Wang Ch'ung-hui - Beijing

Beijing

Wang returned to Peking in 1925. In 1926, he was elected to the Central Supervisory Committee of the northern government and he also briefly served as minister of education under prime minister W.W. Yen. In mid-1927, he left Peking and joined Chiang Kai-shek's Nanking government, serving as justice minister. He was fundamental in formulating the principles underlying the Republic of China's criminal and civil codes. When the Judicial Yuan was created in 1928, Wang was its first president. He retained that post, and became member of the State Council, from 1928–31. During these years, he worked to rid China of the extraterritoriality imposed by European powers and Japan. A loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen, Wang also worked to move China into the "political tutelage" phase of the revolution which would pave the way for China to become a constitutional democracy.

In 1930, Wang was elected judge on the Permanent Court of International Justice, but he delayed his acceptance as he was guiding the process of drawing up the provisional constitution of 1931. He assumed his post in the Hague in 1931, and served out his term until 1936. He returned to China that year and was seen as a moderating influence in Nanking during the Sian Incident in December of that year.

Wang Ch'ung-hui served as foreign minister from March 1937 - April 1941, a painful time during which Japanese invasion would kill millions of Chinese civilians and force the ROC government to relocate from Nanking to a provisional capital in Chungking. On August 21, 1937, he signed the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with Soviet foreign minister Bogomoloff. This guaranteed the Soviet Union's financial support to the Kuomintang government, though they continued supporting Communist insurgents too.

In 1942, Wang became secretary general of the Chinese Supreme Defense Council. In this capacity, he accompanied President Chiang Kai-shek to India in 1942 and the Cairo Conference in 1943. In 1943, he also began serving on the People's Political Council.