Topic: Liu Jianchao

Liu Jianchao (simplified Chinese: 刘建超; traditional Chinese: 劉建超; pinyin: Liú Jiànchāo; born February 23, 1964, Jilin Province) is the former spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (PRC), as well as the former director-general of its Information Department.

Liu Jianchao was born on 23 February, 1964, in Jilin Province. He studied International Relations at Oxford University from 1986 to 1987 and then began work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its Translation Office. He went on to hold various positions in departments and embassies, including the first secretary of the PRC embassy in the United Kingdom from 1995 to 1998, counselor at the Information Department from 1998 to 2000, and deputy director-general of the Information Department from 2001 to 2006. He was also seconded to Liaoning Province as the deputy secretary of the CPC Xingcheng Municipal Committee from 2000 to 2001. In March 2006 it was announced that he would be replacing Kong Quan as the director-general of the Information Department as well as the chief spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his tenure as chief spokesman for the ministry, Liu took questions on a wide variety of issues to do with China's relations with the world. For instance, interviewed about the Olympics and access to the Internet from inside China, he once recognized that "some websites are difficult to access from China". In December 2008, he said that the government had a right to censor Web sites that violated the country's laws.