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Interview with
Houlin Zhao © ITU / V. Martin

Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao is an information for telecommunication technologies. In 1980, China for
and communication technology (ICT) engineer the first time tried to change its policy for development of
from the prestigious Nanjing University of Posts and telecommunications. Until then, China protected its market
Telecommunications in China and holds an MSc in Telematics by producing its own standards.
from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom.
Prior to being elected as ITU Secretary-General in 2014, Let me give you an example. In Europe, they used the PAL
Zhao served eight years as ITU Deputy Secretary-General, system for television broadcasting. In China, they also
supporting the work of the Secretary-General, and eight years wanted to use the PAL system, but in order to be able to
as the Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standards protect their own interests, they used the PAL system with
Bureau. a slight technical difference. The sound carrier spacing was
different. In Europe it was 5.5 MHz; in China they used 6.5
He does not often grant interviews, so we feel very privileged MHz. When I left Geneva at the end of 1980, I brought with
that he took the time in his busy schedule to meet with us. me a television I had bought in Switzerland – it was very
expensive. But to make it work in China I had to change
Q: Mr Zhao, you have a long and impressive career in the this small element, otherwise the voice on the TV was
field of telecommunications. What is the area which has incomprehensible. In China they started to look at the issue
given you the most satisfaction on a personal level? and they concluded that if they continued the same way, the
My work in ITU. It’s as simple as that. I have spent more than Chinese market would be blocked and they would not enjoy
34 years in ITU. I started out as a member of staff, then I the new technology as quickly as the others. So, they decided
became a member of the management team, and now I’m to follow the ITU standards whenever possible.
here. Before joining ITU, I was a Chinese expert for ITU- In fact, the first time I was in Geneva was in 1979, when I
related issues. visited ITU Telecom 1979 and also supported the Chinese
delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference
Q: What is so exciting about ITU? 1979, the first of such conferences after World War II. That
When I was in University, we heard about ITU, and conference lasted 100 days continuously, from September to
learned that the organization provides global standards the middle of December.

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