| 14:29:15 |
Historic preservationist Liu Weicai passed away in late August, marking the end of his six-decade-long dedication to the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the revered revolutionary leader who played a pivotal role in overthrowing imperial rule in China. "His death is our great loss. He knew everything about the mausoleum's history," said Zhou Juping, Liu's informal student and an employee of the mausoleum's administration bureau. |
| 10:48:47 |
Sun Yat-sen Street is seen as a mark of respect for Sun's support of India's independence struggle. |
| 10:45:18 |
Malaysian island earns recognition for playing a part in modern China's history. |
| 10:41:43 |
In Japan, the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution is being marked with a variety of events, many focusing on Sun Yat-sen and his relationship with Japan. It is estimated that Nakayama Sho, as he was known in Japan, made a dozen trips to and spent more than 10 years living and working there. |
| 10:30:23 |
A huge stone mounted in the park bears the Chinese characters tian xia wei gong, meaning "for the people", on one side. Words describing Sun as "a man who changed the destiny of China", written by Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister, are inscribed on the other side. |
| 10:30:07 |
In 1966, a museum was opened to commemorate the centenary of Sun's birth. The building was declared a national monument in October 1994 for its unique historical and architectural significance. |
| 10:29:03 |
The nearby newly completed Zhongshan Park also was to open on Saturday. A pathway in the 0.46-hectare park leading to the museum includes a record of Sun's eight trips to Singapore from 1900 to 1911. |
| 10:28:31 |
A book, Sun Yat-sen, Nanyang and the 1911 Revolution, was to be launched at the re-opening of the museum. On the calendar too is a three-week cultural festival through Oct 30. |
| 10:27:07 |
The villa had at least 10 owners between 1912 and 1938, when it was acquired by a group of six merchant-philanthropists. They donated the villa to the Singapore Chinese Chamber to be preserved as a historical site. In 1964-65, it was refurbished to commemorate Sun and his movement and became known as Dr Sun Yat-sen Villa. |
| 10:26:02 |
For the first time, more than 180 artifacts will be showcased to highlight Singapore's contribution during the revolution. They include a photograph of Sun at the bungalow in 1906. Twenty of these artifacts are on loan from the descendants of local merchants such as Teochew businessman Teo Eng Hock. In 1906, Teo offered the villa to Sun to serve as his Singapore headquarters. Sun stayed there on three occasions. |
| 10:24:58 |
The jewel in the crown of the series of activities was the re-opening of the Memorial Hall, a bungalow built in the 1880s and called Wanqingyuan. The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Heritage Board, which manages the museum, spent around $4.3 million to renovate the two-story villa and its five galleries. |
| 10:24:08 |
An ongoing event, staged jointly by the prestigious Hwa Chong Institution and the Memorial Hall, is an exhibition featuring the struggles and contributions of Sun's local supporters. Interweaving historical facts with reflections by students, this exhibition explores the crucial role Southeast Asia played in the Revolution. |
| 10:22:57 |
One interesting event in Singapore was an exhibition of rare stamps depicting Sun and his contributions. Between July and September, "Dr Sun Yat Sen: The Man Who Changed China" exhibition was staged at the Singapore Philatelic Museum. It featured more than 300 historic items on loan from Beijing philatelist Meng Zhaolong, who regards Sun as a personal hero. The collection, which came from all over the world, took Meng some 25 years to build up. The items included first-day covers and postcards dating to 1912. A highlight was a stamp issued in December 1912 to commemorate the 1911 Revolution: It was the first designed and issued by the Chinese government then, as well as the first to bear a portrait of Sun. |
| 10:21:31 |
Sun traveled around Southeast Asia when he was drumming up support for the nationalist movement in China. Themes at the conference thus included Sun in the Straits Settlements and Southeast Asian nationalism. The Nanyang communities gave financial and moral support to the 1911 Revolution and played a role in the establishment of modern China. Overseas Chinese support for Sun's cause was so significant that he claimed they were "the Mother of the Revolution". |
| 10:20:31 |
Commemorative activities kicked off last year with a conference on Sun and Southeast Asia, organized by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Chinese Heritage Center and National University of Singapore. It focused on the 1911 Revolution and Nanyang, which was how Southeast Asia was known to the Chinese then. |
| 10:16:00 |
Activities include an academic conference, a stamp exhibition, a school-organized exhibition and public talks. They culminated in Saturday's re-opening of the Sun Yat-sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, which had been closed for renovation for more than a year. |
| 10:13:47 |
The activities in the island nation are more low-key than those in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland itself. Still, they aim to increase public understanding of the historic significance of 1911, and the role played by Southeast Asia in the revolution. |
