Chapter 20 Gu Weijun: The First Diplomat of the Republic of China (1)

Gu Weijun (1888-1985), courtesy name Shaochuan, was born in Shanghai.Known as "the first diplomat of the Republic of China". For a person who obtained a doctorate from Columbia University at the age of 24, became a minister to the United States at the age of 27, and became the foreign minister at the age of 34, what else can you say other than "radiant"? The first name signed on the "United Nations Charter" is three Chinese characters: "Gu Weijun". On June 26, 1945, at the charter signing ceremony, the Chinese delegation was listed first among the sponsoring countries in alphabetical order, so Gu Weijun, acting as the chief representative of Song Ziwen, was the first to write his own letter on the "United Nations Charter" name.

In the 1930s, a columnist in a British newspaper once mentioned this brilliant name, saying that "there are few people in China who are more typical than Dr. Gu Weijun. He is approachable, cultivated, extremely patient and gentle. A Western world diplomat could surpass him in composure and geniality." The famous scholar Wen Yuanning wrote an impression, which begins with: "Whenever one thinks of Dr. Gu Weijun, people can't help but think of the radiant stars." That was 1934, and Wen Yuanning wrote: "As a diplomat, his accomplishments are so brilliant that to enumerate them one would have to start with surprise and end with admiration... He was appointed to the cabinet in May 1912 The secretary began his political career and until now he has held the highest posts coveted by diplomats: Minister to the United States (1915-1920), Representative to the Paris Peace Conference (1918-1919), Chinese Representative to the Council of the League of Nations, Minister to the United Kingdom ( 1920), and since 1922, has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs several times, and is now Minister to France. On one occasion, Dr. Gu also served as Acting Prime Minister for several months."

Fifty years later, before Wen Yuanning died in Taiwan, if he still remembered his short essay full of "beautiful remarks", he might smile.Because Gu Weijun is more "radiant" than what Wen Yuanning wrote in his text, he has experienced more major events and won more high positions. A year later, Gu Weijun passed away in New York. The New York Times and the Washington Post published articles expressing their condolences, and China's permanent representative to the United Nations and the Consul General in New York went to express their condolences. Wen Yuanning's Gu's resume that "starts from surprise and ends with praise" needs to be added: After being promoted as a Chinese envoy abroad, he served as ambassador to France, Britain, the United States and other countries; attended the San Francisco Conference in 1945, participated in the drafting and signing of the United Nations Charter; after 1957, served as a judge and vice-president of the Hague International Tribunal until his retirement in 1967; in his later years, he completed the 13-volume "Memoirs of Gu Weijun" with more than 5 million words.

Wen Yuanning said: "His friends and enemies will all admit that among Chinese diplomats who represent China's interests abroad, there can never be a better one than Dr. Gu... When he attended the Paris Peace Conference, Dr. Gu had already Renowned as a dignified and competent defender of rights." Gu Weijun, who was just young, was a backward member of the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.However, when it was necessary to report the Shandong issue to the "Ten People's Committee", the highest body of the peace conference, his predecessors either refused to attend or refused to speak for various reasons. The origin and China's attitude, and eloquently proved from the perspective of international law that Shandong angelica should be returned to China as the victorious country.