George H . Kerr George H . Kerr ( November 7 , 1911 – August 27 , 1992 ) , also known in Taiwan as 葛超智 ( or 柯喬治 ) , was a United States diplomat during World War II , and in later years he was an author and an academic . In addition to his published works , his archived papers at the Hoover Institution provide information about economic and political affairs in Taiwan in the 1930s and 1940s , Taiwan ' s transition from Japanese rule before and during World War II to postwar Chinese rule , Taiwanese rebellion against Chinese rule in 1947 , and U . S . foreign policy toward Taiwan . In addition , the archived papers include information about economic and political conditions in Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands after World War II . Early life . Kerr was born in Pennsylvania . He was a student in Japan during 1935 through 1937 ; and he was an English teacher in Taipei , Taiwan during 1937 through 1940 . Military career . As a Lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve , Kerr worked for the U . S . Navy as a Taiwan expert and instructed future military government officers during the Pacific War . In 1942 - 1943 , Kerr was an analyst and consultant on Formosa in the U . S . Department of War . In 1944 - 1946 , he was the Director of the Formosa Research Unit at the Naval School of Military Government and Administration for the U . S . Navy at Columbia University in New York . Diplomatic career . After the war , Kerr returned to Taiwan in 1945 as an Assistant Naval Attaché , escorting the newly appointed Chinese Governor - General Chen Yi to the Japanese surrender of Taiwan on 25 October 1945 ( Retrocession Day ) . George Kerr was present in his official capacity as a civil affairs officer of the U . S . Navy Attache ' s Office to the Republic of China government in Chongqing . He ensured that the English version of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender did not exclude the official role of the U . S . , unlike the Chinese translation . Later , he became a diplomat at the U . S . embassy in China . He was a Foreign Service Staff Officer and Vice - Consul in Taipei . He has written about his eyewitness account of the 228 Incident in 1947 . One critic has alleged Kerr actively participated in the Incident . It was not till the early 1950s that he realized his wish to visit Okinawa , and with it a military commission to write a history , the purpose of which was to revive an independent Ryūkyūan identity . An able team of researcher - translators scoured Japan for historical sources on Okinawa . Then Kerr synthesized the material into the book " Okinawa : Kingdom and Province " ( 1953 ) , and then in Japanese as " Ryūkyū no rekishi " ( 1955 ) . In the meantime , Kerr began a revision based on additional research as well as criticism of the first two books and published a 1958 volume , " Okinawa : The History of an Island People . " Kerr was deeply concerned about the loss of Ryūkyūan history on the ground . So he pursued his Okinawan interests in a survey of the islands ' cultural assets ( 1960 – 63 ) . Experience in Yaeyama and Miyako told him that his perspective of Ryūkyūan history had been askew . He drafted , but never published , another book on Okinawa that placed far greater emphasis on the southern Ryūkyūs and their early economic interaction with China . Academic career . Kerr was a lecturer at the University of Washington during 1947 - 1949 ; and he was a lecturer at Stanford University and the University of California , Berkeley in 1949 - 1950 . For the next five years , he was a research associate at the Hoover Institution . The open sections of Kerr ' s papers are available at the Okinawa Prefectural Archives in Haebaru , others at the Stanford , Taipei and Ryudai libraries . Later life . Kerr ' s books on Taiwan are numerous . He championed the cause of Taiwan independence from China , thereby making himself a high - profile enemy to both Chiang Kai - shek and Mao Zedong . ( Chiang complained and Kerr lost his job at Stanford University . ) While certainly an influential political writer and commentator , his reputation as a historian in Chinese history is questioned by many Sinologist s due to his apparent stance against China . He also drafted a long book on 19th century Hawaii , thus making his life ' s work of a piece : " the history of Pacific Ocean marine frontiers " . He is an author of many books and of numerous articles concerning Japan , Okinawa and Taiwan . Among them are the " Formosa : Licensed Revolution and the Home Rule Movement , 1895 - 1945 " , " Formosa Betrayed " ( 1965 ) , " Descriptive Summary : George H . Kerr papers , 1943 - 1951 " , " Okinawa : The History of an Island People " ( 1958 ) , and " The Taiwan Confrontation Crisis " ( 1986 ) . " Formosa Betrayed " was one of the most influential books about Taiwan ' s transition from Japanese colonial rule to the rule of the Kuomintang ( KMT , Chinese Nationalist Party ) administration . George Kerr was working for the American Foreign Service at the time of the transition and was present in Taiwan for the KMT occupation and resulting aftermath . " Formosa Betrayed " made a sharp rebuke of the Nationalist administration and made arguments in favor of Taiwanese independence . The book was republished in 1976 by Da Capo Press . In 1992 a second edition was published by Taiwan Publishing Co . The book is now legally available online ( " see link below " ) . " Okinawa : The History of an Island People " covers the legendary past to the Battle of Okinawa in 542 very read - able pages . Eleven years before he died , Kerr wrote that 13 , 000 copies had been sold . The book was out of print for a time , but Tuttle , the original publishers , reprinted it in 2000 , adding a new introduction and an appendix by Okinawa history scholar Mitsugu Sakihara . He died at age of 81 on August 27 , 1992 in Honolulu , Hawaii .