| 10:12:37 |
Like many other cities with large Chinese communities, Singapore is commemorating the centenary of the 1911 Revolution. After all, the island served as the Southeast Asian headquarters of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement, Tongmenghui. |
| 15:46:18 |
"We should guide overseas Chinese to increase Chinese people's friendship with peoples from the rest of the world, and encourage all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation at home and abroad to carry forward the fine traditions of the Chinese nation and work together to revitalize China," Lin said. |
| 15:42:05 |
During the Revolution of 1911, overseas Chinese participated in forming revolutionary organizations, actively spread revolutionary thinking, donated generously to revolutionary causes, and valiantly joined revolutionary uprisings. Dr. Sun Yat-sen praised them on many occasions, saying, "Overseas Chinese are the mother of our revolution." |
| 15:40:56 |
"History convincingly proves that without the CPC, there would have been no New China, that only socialism can save China, and that only reform and opening up can develop China," said Lin who speeks on behalf of the country's vairous people's organizations. |
| 15:39:29 |
A representative from Chinese people's organizations on Sunday called on all Chinese people home and abroad to get united to promote the nation's peaceful reunification and rejuvenation. Lin Jun, Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, made the call when giving a speech at a grand ceremony to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the 1911 Revolution. |
| 14:01:03 |
Zhou said that thanks to the joint efforts made by compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in recent years, significant achievements have been made in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations to the benefit of the people on both sides. "We sincerely hope that our compatriots on both sides put the interests of the Chinese nation first, cherish the hard-won historic opportunities we now have, adhere to the theme of peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and work together to safeguard and consolidate our two sides' common political foundation of opposing 'Taiwan independence' and upholding the 1992 Consensus." |
| 13:59:36 |
"Today, as we cherish the memory of the revolutionary martyrs and forebears, we are more eager than ever to see the early and complete reunification of the motherland. "Dr. Sun Yat-sen dedicated his whole life to opposing China's disunion and upholding its unity, and these were also the unwavering goals of our forebears of the Revolution of 1911," Zhou said. |
| 13:57:57 |
To fulfill Dr. Sun Yat-sen's wish to revitalize China and complete the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, over the past century the democratic parties in China have stood together with the CPC and cooperated and united with it in a common endeavor to further China's revolution, construction and reform, he said. "We have come to realize that without the CPC, there would have been no socialist New China, and that without the leadership of the CPC, it would be impossible to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," said the official who is also Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. |
| 13:55:35 |
"History fully proves that Chinese Communists are the staunchest supporters, closest cooperators and most loyal inheritors of the revolutionary cause of Dr. Sun Yat-sen," Zhou said. After the Revolution of 1911, the New Culture Movement advocating democracy and science arose and Marxism rapidly spread in China. In July 1921, the CPC was founded, which heralded the dawn of and created hope for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the official said.
After its founding, the CPC steadfastly drew upon and carried forward the revolutionary spirit of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and viewed its cause as a continuation and advance of the Revolution of 1911, he said. |
| 13:42:56 |
Zhou Tienong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, made the remark in his speech at a grand meeting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution. The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the most loyal inheritor of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen-led anti-imperialism and feudalism revolution, said Zhou. |
| 11:20:37 |
Members of both the Chinese and American communities met at Chicago's Chinatown Saturday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of China's 1911 Revolution, or the Xinhai Revolution, which ended 2,000 years of imperial rule in China. |
| 11:11:06 |
Hu quoted Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the leader of 1911 Revolution, as saying "If China becomes powerful and prosperous, we will not only restore our nation's standing, but also take greater responsibility in the world." |
| 11:09:15 |
Hu pledged, "China has been, is and will always be a positive force safeguarding world peace and promoting common development." Hu said, "the history of the 100 years since the Revolution of 1911 shows that the development and progress of the Chinese nation require not only a stable and united domestic environment but also a peaceful international environment." |
