The
revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty might have taken place 100 years ago,
but its impact continues to be felt to this day, not least in the contest for
legitimacy on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The 1911 Revolution ended 3,000 years of
feudalism in China and established the first ever republic in Asia. It
represented the beginning of China's long march towards modernity. The tumult
of the struggle in the years immediately after the fall of the Qing Dynasty
also created competing heirs: the Kuomintang (KMT) in Taipei and the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing.
To mark the centenary of the revolution, the
CCP held a grand celebration last week, the highlight of which was a speech by
Chinese President Hu Jintao in which he sent out two significant political
messages.
The first came in his description of the CCP
as "the most ardent supporter, the most intimate collaborator and the most
loyal successor to Dr Sun Yat-sen", the leader of the 1911 revolution.
This is significant as it is the first time
that such superlatives are being used to associate the CCP with Dr Sun. With
these three "mosts", the CCP is attempting to establish itself as the
rightful successor to the 1911 Revolution.
That it has to try to do so has partly to do
with how events unfolded after 1911. The party and regime that Dr Sun set up
immediately after the revolution were the KMT and the Republic of China (ROC),
respectively.
The CCP was created in 1921. It set up the
People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. In purely chronological terms, they
are not the direct descendants of the revolution, unlike the KMT and ROC.
This vying for the status of rightful heir is
unusual, bearing in mind that the CCP has in the past disparaged the 1911 event
as 'an unsuccessful bourgeois revolution' that failed because of the inherent
flaws of its leadership.
And yet it would appear that now, 100 years
on, the CCP sees value in claiming the mantle of rightful heir. Certainly the
moral authority that comes with the title is deeply rooted in Chinese culture.
That the ROC has survived long after KMT leaders lost the civil war to the
communists attests to the importance of its historic lineage and the sense of
legitimacy associated with it.
By making a claim to be the rightful
inheritors of the 1911 revolution, the CCP is not only seeking to boost its
standing but also to undermine the ROC's position at the same time.
A second significant message in Mr Hu's speech
was national revival. In his 4,000-word address, he made 31 references to
"the great revival of the Chinese nation". To achieve this, he said,
China has to "unswervingly uphold the banners" of socialism,
patriotism and the policy of peace, development and cooperation.
Tellingly, he also quoted Dr Sun on the need
for unification - a pre-condition for the country's revival. Mr Hu argued that
as unification remains the only unaccomplished target of the 1911 Revolution,
it was incumbent upon the CCP to bring it about. Taiwan remains a renegade
province in Beijing's eyes.
In bolstering the CCP's claim to Dr Sun's
revolution, Mr Hu noted that it had achieved the goals set out in the founding
father's "Three People's Principles", the bedrock of his new
republic.
The so-called "San-min Doctrine" was
developed by Dr Sun as part of a political philosophy underpinning his efforts
to make China a free, prosperous and respected nation. It called for minzu
(nationalism or freedom from foreign domination), minquan (people's power or
democracy) and m�nsheng (people's welfare).
There is no doubt that under the CCP, China
has emerged as an economic powerhouse and improved its people's livelihood. It
has shaken off its colonial shackles and become a major global player.
But it is noteworthy that across the strait,
Taiwanese leaders made sure to underscore the principle of minquan as they
celebrated the accomplishment of Dr Sun's ideals. As KMT chief and President Ma
Ying-jeou said in his speech: "The ideals of Dr Sun were to establish a
free, democratic, thriving and egalitarian country. These, which were
previously unattainable in the mainland, are now wholly accomplished in
Taiwan."
Mr Ma pointed out that the successful
implementation of Dr Sun's Three Principles "proves to the world that
democracy can also take root, blossom and bear fruit in a Chinese
society".
"I want to take this opportunity to
remind the authorities in the mainland that when celebrating the 1911
Revolution, one should not forget that the ideals of Dr Sun were to establish a
free, democratic and egalitarian country. The mainland authorities should
boldly advance in this direction," he added. "Only in doing so can
the gap between both sides of the (Taiwan) Strait be narrowed."
In a pointed message to Beijing, Mr Ma said:
"To celebrate the 1911 Revolution, one should not truncate history but
should preserve its original look and respect the existence of the ROC. The
existence of the ROC is not in the past tense but in the present continuous
tense."
If Mr Hu had used the centennial celebration
and Dr Sun's philosophy to call for unification, Mr Ma used the same means to
deliver his message. In short, he is telling Beijing: there are two
pre-conditions - respect for democracy and for the ROC's existence.
A century later, it is quite clear that
vestiges of the 1911 Revolution are still very much alive in the battle for
legitimacy across the Taiwan Strait. And what Dr Sun wanted for his fledgling
republic will undoubtedly continue to shape developments for many more years to
come.
Ching Cheong
The Straits Times
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