Wellington Koo

Wellington Koo was a diplomat of the Republic of China, serving in Washington both before and after that government relocated to Taiwan. He trained at Columbia, where his doctoral research examined the legal status of foreigners in China. His diplomatic career included the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, service as acting prime minister, and ambassadorships in France, Britain, and the United States. He also represented China in the founding of the United Nations and signed its charter. ^{1, 4, 2}

Koo’s postwar Washington ambassadorship brought him into arguments over American policy toward the Chinese civil war. In August 1946 he told State Department official John Carter Vincent that a coalition with the Communists would endanger the Nationalist government and stressed the risk of Soviet influence. Vincent answered that General George Marshall’s efforts toward a coalition were intended to achieve a united China. ²

In May 1954, Koo pressed Secretary of State John Foster Dulles to negotiate a bilateral security treaty. Dulles raised the difficulty of protecting Taiwan without committing the United States to military operations initiated by the Nationalists. After retiring from diplomatic service, he served as a judge and vice president of the International Court of Justice. ^{3, 1}