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Former Hong Kong top cop Andy Tsang misses out on plum UN posting

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Former Hong Kong police chief Andy Tsang Wai-hung has lost his bid to lead the United Nations Vienna office, the organisation’s third-largest headquarters.

Tsang lost to Egypt’s minister of social solidarity Ghada Fathi Waly, who will also be heading the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), according to Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Despite China’s backing, Tsang fell out of favour as the UN considered the appointment of a veteran member of the Hong Kong police a “diplomatically unsafe” decision, according to a diplomatic source with knowledge of the selection process.

“The timing could not be more wrong, after the last five or six months of unprecedented chaos in Hong Kong, much of which directly or indirectly related to police conduct,” the source said, referring to the ongoing anti-government protests.

The UN also took into account the controversy surrounding the June selection of Qu Dongyu to lead the UN food and agriculture organisation, the source added, when the Chinese delegation faced accusations of pressuring African countries to vote in its favour. The accusations were denied.

The position for which Tsang was vying, in contrast, was selected directly by Guterres.

In June, the South China Morning Post reported China’s nomination of Tsang to lead what is effectively the UN’s third-largest headquarters, based in the Austrian capital. A day later, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed his nomination which, it said, showed “China stands fast on multilateralism and supports the work of the UN”.