October 14, 1921—Sun
Yat-sen assumed the role of the President of the newly established national
government at Guangzhou, in South China (1). After years of travel and exile he is finally back in the
Chinese 
government (2).
Dr. Sun has
spent the last few decades of his life in a search for knowledge, and having
traveled throughout Europe, America, and Japan, has extensively studied a wide
variety of government and political ideas. He believes in the Three
People’s Principals: nationalism, democracy, and the people’s
lively hood. Dr. Sun has always strongly supported a democratic legal system
and is not ashamed to look to the west for guidance in political systems,
“We have to go to Europe and America for a republican form of
government,” (3). He has
pooled traditional Chinese views with the new western concepts to construct
most of his principals on how a country should be run.
Dr.
Sun’s previous political organizations, like the Kuominta, show some of
his ideas about politics, but it has been almost ten years since he helped to
begin Kuominta, so he may have changed since then.
Through Dr.
Sun’s political power, he hopes to, “free the Chinese from grave
forms of social exploitation by building a strong central government that would
counter the rampant forces of capitalism in industry and of powerful landlords
in the countryside,” (4).
Instead of thrusting an entirely new system on China, he wants to ease
into democracy. Dr. Sun’s plan for China’s regeneration is a three-
step adjustment period. According to his plan, “The
progress of our revolution should be regulated and divided . . . First,
Military rule; second, political tutelage; third, constitutional
government,” (5).
His
previous rule in 1911 that had ended with him stepping down to Yuan Shikai in
order to prevent inner nation tensions from increasing will hopefully have no
great effect on how he rules in the future.
“Democracy will be a big change
for China,” said Yee Na-dong, a local market person, “I cannot even
imagine having to vote for China’s leader.” Yet while voting seems an alien task to
Yee, he is looking forward to having a say in the government. Shu Fa-ning on the other hand, feels
very strongly that someone should takeover as Emperor, “Just look at what
Europe has done to China! Why
should we have to change to convenience them? Everything was just fine for
hundreds of years working the way it used to. Why can’t people just leave us alone?”
Despite the
fact that democracy is western in origin, it has helped them to become
powerful, so hopefully it will have a similar effect for China. Many people share both views about what
Sun Yat-sen stands for, but everyone agrees that China needs stability in this
time of great turmoil, and hopefully Dr. Sun can bring some.
Footnotes:
1.
Lee, L.F.
“Founding Father, Republic of China,” 2002, http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/bio_sun.htm (1 Feb 2003).
2.
Unknown. “Chinese
Cultural Studies: Sun Yat-sen: Fundamentals of National Reconstruction,”
2001, http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/sunyat.html
(1 Feb 2003)
3.
Ibid.
4.
Spence, Jonathan D.
“Sun Yat-sen,” 2002, http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1999/990823/sun_yat_sen1.html
(31 Jan 2003)
5.
Unknown. “Chinese
Cultural Studies: Sun Yat-sen: Fundamentals of National Reconstruction,”
2001, http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/sunyat.html
(1 Feb 2003)
Images:
1.
Lee, L.F.
“Founding Father, Republic of China,” 2002, http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/bio_sun.htm (1 Feb 2003).
2.
Unknown. http://www.hkmms.org.hk/
galleries/g6.htm (1 Feb 2003)