![Gao Zongwu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Gao_Zongwu.jpg)
Gao Zongwu ( zh, c=高宗武, w=Kao Tsung-wu; 1905—1994) was a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
diplomat in the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. He was best known for playing a key role in negotiations between China and Japan from 1937 to 1940 that initially intended to bring about a peace agreement between them, but which led to the defection of prominent statesman
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...
and the establishment of the pro-
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
collaborationist
Reorganized National Government of China
The Wang Jingwei regime or the Wang Ching-wei regime is the common name of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China ( zh , t = 中華民國國民政府 , p = Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guómín Zhèngfǔ ), the government of the pup ...
. Disillusioned with the harsh terms imposed on the new
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...
regime by the Japanese, he released the full documents of the outline of the Basic Treaty that Japan demanded as the basis of its relations with the new regime, which was a major propaganda coup for
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
and a blow for Wang's fledgling government that had just been exposed as just another
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
. Gao had originally been slated to serve as the vice foreign minister of the Wang Jingwei regime before his defection back to Chiang in January 1940.
Biography
Early life and career
Born around 1905, Gao Zongwu was educated in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
at the
Kyushu Imperial University
, abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu.
It was the 4th Imperial University in Japan, ranked as 4th in 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, one of the top 10 Desig ...
. Described as being intelligent and a skilled politician, Gao suffered from chronic bouts of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. He later returned to China to teach political science at
Nanjing University
Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...
and parts of his dissertation on Sino-Japanese diplomacy were published in Chinese magazines. These were read by
Li Shengwu
Li Shengwu (, 1899–1985) was a Chinese politician and diplomat of the Republic of China who later became an important figure of the Wang Jingwei Government of Wang Jingwei.
Biography
He was born in Tai'an, Shandong Province, during the lat ...
, an
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
-educated scholar on international law and colleague of
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...
, who brought them to his attention. Wang met with Gao, being impressed with the young man's work, and invited him to join the government (Wang being the Chinese
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
at the time). Gao rapidly rose through the ranks due to his abilities and became Chief of the Asia Bureau of the Foreign Ministry before he was thirty years old. Thus he became one of Wang's closest friends and supporters, entering the so-called "low-key club" of Chinese officials who wanted to establish peace with Japan after the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army.
Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...
, despite the atmosphere of treason that surrounded those who supported a peace policy in the eyes of the public. He became one of the most prominent members of the group, along with
Zhou Fohai
Zhou Fohai (; Hepburn: ''Shū Futsukai''; May 29, 1897 – February 28, 1948), Chinese politician, and second-in-command of the Executive Yuan in Wang Jingwei's collaborationist Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China during t ...
. Gao also had extensive contacts among the Chinese banking community, a member of which he knew well through a mutual acquaintance, which helped advance his career.
Gao Zongwu spoke fluent
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
and had served as Wang Jingwei's translator while the latter had been foreign minister.
Sino-Japanese peace talks
Gao would go on to play a major role in negotiations between Japan and the Chinese government throughout the next two years. Between the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in the summer of 1937 and the outbreak of
fighting
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
by fall of that year, Gao met with both Wang and
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
. He expressed his intent to establish a peace agreement with Japan and completely turn around Sino-Japanese relations. Wang agreed, and Chiang gave his approval. On July 31, 1937, Gao met with a banking contact and his acquaintance, Japanese businessman Nishi Yoshiaki, a protege of
Matsuoka Yosuke, Japanese diplomat and former president of the
South Manchurian Railway Company
The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
, who supported the peace movement. Shortly after the
fall
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Souther ...
of
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
Gao resigned from his position in the Foreign Ministry and traveled to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
on what was ostensibly an intelligence gathering mission, but was really there at the behest of Zhou Fohai and the low-key club to make contacts with officials sympathetic to the peace movement. Zhou kept Chiang informed of their efforts the entire time.
