Wu Zhiliang is President of the Macao Foundation. He is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and Portuguese.
Born in 1964 in Lianping, Guangdong province, Wu came to Macao upon graduating from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1985 with a degree in Portuguese. He then travelled to Portugal in 1986 to continue his studies at the University of Lisbon and Portuguese Catholic University. He later completed a two-year course on Public Administration at the University of East Asia in 1991 and received a doctorate in History at the University of Nanjing in 1997.
Wu joined the Macao Foundation in 1988. He became director in March 1992 and was appointed president in November 2000. Upon the establishment in July 2001 of what is now the Macao Foundation following the merger with the Macao Foundation for Development and Cooperation, Wu was appointed a full-time member of the Board of Directors and was appointed President of the Board of Directors in July 2010. He has also been a member of the Talents Development Committee of the Macao Special Administrative Region, President of the Union of Macau Scholars and Vice-President of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
He is Director of the Chinese Society on Ming Dynasty History, Associate Director of the Assessment Committee of China Arts Award, a member of the China Writers Association and its National Committee as well as a standing member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Hunan Province. He is also a visiting professor at both the University of Macau and Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Since 1992, Wu has helped develop the field of ‘Macaulogy’, that is, the study of Macao. By funding research by scholars, local and international, and organising seminars and conferences, Wu has greatly contributed to exploring and documenting Macao’s rich history and culture.
Wu’s own publications include the following books: The Way to Survival – A Political History of Macau; The Political System of Macau; Youth and the Future of Macau; The Investment Environment of Portugal (co-authored with Chan Kai Chon); Impressions of Portugal; Luso-Chinese Encounter in Macau; A City Without Sorrow; Political and Social Studies of Macau (co-authored with Dr. Chan Yan Yan); History(ies) of Macau – Myths and Facts (co-authored with Jin Guo Ping); In Search of the History of Macau Through Time (co-authored with Jin Guo Ping); Opening the Barrier Gate (co-authored with Jin Guo Ping).
Wu is also a prolific editor; his extensive bibliography includes over 100 works including the following: Collections of Macau Studies; Macau History and Literature Collections; Macao SAR Law Books Series; Archive of Official Documents of Guangdong and Macau; Macau Studies Series; Encyclopaedia of Macau; Macau Panorama; Collection of Documents During the Periods of Ming and Qing Dynasties on the Question of Macau; A History of Guangdong-Macau Relations; New History of Macau and Macau Chronicles.
