George Kung-chao Yeh (1904–1981), also known as Yeh Kung-chao, was a diplomat and politician of the Republic of China. Educated in the U.S. and the U.K., he graduated from Amherst College in 1925[1] and later Cambridge University. He taught English literature at Beijing's Tsinghua University, where his students included renowned 20th century Chinese writer Ch'ien Chung-shu.[2] He was the first Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1949.
George Yeh | |
|---|---|
葉公超 | |
 | |
| ROC Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office August 1958 – November 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Hollington Tong |
| Succeeded by | Tsiang Tingfu |
| Minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission | |
| In office 19 May 1950 – 16 April 1952 | |
| Preceded by | Dai Kuisheng |
| Succeeded by | Zheng Yanfen |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China | |
| In office 1 October 1949 – 14 July 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Hu Shih |
| Succeeded by | Huang Shao-ku |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 October 1904 Jiujiang (Kewkiang), Jiangxi, Great Qing |
| Died | 20 November 1981 (aged 77) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Nationality | Republic of China |
| Political party | Kuomintang |
| Education | Amherst College (BA) University of Cambridge |
| George Yeh | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 葉公超 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 叶公超 | ||||||||
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On February 6, 1950, the ROC air force bombed Shanghai, causing extensive damage to American-owned property in the city including the Shanghai power company.[3]: 125 The American government responded by sending a diplomatic protest to the Nationalist Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[3]: 125 Yeh defended the bombing to American diplomats and stated that the ROC would provide early warning before such attacks in the future.[3]: 125 The United States rejected the proposed arrangement and the American chargé d'affaires warned Yeh that serious difficulties would arise if such things continued.[3]: 125
During his tenure, he signed the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty in 1952 and the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1954. He was ambassador to the United States from 1958 to 1961. In 1961, due to the admission of Mongolia to the United Nations, Yeh was removed from the position of ambassador and recalled to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek. He then served as Minister without Portfolio.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Amherst College Biographical Record, Centennial Edition (1821–1921)". Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ Wen Yuan-ning, and others. Imperfect Understanding: Intimate Portraits of Modern Chinese Celebrities. Edited by Christopher Rea (Amherst, MA: Cambria Press, 2018), pp. 17–24, 153–55.
- ^ a b c d Li, Hongshan (2024). Fighting on the Cultural Front: U.S.-China Relations in the Cold War. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231207058.
- ^ Waggoner, Walter H. (26 November 1981). "George K. C. Yeh, Taiwan Aide". New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
Further reading
edit- Matray, James I., ed. East Asia and the United States: an encyclopedia of relations since 1784. (2 vol, Greenwood, 2002) 2:691–692.
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