In late 1937 Gao took a break to recuperate from a
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
attack, and a friend of his from the Foreign Ministry continued his work, meeting with Nishi in January 1938 in Shanghai. It was through Nishi that Gao's friend arranged a visit to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
on February 15 to begin conversations with pro-Chinese members of the Japanese leadership, the main one being Colonel
Kagesa Sadaaki of the strategy section of the
Army General Staff, along with Vice Chief of General Staff
Hayao Tada
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. A noted China expert within the Japanese military, he was a leading figure in the Trautmann mediation effort to bring a negotiated end to the war.
Biography Early mili ...
. Through Gao's friend they passed a number of letters to Chiang Kai-shek describing their desire to negotiate a peace. After leaving Japan on March 5, he met with Gao, Nishi, and the journalist
Matsumoto Shigeharu—Gao's former professor at Kyushu University—in Hong Kong. Afterwards they headed to report their findings to Zhou, who passed on the letters to Chiang.
On April 16 Gao returned to Hong Kong and met with Nishi, telling him Chiang's positive reaction to the letters from Colonel Kagesa. He had also told Gao basic conditions for peace, including Japanese recognition of Chinese sovereignty, and later negotiations for the question of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
and
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
. Nishi then departed to Japan on April 19 to see if a visit to Tokyo by Gao was possible, but returned with negative results as Kagesa was not willing to enter negotiations at the time. He returned from Japan with nothing more than vague assurances of support from some officers of the Army General Staff, which Gao reported to Chiang, much to the Chinese leader's outrage, who ordered Gao to cut off the talks. In March 1938, however, Gao met with Matsumoto, who encouraged him to undertake an unauthorized mission to Tokyo. Zhou Fohai supported the idea, offering to take responsibility for the trip. Gao arrived in Japan in early July.
During the diplomat's three-week stay in Tokyo he met with
Takeru Inukai
was a Japanese politician and novelist active in Shōwa period Japan. Also known as "Inukai Ken", he was the third son of Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi.
Biography
Inukai was born in the Ushigome district of Tokyo. Although accepted ...
, an advisor to
Prime Minister of Japan
The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...
Prince
Fumimaro Konoe
Prince was a Japanese politician and prime minister. During his tenure, he presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the breakdown in relations with the United States, which ultimately culminated in Japan's entry into World W ...
, among others. It was unclear exactly how the name of Wang Jingwei came up but Gao, while emphasizing he did not intend to oppose Chiang, believed that negotiations could continue through Wang if Chiang was too unwilling to continue them. Gao passed the results of his mission on to Zhou after his return to Shanghai in mid-July but ended up being hospitalized again because of tuberculosis. Zhou reported the results of Gao's Tokyo trip to both Wang—who was opposed to the idea of betraying Chiang—and also the Chinese leader himself, who was more annoyed with it than anything else. However, Wang's attitude would change as 1938 went on and more Chinese civilians died as a result of the intensifying warfare, which Wang blamed on the Kuomintang's resistance policies. By the fall of 1938, Gao had arranged contact between another low-key club member,
Mei Siping
Mei Siping (; 1896 – September 14, 1946) was a Kuomintang politician of the Republic of China and associate of Wang Jingwei. He served in various posts in Wang's government in Nanjing, as well as president of Southern University in 1945, and bri ...
, and Matsumoto, who in turn connected him to Tokyo which assured Mei that the Japanese War Ministry was willing to have a more lenient China policy. The low-key club was further encouraged by Prince Konoe's radio address on 3 November 1938 that called for a "
New Order in East Asia
The , also known as the GEACPS, was a concept that was developed in the Empire of Japan and propagated to Asian populations which were occupied by it from 1931 to 1945, and which officially aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian peo ...
" to oppose
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and Western imperialism, and that Japan would welcome China into it, even considering giving up demands for territorial and economic concessions.
