George Kung-chao Yeh (1904–1981), also known as Yeh Kung-chao, was a diplomat and politician of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Educated in the U.S. and the U.K., he graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1925 and later

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He taught English literature at Beijing's

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, where his students included renowned 20th century Chinese writer Ch'ien Chung-shu. He was the first

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

since 1949. On February 6, 1950, the ROC air force bombed

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, causing extensive damage to American-owned property in the city including the Shanghai power company. The American government responded by sending a diplomatic protest to the Nationalist

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. Yeh defended the bombing to American diplomats and stated that the ROC would provide early warning before such attacks in the future. The United States rejected the proposed arrangement and the American

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

warned Yeh that serious difficulties would arise if such things continued. During his tenure, he signed the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty in 1952 and the

Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty The Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of China (formally known as Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of China), was a defense pact signed between the United States and the ...

in 1954. He was ambassador to the United States from 1958 to 1961. In 1961, due to the admission of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Yeh was removed from the position of ambassador and recalled to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek. He then served as Minister without Portfolio.

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