Xu Liang (; 1893 – 1951) was a diplomat and politician 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 ...

. He was an important politician during the pro-Japanese collaborationist Nanjing Nationalist Government, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the ambassador to Japan. His

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

was Shanbo (). He was born in

Sanshui Sanshui District, formerly romanized as Samshui, is an urban district of the prefecture-level city of Foshan in Guangdong province, China. It had a population of 622,645 as of the 2010 census. It is known for the " Samsui women", emigrants who la ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Biography

Xu Liang went to Japan, and entered to Yokohama Daidou School (). He then went to the United States, where he graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and Washington University (from which "Washington University" he graduated is uncertain). Later, Xu Liang returned to China and was appointed a secretary to the Ministry for Justice, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the Interior Ministry. Afterwards he successively held the positions of secretary or advisor to many Local Governments or Legations. In the Nationalist Government era, he became a member of the Legation staff to the United States and an officer in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. When the Wang Jingwei regime was established in March 1940, Xu Liang also participated in it. He was appointed Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chief of the Central Political Committee's Commission for Foreign Affairs, etc. In October 1940 he was appointed Ambassador to Japan, and sent to

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 ...

as a special envoy. That December he returned to

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 ...

and was promoted to Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post which he held until October 1941. Later he was appointed member of the

North China Political Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

() and member of the National Government. After the Wang Jingwei regime had collapsed, Xu Liang was arrested by

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 ...

's government. He was convicted of treason and surrender to the enemy (namely Hanjian) and sentenced to death.

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

(Tokyo), February 14, 1949, p. 1. But Xu wasn't executed, while being imprisoned in

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 ...

. In the end of 1948, as the Communist army approached

, he was released by the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

authorities. The following January he was once again arrested by the Communist authorities in Tianjin. In July 1951 Xu Liang was sentenced to death by the Tianjin authorities and executed at Ningjin County, Hebei in the same year."Xiaowangzhuang, Hebei in old days" ifeng.com, February 21st, 2011.

Alma mater

References

Citations

Sources

*
"Xiaowangzhuang, Hebei in old days ()"
ifeng.com (Phoenix TV ()) referred to Zhonglao Nianshibao (), February 21, 2011. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Liang People from Sanshui District Ambassadors of China to Japan Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Chinese collaborators with Imperial Japan Columbia University alumni 1893 births 1951 deaths Politicians from Foshan