From November 12 until November 20, Gao, Mei Siping, and
Zhou Longxiang went to Shanghai to take part in negotiations for Wang's eventual defection from the government of Chiang Kai-shek in
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
. They would sign a document known as the "Conference Proceedings" which would serve as the basic agreement of terms between the low-key club and the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
. On the Japanese side with Lieutenant Colonel Imai Takeo, head of "Operation Watanabe" (the Japanese code name for the dealings that led to Wang's defection), along with Colonel Kagesa and Takeru Inukai who flew in from Tokyo as the last details were worked out. Five important issues were discussed by Gao's team and the Japanese side—recognition of Manchukuo, Chinese indemnity payments to Japan, Japanese economic activities in China, Japanese extraterritoriality, and the withdrawal of IJA troops from China. Conflicting reports from participants arose over whether the Chinese side agreed to recognize Manchukuo or not. But they firmly rejected any indemnity payments. Gao and his group won concessions on economic affairs, agreeing to simply grant Japan permission to exploit the natural resources of
north China
North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north ...
and give it favored trade nation status. The Japanese also agreed to review their extraterritorial concessions in China. As for the troop withdrawal, they agreed that China and Japan would have a joint anti-
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
defense force in Inner Mongolia and the
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
–
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
corridor, while Japanese troops would leave the rest of China within two years.
The two groups also came to an agreement regarding the details of Wang's defection, and that he would not merely lead a peace movement but essentially a new
collaborationist
Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory".
The term ''collaborator'' dates to t ...
government (although Wang later made a contradictory claim to this in his deathbed testament in 1944, asserting that it was not their intent at the time to establish a regime opposing Chiang). According to Gao, the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
ambassador to China
Henri Cosme had some influence on Wang's decision to defect, who believed that China would be better off reaching a peace agreement as Japan was more powerful. They intended to set up this government in unoccupied China in order to emphasis Wang's independence and avoid the treasonous puppet status of the existing puppet regimes, the
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
and
Reformed Government of the Republic of China
The Reformed Government of the Republic of China was a Chinese puppet state created by Japan that existed from 1938 to 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The regime had little authority or popular support, nor did it receive international ...
. They would rely on support from anti-Kuomintang regional warlords who distrusted Chiang, which they expected to join the Wang government, as well as major offensives by the IJA against the
Nationalist Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
.
Unbeknownst to Gao and the others at the time, the Japanese government had not taken a full role in overseeing the results of the conference in Shanghai but left the work to lower-ranking military officers. These were officials sympathetic to China but representing a minority in the Japanese leadership. This would have consequences later on when the Japanese higher leadership ultimately disagreed to use the terms reached at this conference. Meanwhile, the delegates also worked out a schedule for Wang's defection. Wang eventually escaped to
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
in
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
, but continued negotiations dragged out for months as Prince Konoe damaged the peace movement in a 22 December 1938 announcement that made clear his lack of commitment to the terms from the conference, bowing to pressure from the hardline faction of the General Staff. A much harsher policy towards China had been adopted by the military bureaucracy around that time, while Prince Konoe personally had no interest in supporting Wang in forming a new Chinese government. Konoe's successor as premier, Baron
Hiranuma Kiichirō
was a prominent right-wing Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan in 1939. He was convicted of war crimes committed during World War II and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Early life
Hiranuma was born in what is now Tsuyama Ci ...
, also adopted a wait-and-see attitude in regards to the Wang Jingwei situation.
As the Wang group began leaving from Hanoi to Japan in April 1939 and had passed the point of no return after Wang's personal secretary was assassinated in a botched Kuomintang
Blue Shirts hit, Gao Zongwu was becoming disillusioned and came to represent the anti-Japanese camp of the peace movement. The Japanese already started to dislike him due to his persistent attitude at the Shanghai conference to give the Wang regime as much independence and power as possible. He believed Wang was in danger of becoming a puppet. In May and June Wang made a visit to Tokyo to meet with high officials of the Japanese government, along with Zhou and Gao (who advised him against the meeting). During that time their Japanese hosts identified Gao as a "troublemaker" and sought to separate him from Wang as much as possible. Gao had come close to being poisoned while there, which did not improve his opinion of the Japanese.
