George Yeh

George Yeh
George Yeh
Traditional Chinese	葉公超
Simplified Chinese	叶公超
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Yè Gōngchāo
Wade–Giles	Yeh Kung-ch'ao

George Yeh
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 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.

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]

References

^ "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.

v t e Ambassador of China to the United States
Qing minister 1875–1912	Chen Lanbin 1875–81 Cheng Tsao-Ju 1881–85 Zhang Yinhuan 1885–89 Tsui Kwo Yin 1889–93 Yang Yü 1893–96 Wu Tingfang 1896–1902 Liang Cheng 1902–07 Wu Tingfang 1907–09 Zhang Yintang 1909–11 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1911–12
Republic of China Envoy 1912–35	Zhang Yintang 1912–13 Xia Xiefu 1913–15 V. K. Wellington Koo 1915–20 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1920–29 Wu Chaoshu 1929–31 Yan Huiqing 1931–33 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1933–35
Republic of China Ambassador 1935–79	Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1935–36 Chengting T. Wang 1936–38 Hu Shih 1938–42 Wei Tao-ming 1942–46 Wellington Koo 1946–56 Hollington Tong 1956–58 George Yeh 1958–61 Tsiang Tingfu 1961–65 Zhou Shukai 1965–71 James Shen 1971–79
People's Republic of China Liaison Office Chief 1973–79	Huang Zhen 1973–77 Chai Zemin 1978–79
People's Republic of China Ambassador 1979–present	Chai Zemin 1979–82 Zhang Wenjin 1983–85 Han Xu 1985–89 Zhu Qizhen 1989–93 Li Daoyu 1993–98 Li Zhaoxing 1998–2001 Yang Jiechi 2001–05 Zhou Wenzhong 2005–10 Zhang Yesui 2010–13 Cui Tiankai 2013–21 Qin Gang 2021–23 Xie Feng 2023-present

Authority control databases
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Other	IdRef NARA

George Yeh

See also

References

Further reading