China's Drunken UN Diplomat: I Don't Like Americans

An apparently drunk senior UN official tore into his colleagues, the organization, and Americans in general last week at a retreat at an Alpine ski resort, according to Foreign Policy. “I know you never liked me Mr. Secretary-General,” declared Sha Zukang, the undersecretary general for Economic and Social affairs, in a toast to Ban Ki-Moon. “Well, I never liked you either.” Horrified officials tried to coax Sha to put down the microphone, but he waved them off. "It went on for about ten or fifteen minutes but it felt like an hour," said one UN official.

Then he singled out Bob Orr, an American in the secretary-general’s office and said, “I really don't like him; he's an American, and I really don't like Americans.” He went on to praise both Orr and Moon—“I’m coming to admire some things about you,” he offered the secretary-general—but the damage was done. “This raises questions about whether China is a mature power,” said one diplomat. “The Chinese need to think about this.” (More Ban Ki-moon stories.)