However, the Wang movement had made progress in mid-1939 after the conclusion of the
border clashes between Japan and the Soviets in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
. When following the clashes Japan's ally
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, the pro-
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
Hiranuma government fell, and it was replaced by
Abe Nobuyuki
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea, and Prime Minister of Japan.
Early life and military career
Abe was born on November 24, 1875, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the son of former samurai Abe Nobumitsu. H ...
's government, who was sympathetic to Wang. The Abe government agreed to pledge full support for Wang. In light of this, the IJA commands in China were reorganized into one unified command (the
China Expeditionary Army
The was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1939 to 1945.
The China Expeditionary Army was established in September 1939 from the merger of the Central China Expeditionary Army and Japanese Northern China Area Army, and was headqu ...
) which ended Wang's quarrels with the leaders of existing puppet regimes and their Japanese advocates, allowing him to bring them under his authority. In November and December 1939 the Wang group negotiated with the Japanese authorities a different set of terms in which the Japanese went back on everything they promised in the previous Shanghai conference negotiated by Gao and Mei, relying on the harsher terms composed by the military bureaucracy, and by then Gao had become so disenchanted from the rest of the peace movement because of this Japanese betrayal that he abandoned Wang.
On New Year's Day in 1940, Gao Zongwu and one of his associates,
Tao Xisheng
''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other philo ...
, escaped with the assistance of the infamous Shanghai crime boss
Du Yuesheng
Du Yuesheng (22 August 188816 August 1951), also known by Dou Yu-Seng or Tu Yueh-sheng or Du Yueh-sheng, nicknamed "Big-Eared Du",Lintner, Bertil. ''Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948''. Silkworm Books. 1999. p.309 was a Chinese m ...
—who had contacted Chiang to let him know of Gao's intent to return, who had Nationalist
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
chief General
Dai Li
Lieutenant General Dai Li (Tai Li; ; May 28, 1897 – March 17, 1946) was a Chinese spymaster. His courtesy name was Yunong (雨農). Born Dai Chunfeng (Tai Chun-feng; 戴春風) in Bao'an, Jiangshan, Zhejiang province, he studied at the Whamp ...
help organize their defection. Gao, who had translated the treaty to Chinese for Wang, stole a copy of it with him. They arrived in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
on January 5. They initially remained quiet but handed over the secret documents from Wang's negotiations with the Japanese to the Kuomintang news agency on January 21. They then publicized the next day a telegram that accused Japan of trying to dismember China and urged Wang to reconsider his actions. This caused a shock in Wang's movement, enraging Zhou Fohai, for example. Wang's group responded that Gao was upset over his position (slated to be merely the vice foreign minister despite his critical role and diplomatic experience, while the foreign ministry portfolio instead went to a medical doctor by profession,
Chu Minyi
Chu Minyi; (; Hepburn: ''Cho Mingi''; 1884 – August 23, 1946) was a leading figure in the Chinese republican movement and early Nationalist government, later noted for his role as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the collaborationist Wang Ji ...
), and that the documents were fake. They were in fact copies of the initial proposals and not the final agreement, but many of their points had remained the same, and represented a major propaganda victory for Chiang Kai-shek's government as they destroyed the good name of Wang in the public perception.
Later life
Following his much-celebrated defection by the authorities in Chongqing, Gao was given a passport by the Chinese
Generalissimo
''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used.
Usage
The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...
and emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where he lived the rest of his life until his death.
His memoirs were later published and have been an important source of information for historians on the Wang Jingwei peace movement.
Sources
References
Books
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Zongwu
1905 births
1994 deaths
Diplomats of the Republic of China
Kuomintang collaborators with Imperial Japan
Kyushu University alumni
Republic of China (1912–1949) emigrants to the United States