Soong Tse-ven or Soong Tzu-wen (Chinese: 宋子文; pinyin: Sòng Zǐwén; 1894–1971), was a prominent businessman and politician in the early 20th century Republic of China. His father was Charlie Soong and his siblings were the Soong sisters. His Christian name was Paul, but he is generally known in English as T. V. Soong. As brother to the three Soong sisters, Soong's brothers-in-law were Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, and financier H. H. Kung.
Biography
Born in Shanghai, T. V. Soong received his education at St. John's University in Shanghai before going on to Harvard University. After graduating in 1915 with a degree in Economics,he worked briefly in New York at the International Banking Corporation and took courses at Columbia University. When he returned to China he worked for several industrial enterprises and was then recruited by Sun Yat-sen to develop finances for his Canton government. After the success of Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition in 1927, Soong served in a succession of offices in the Kuomintang-controlled government. He was governor of the Central Bank of China and minister of finance (1928–1931, 1932–1933) During his tenure as Finance Minister, he achieved the balancing of the budget. He resigned in 1933. Soong was displeased by Chiang Kai-shek's appeasement to Japan and attempts to placate Japanese aggression). He returned to service as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1942–1945); and President of the Executive Yuan (1945–1947). Soong left his legacy as head of the Chinese delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, April 1945, which later became the United Nations.
Soong was in charge of negotiating with the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin regarding Soviet interests in China, travelling to Moscow and trying to extract from Stalin a guarantee to oppose the Chinese Communist Party. Soong conceded to Stalin the Manchurian railways and Korean independence, but refused to allow Russian interference in Xinjiang or Manchurian military bases for Russians, and he also indicated that China and the Soviet Union could share a co-dominion over Mongolia, if the "mutual assistance pact" included China. Soong "talked tough" against Stalin, getting straight to the point and using the threat of American military backing against Stalin to make demands. When the Sino-Soviet treaty was signed, China conceded Outer Mongolia, a naval base Port Arthur (civilian rule by Chinese) and co-ownership of the railways in Manchuria. Soong extracted from Stalin the recognition of the Republic of China as the legitimate regime of China, aid from the Soviets, and an oral agreement for Soviets to withdraw from Manchuria. Soong's treaty with Stalin failed to end tension in China with the communists, resulting in renewed fighting in the Chinese Civil War. Stalin had previously told the Americans that President Roosevelt should inform Chiang Kai-shek of the Russian demands in Manchuria, at the Yalta Conference, before Stalin informed Soong.
During the war years, he financed the "Flying Tigers"—the American Voluntary Group that later was incorporated into the United States Air Force. Gen. Claire Chennault was listed as an employee of Bank of China. On this project he worked very closely with his sister, Madame Chiang Kai-shek (May-ling Soong). He once remarked to John Paton Davies, Jr., one of the China Hands, that there were no State Department memos sent from China that he did not have access to within a few days.
With the defeat of the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War, he moved to New York and lived there until his death at the age of 77. He remained an influential member of the China Lobby. Soong had a stroke and died in San Francisco while on business in April 1971.
Soong was married to Lo-Yi Chang (張樂怡 Zhāng Lèyí).
