National Archives of Singapore 1
SPEECH BY GEORGE YEO, MINISTER FOR INFORMATION AND THE ARTS AND MINISTER FOR HEALTH, AT THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 130TH BIRTHDAY OF DR SUN YAT SEN ON TUESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 1996 AT 11.00 AM
We are gathered here today to commemorate the 130th birthday of Dr Sun Yat Sen. More than any one else, Dr Sun Yat Sen symbolises for all Chinese people - both in China and outside China - the 1911 Revolution or the Xin Hai Ge Ming.
The 1911 Revolution was a very great revolution in human history. It marked the end of over 2,000 years of Chinese feudal society and imperial rule. The modernisation process of Chinese culture in fact started many years earlier. It had its beginnings in the early part of the 19th Century. The Opium War of 1841-l 842 was a great shock to the Qing Dynasty. Following it, the Taiping Tianguo uprising almost tore China apart. Over 20 million Chinese died and large parts of China were devastated. As the Qing Dynasty weakened, foreign encroachments on China grew. By the time of the Boxer Rebellion, China was in complete disarray. There were many attempts to reform Qing China by men like Zhang Zhidong and Kang Youwei but Imperial China had by then become too ossified to transform itself. It was the 1911 Revolution that did away with Imperial rule and created a constitutional government for the first time in China’s history. 2
The revolution of the Chinese mind did not end with the 1911 Revolution. After a year, Dr Sun stepped down as President and Yuan Shikai took over. Yuan wanted to become emperor but died in 1916. On May 4th 1919, Chinese students in Peking University objected to the Treaty of Versailles giving Qiugdao to the Japanese. The May 4th Movement gave a strong push to the New Culture Movement. Even so, Chinese society had still to go through many decades of twists and turns before its culture could be fully modemised and equipped for the industrial and post-industrial age. It is a process still ongoing.
From start to end, it would take perhaps 200 years for this historical transformation to be completed. If we count it from the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 to the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the period would be 155 years. But, even today, the rule of law in China is still not well established even though there has been great improvement in recent years. Large parts of China are still culturally backwards.
Singapore’s history has been much intertwined with this part of China’s history. The reason why many Chinese came from China to Singapore in the last century and in the beginning of this century was because of the breakdown of Chinese society on the Mainland and the lack of opportunities there. In fact, all the great events in China over the last 150 years have created reverberations among the ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia. Both Kang Youwei and Dr Sun Yat Sen came to Singapore many times. Dr Sun Yat Sen would usually stay here at the Wan Qin Yuan when he was in Singapore, which is why it is important for us to preserve this estate. When the Tong Meng Hui was formed in Tokyo in August 1905, a branch was formed in Singapore six months later. At the beginning of this century, the Chinese in Singapore were divided between those who supported the Emperor and those who wanted a republic. 3
When the Kuomintang and the Communists in China fought, their supporters also fought here in Singapore. When they combined to fight the Japanese, the Chinese in Singapore also united to fight the Japanese by partly contributing money, material and personnel. Partly because of this, the Japanese Imperial Army was particularly cruel to Singapore Chinese civilians when it occupied Singapore in 1942. Many Singapore Chinese leaders who supported the anti-Japanese effort in China, including clan leaders, were already marked out p for extermination months before the Japanesebombed Pearl Harbour.
After the War, the Chinese in Singapore were again divided between pro-Mao communists and non-communists. Right into the 50’s and early 60’s, many Chinese in Singapore identified themselves more with China than with the idea of an independent Singapore with its own destiny.
It ‘is because of this complex history that, for many years, the Wan Qing Yuan was never considered a national monument to be preserved. It was a politically sensitive matter. Now, after 31 years of independence, we can look at that period of our history and our earlier connections with China, in a more objective and dispassionate way. It was only a few years ago that the Preservation of Monuments Board finally included the Wan Qing Yuan on its list. It was only two years ago that we were able to establish a Chinese Heritage Centre at the old Nantah.
What we must do is to separate the political idea of being Chinese from the cultural idea of being Chinese. This is a very important distinction which we must make carefully and deliberately. When we preserve the Wan Qing Yuan and commemorate the 130th birthday of Dr Sun Yat Sen, we are remembering important events which transformed Chinese culture in Singapore. 4
We are not tying ourselves politically to China or Taiwan, both of which still honour Dr Sun Yat Sen as Founder Father or Guofu. Dr Sun Yat Sen is not. Singapore’s Guofu but what he did and the movement he represented, in which Singapore Chinese also participated, made a great difference to our lives. Without the cultural revolution symbolised by Dr Sun Yat Sen, the Chinese mind would have stagnated and there would not be a modem Singapore today.
The greatest significance of the 1911 Revolution was its transformation of the Chinese mind. The end of feudal relationships, the liberation of women, the baihuawen movement, the Speak Mandarin Campaign, democracy, constitutional government and the rule of law - all this was part of Dr SUNYat Sen’s San Min Zhu Yi.
In the 50’s and 60’s, a commemoration such as this today would have been very political. Non-Chinese Singaporeans would view it negatively. Our neighbours would also view it with suspicions. Today, the situation is completely different in all of Asia. In Malaysia, Chinese education is again on the rise. Many Malays are studying Mandarin. In Thailand, a Chinese language university was recently opened by the Thai King. China itself has changed dramatically. So long as we make a clear distinction between the political idea of being Chinese and the cultural idea of being Chinese, we can be proud of our Chineseness without this causing unnecessary misunderstanding. Our cultural links to China are separate from our political links. Indeed, this is the wish of most .Chinese in the world outside China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. When the Huayi Guan was opened at Nantah two years ago, that distinction was made very clear. Thus, ethnic Chinese Singaporeans are not as excited about the Diaoyu Islands as the Chinese in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are. This distinction allows us to commemorate Dr Sun Yat Sen’s 130th birthday without politicising 5 it, in the same way as Indian Singaporeans are able to remember Mahatma Gandhi without this linking us politically to India.
The conservation of the Wan Qing Yuan is a very important cultural project for Chinese Singaporeans. the 1911 Revolution is a very important part of our cultural history which we must never forget. This building should therefore be preserved as a cultural shrine for all ethnic Chinese Singaporeans. It will also be of great interest to non-Chinese Singaporeans and to others in the world.
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