Gao Zongwu | |
|---|---|
高宗武 | |
 Gao Zongwu as pictured in The Most Recent Biographies of Chinese Dignitaries | |
| Born | 1905 |
| Died | 1994 (aged 88–89) United States |
| Alma mater | Kyushu Imperial University |
| Political party | Kuomintang |
| Other political affiliations | Kuomintang (Wang Jingwei) |
Gao Zongwu (Chinese: 高宗武; Wade–Giles: Kao Tsung-wu; 1905 – 1994) was a Chinese diplomat in the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was best known for playing a key role in negotiations between China and Japan from 1937 to 1940 that initially intended to bring about a peace agreement between them, but which led to the defection of prominent statesman Wang Jingwei and the establishment of the pro-Japanese collaborationist Reorganized National Government of China. Disillusioned with the harsh terms imposed on the collaborationist regime by the Japanese, he released the full documents of the outline of the Basic Treaty that Japan demanded as the basis of its relations with the new regime, which was a major propaganda coup for Chiang Kai-shek and a blow for Wang's fledgling government that had just been exposed as just another puppet state. Gao had originally been slated to serve as the vice foreign minister of the Wang Jingwei regime before his defection back to Chiang in January 1940.