Nation's voice at UN heard loud and clear

Talent cultivated

In the 1970s, many interpreters and translators recruited to work at the UN were from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and were not familiar with the words and phrases commonly used on the Chinese mainland.

Li Changshuan, vice-dean of the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the UN initiated discussions with the Chinese government on training language students from the mainland to work at the organization.

After nine years of discussions with the Foreign Ministry, the UN established a training program at the university for interpreters and translators in 1979, Li said.

"There must be enough interpreters and translators to maintain the status of the Chinese language," he said, adding that promptly translating other languages into Chinese involves language equality.

From 1979 to 1993, the program supplied more than 200 language professionals to the UN, including Cui Tiankai, former Chinese ambassador to the United States, and Liu Jieyi, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

"The program played an irreplaceable role in fostering language professionals to meet the urgent demand at the UN, and also cultivated a wealth of reserve talent for China's diplomacy work," Li said.

After the program ended, in 2001, the UN started to hold examinations for language positions around the world.