Diplomatic Relations Vocab:
(Directly from Official Chinese Text of Vienna Convention)
维也纳公约 – Vienna convention
条款 – N. clause; article; provision (29条款 = article 29)
派遣国 – N. the sending/accrediting state
接受国 – N. accepting state; receiving state
外交代表 – N. diplomatic agent / diplomatic representative
全权代表 – N. envoy plenipotentiary
大使 – N. ambassador
使馆馆长 – N. head of mission; chief of mission
领事 – N. consul
代办 – chargé d’affaires
临时代办 – chargé d’affaires ad interim
武官 – N. military official / military attaché
公使 – minister
代理人 – N. agent; deputy; proxy
外交职员 – N. diplomatic staff
行政及技术职员 – N. administrative and technical staff
家属 – N. family members/dependents
仆役 – (domestic) servants
兼任 – V. hold a concurrent post
派驻 – V. accredit; dispatch to a post; station
召回 – recall (from post)
不受欢迎人员 – N. persona non grata; PNG
a person whose visa has been revoked and declared PNG by the host nation
外交特权 – N. diplomatic privilege
不在您管辖范围之内 – not under your jurisdiction (diplomats are not under local jurisdiction)
抵触 – violate (the law); encroach on (sb.’s interests/rights)
优先 – priority (treatment); preferential (treatment)
豁免 – exempt
豁免权 – immunity
免受 – be exempted from)
免税 – not liable to taxation, • tax free • duty free
侵犯 – V. (legal) violate (someone’s rights); infringe on (someone’s rights)
不得侵犯 – inviolable; Shall not be violated
不可侵犯权 – (NOUN) inviolability
搜查 – to search
逮捕 – V. make an arrest (被逮捕了 — been arrested)
扣留 – V. detain; arrest (拘留 ju1liu2 — to detain)
扣押 – V. to hold in custody; to seize property
强制 – V. force; compel; coerce
拘禁 – V. take into custody (被警察拘禁了 — taken into custody by the police)
信差 – N. messenger (courier); postman; mailman
外交邮袋 – N. diplomatic pouch/bag
官方文件 – official documents
Other Diplomatic terms: (not directly derived from the Vienna Convention)
国宴 – state dinner; state banquet
公使衔参赞 – N. minister-counselor (diplomatic rank)
参赞 – N. counselor (diplomatic rank),
ex: 政务参赞 (political counselor), 商务参赞 (commercial counselor), 经济参赞 (economic counselor), 文化参赞 (cultural counselor), 教育参赞 (education counselor), etc.
秘书 – N. secretary (diplomatic rank)（一等秘书，二等秘书，三等秘书）
随员 – N. attendant / attaché (diplomatic rank) The lowest foreign affairs rank
(not to be confused with military attaché (武官), a specific diplomatic rank equivalent to a minister-counselor down to second secretary, depending upon the military rank of the attaché, or level of military relations).
外交文书 – diplomatic documents
外交函 – diplomatic correspondence
国书 – credentials (note of credence), letter from sending head of state appointing an ambassador
照会 – note, a formal diplomatic note or letter of protest, includes signed first person notes
signed by an official of the sending government or the ambassador, and unsigned third person notes (note verbale)
备忘录 – aide-memoire; memorandum, an addressed but unsigned record of conversation
说帖 – talking points, spoken points for a diplomat to transmit verbally to the host official
非文件 – non-paper; demarché, diplomatic communication passed verbally, with or without leaving behind the actual “non-paper” (notes on plain bond paper without heading or signature)
工作文件 – working papers, drafts passed prior to agreement or finalization
签证 – visa, a document or stamp in a passport (护照), authorizing entry and stay