Taiwan's observership in 2003, Sha who was then Chinese ambassador to the World Health Organization imperiously remarked to Taiwan reporters, "Who cares about you?" (谁理你们?)

The comment reportedly provoked intense anger in Taiwan, "anger that was only exacerbated as the island's television stations played the interview over and over again." (Richard C. Bush, Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait)

I am sure it was a good sound bite. Because when he was in charge of arms control in the foreign ministry, he once gave such excellent soundbites which I used in my television packages.

Apparently he recently told the United States to "shut up" about China's military spending, claiming that U.S. arms expenditure was half of the world's total.