K. C. Wu (Chinese: 吳國楨; pinyin: Wú Gúozhēn; Wade–Giles: Wu Kuo-Chen) (October 21, 1903 - June 6, 1984) was a Chinese political figure and historian.
Contents |
K.C. Wu was born in Central China and grew up in Beijing, where his father served in the military. He studied at both Nankai High School, where Zhou Enlai was a classmate, and at Tsinghua University. In 1923, he earned a master's degree in economics from Grinnell College and, in 1926, a doctoral degree in political science from Princeton University.
After returning to China in 1926, Wu began a career in government service, first as a tax collector in Hankow (today part of Wuhan) for Hsia Tou-yin, a local warlord. In 1931, he married Edith Huang, daughter of Gene T. Huang. They eventually had four children: Eileen Hsiu Young Yu, Edith Hsiu Hwei Li, H.K. Wu and Sherman Wu.[1] In 1932, he became mayor of Hankow. When the Yangtze River appeared ready to flood in 1936, Wu oversaw the construction of a huge dike system which saved the city.[2]
With the fall of Hankow to Japanese forces in October 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Wu and his family fled to Chungking. In 1939, Chiang Kai-Shek appointed him as mayor of Chungking, a position he held until 1942. He served as vice minister of Foreign Affairs from 1943-1945, interacting with Zhou Enlai as part of the united front against the Japanese. After the end of World War II, K.C. Wu became mayor of Shanghai in 1945, serving in that role until the Chinese Communists conquered the city in 1949.[2] While mayor of Shanghai, Wu met the Chicago Tribune's Robert McCormick and his wife Maryland. As the situation in Shanghai became less stable, Wu sent his two daughters to live with the McCormicks in Illinois.[3]
Following the relocation of the Nationalist government to Taipei, Wu served as governor of Taiwan Province from 1949 to 1953. Wu attempted to bring a greater degree of self-governance to the Taiwanese people, allowing for the election of certain local officials by popular vote. Wu also brought critics of Chen Yi into the government, and attempted to cut back on the police brutality. Wu was opposed by many conservative members of the Nationalist government, including Chiang Ching-kuo and Chen Cheng.His liberal democratic ideas and critical moment of invasion of Communists do not go hand to hand[4]
On April 3, 1953, alleged assassination were suspected. Seven days later, he was dismissed from his position as governor and he hastily left Taiwan. Wu's family, with the exception of one of his sons, left for the United States. In 1954, following his son's departure from Taiwan, Wu began to speak out against what he saw were serious problems with the Kuomintang government. That same year, Wu wrote an article in Look magazine entitled "Your Money is Building a Police State in Taiwan".[4]
The United States was trying to forge an alliance with Taiwan Central Government to secure a strong military chain to keep communism out. Police state was used to keep communist out and it was low on the agenda. Following a lack of American response to his writings, K.C. Wu lived in the United States served as professor of Chinese history at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia. During his time in the United States, he wrote various works, including a detailed analysis on Chinese culture in the context of mythology and early history in his book The Chinese Heritage.
Wu is remembered mainly for his vital role in the formation of a liberal modern Taiwan and his anti-communist beliefs typical of a member of Kuomintang, but he is also remembered for his brave anti-Kuomintang rhetoric and turbulent disagreements with more Russian styled Chiang Ching-kuo.
| Preceded by He Guoguang |
Mayor of Chongqing 1939 – 1942 |
Succeeded by He Yaozu |
| Preceded by Chen Cheng |
Governor of Taiwan Province 1949 – 1953 |
Succeeded by Yu Horng-jiun |