Wei Tao-ming (; October 28, 1899 – May 18, 1978) was a distinguished Chinese diplomat and public servant. He was prominent as the Republic of China's Ambassador to the

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during the

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and foreign minister during the years in which the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

sought to oust the ROC from the

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. He was also the first civilian Governor of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lo ...

(1947–1949), replacing Governor General

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

Early life

Wei Tao-ming was born in Kiukiang (Jiujiang), Kiangsi province in 1899. His father, Wei Tiao-yuan, was an affluent educator and active member of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement. Wei Tao-ming's early schooling was at a missionary school, though he graduated from Kiangsi First Middle School in 1918. He then studied French in Peking for a year before moving to France in 1919. He obtained his doctorate in law from the University of Paris in 1926 and returned to China to pursue a legal career in Shanghai.

Political career

He became involved with the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

. At the age of 29, Wei became the youngest president of the Judicial Yuan. From 1930 to 1931, Wei served as mayor of special municipality of

Nanking 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 ...

, then capital of the Republic of China. As Ambassador to the

from September 1942 to 1946, Wei was instrumental in securing American material and military support for the Republic of China as it resisted Japanese invasion and Communist insurgency. His public declarations were frequently covered by the

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, and he accompanied Madame Chiang Kai-shek during her highly successful visits to Washington, DC and New York. He resigned his post in October 1945, citing personal reasons, and was succeeded by

Wellington Koo Koo Vi Kyuin (; January 29, 1888 – November 14, 1985), better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a statesman of the Republic of China. He was one of Republic of China's representatives at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Wellington Koo ...

, then Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Wei Taoming's wife christened the SS China Victory in 1944. The Ceremony had both an ancient Chinese invocation to the sea gods and the traditional American tradition of a bottle of

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breaking. The matron of honor at the launching was Mrs. T. K. Chang, wife of the Chinese consul at Los Angeles. SS ''China Victory'' was the first of a long line of Victory ships to leave the

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building. During his tenure as Governor of

, Wei created the Departments of Civil Affairs (民政廳), Finance (財政廳), Construction (建設廳), and Education (教育廳). He also employed thirteen members on the provincial board (省政委員), including those who were Taiwanese-born. He became the

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 co ...

after being the Governor (position succeeded by

Chen Tsyr-shiou Chen Cheng (; ; January 4, 1898 – March 5, 1965) was a Chinese political and military leader, and one of the main commanders of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After moving ...

). After the fall of

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to Communist rebels, Wei spent some time in

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, then made his way back to

Taiwan 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 nort ...

. Wei served as foreign minister of the Republic of China during the 1960s and was very active in maintaining U.S. support for

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. He also maintained a coalition in the

General Assembly to reject membership for the

. He resigned due to health reason in 1971 as

Peking } 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 ...

's campaign to oust the ROC from the

was on the verge of succeeding. He was married to Tcheng Yu-hsiu (鄭毓秀) (aka Madame Wei Tao-Ming, Soumay Tcheng) (1891-1959). She was the first female lawyer and judge in Chinese history. She earned her doctoral degree in law at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in France and was the first Chinese person, male or female, to practice law at the French extraterritorial courts 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 flowin ...

. Cheng was also one of the revolutionaries involved in the attempted assassination of military official and politician Yuan Shih-k'ai, commonly reviled in Chinese history for taking advantage of both the Ch'ing imperial court and the Republicans. She advocated women having their own voices and choices in marriage, and wrote it into the Republic of China's law. Her autobiography, ''My Revolutionary Years'' (1944), was published while her husband was Ambassador to the

, and is revered as one of the best first hand accounts of modern Chinese history. He died in

on May 18, 1978 at the age 79.

References

External links

* http://paper.sznews.com/szdaily/20070416/ca2639935.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Wey, Daw-Ming Mayors of Nanjing Republic of China politicians from Jiangxi 1899 births 1978 deaths Ambassadors of the Republic of China to the United States Senior Advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek Senior Advisors to President Chiang Ching-kuo Taiwanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs Politicians from Jiujiang Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Chairpersons of the Taiwan Provincial Government Chinese expatriates in France