Dr Sun Yat Sen

Sun Yat Sen (Dr) (b .12 November 1866, Guangdong,China - d.1925) was born in 1866 of peasant parents in Guangdong, China. He was educated in Hawaii and Hong Kong, and was a western-trained medical doctor, but politics and not medicine was his destiny. Sun was a revolutionary who wanted to save China and end the Manchu Qing dynasty so as to establish a republic in China. He travelled to Singapore and other places in the region to garner support.

Sun made eight visits to Singapore from 9 July 1900 - 1911 to campaign for people and financial support to overthrow the Qing dynasty. In early 1906, he launched the first T'ung Meng Hui, the "Revolutionary League", forerunner of the Kuomintang in Singapore with 12 founder members, among them elected Chairman Tan Chor Nam, Vice-chairman Teo Eng Hock, Treasurer Hsu Tze Lin, and Lim Nee Soon as Public Relations Chairman. This brought a new phase of revolutionary activity to Singapore and Malaya. The Villa was offered to Sun Yat Sen by Teo Eng Hock, for his Singapore headquarters and base. 

Sun reorganized the T'ung Meng Hui and also founded the Nationalist party of China, which became the Kuomintang, "National People's Party". It was later controlled by his successor, Chiang Kai-Shek. After the successful Wu-ch'ang uprising in October 1911, the Qing dynasty fell, and Sun passed through Singapore for the last time enroute to China where enormous crowds welcomed him as the elected provisional president of the Republic of China. Sun died a hero in China in 1925, aged 69 years.

There are two Sun Yat Sen Universities in Beijing and Amoy.



Author
Michael Mukunthan 



References 
Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A history of Singapore, 1819-1988 (pp. 108-109, 129-131, 146). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 TUR) 


Further Readings
Liu, G. (1996). In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore (pp 218-221). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 725.94095957 LIU) 



The information in this article is valid as at 1998 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Personalities>>Biographies>>Political Leaders
Revolutionaries--China
Law and government>>Political process>>Leadership

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