[News Terms] Persona Non Grata for Proposal to Appoint Sing Haiming as Chinese Ambassador

'Persona non grata' is a Latin term meaning 'an unwelcome person', 'a person causing dissatisfaction', or 'an unacceptable person', and it is a diplomatic term referring to a persona non grata in diplomacy.

It refers to the declaration of a specific diplomat dispatched from a country with which diplomatic relations are maintained as a 'hostile person' or 'persona non grata' due to their past record or actions beyond normal diplomatic activities. It is a concept similar to a 'blacklist'. The antonym is 'persona grata', meaning 'a welcomed person'.

On the 8th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Xing Haiming, Chinese Ambassador to Korea (right), met at the Chinese Ambassador's residence in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

It is stipulated in Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. If the host country does not want to accept a specific diplomat such as an ambassador or minister (refusal before entry), or if problems arise during their stay, they can be designated as persona non grata.

A person designated as persona non grata is customarily recalled by the sending country. If the sending country refuses, the host country can revoke the individual's diplomatic immunity and expel them after a certain period.

On the 8th of last month, the Canadian government announced that it designated Zhao Wei, a diplomat from the Chinese Consulate in Toronto, as persona non grata and will expel him abroad on charges of threatening a domestic politician who criticized China.

Earlier, in October 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an ordered the foreign minister to designate as persona non grata the ambassadors of 10 countries including the United States, Germany, France, Denmark, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden, for demanding the release of an imprisoned anti-government figure.

On the 11th, Shin Won-sik, the ruling party's secretary of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, stated on his Facebook, "The government should consider a firm measure to designate Xing Haiming, the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, as persona non grata," and argued, "There is an abundance of justification and logical grounds for designating Ambassador Xing as persona non grata."