Free China Will Not Perish 中國不會亡

Despite being marketed in the United States as Jackie Chan's 100th film of his career, "1911 辛亥革命" is really about the struggle of Chinese revolutionaries to establish Asia's first constitutional, democratic republic. After years of failed revolts against an ever-weakening autocracy, October 10, 1911 would mark one of the most important dates in five millennia of Chinese civilisation.

From the beginning, the film illustrates the martyrdom of Qiu Jin, arguably the most famous female Chinese revolutionary, and the failed 3.29 Guangzhou Uprising. Tradition says that 72 young men sacrificed their lives during this massacre, which history would show to be the final failure before the collapse of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Just as with any battle, the lives lost are sons, brothers, and fathers killed just as they enter the prime of their lives. Later research would find that the number of young men who died that day was closer to 90.

We see that Dr. Sun Yat-sen, being the bona fide revolutionary he had become by this point, wanted to stay in China to fight with his compatriots. However, his pragmatic friend (played by Jackie Chan) convinced him that he could serve the revolution better abroad, galvanising the moral and financial support of the overseas Chinese community. In fact, it is due to this very seminal support that to this day, overseas Chinese have representation in the legislature of the Republic of China and a (non-public) holiday in Taiwan known as Overseas Chinese Day.

What is most striking about the film is the number of obvious parallels between the Manchu Qing government and the Chinese Communist Party. Both are infested with corruption, obsessed with garnering the monetary investment of the foreign community, insist on autocratic rule, and completely out of touch with the average Chinese. In fact, I am surprised at how all the government censors failed to see this film as a major critique of the current regime on Mainland China. (The CCP partnered with Jackie Chan to make this film). The calls for democracy in 1911 are the very under currents today that the CCP feverishly are attempting to suppress.

The film managed to be free of any major propaganda until the very last line of the Epilogue where it says something along the lines of Sun's dream was fulfilled by the Chinese Communist Party. This could not be more incorrect, because Mainland China, unlike Taiwan, currently does not have a government of, by, and for the people.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen spent a couple years as a teenager in the Territory of Hawaii (and attended the same high school that President Obama would eventually also attend). This is where Christian influences and Western political philosophy first took root in the future revolutionary's heart. Abraham Lincoln's idea of a "government of, by, and for the people" would become the cornerstone of Sun's political theory known as the "Three Principles of the People." The film only mentions this idea once at the very end, because to this day, it remains a sensitive topic in Mainland China. Yes, there is agreement that the point of the Chinese revolution should be to bring about a more peaceful society for future generations. However, it would not be fair to the martyrs of the Chinese revolution to downplay the significance of the Three Principles in developing a better society.

A government of the people means that regardless of ethnicity, all Chinese people would stand as one nation, in which everyone, rather than only a few selected elites, is a participant.

A government by the people means that there is universal suffrage, referendum, recall, and initiative that form a check on the government, namely, the executive, legislative, judicial, auditing, and examination branches.

A government for the people means that every citizen must have access to food, clothing, housing, transportation, and education. Land and natural resources belong to everybody, because individuals only own what they create.

There are the core tenets on which Dr. Sun founded the Republic of China. It is impossible for anyone to claim to carry on his legacy if these foundational principles are not upheld. This is for what the Chinese revolutionaries died.

In fact, the perseverance of these revolutionaries has also pervaded throughout the 100-year history of the Republic of China. The successor to the presidency after Dr. Sun attempted to suffocate the Republic in its infancy when he made himself the new Emperor of China. The Government of the Republic of China then fought back and gained the nominal loyalty of all the various Chinese warlords and finally reunified the country at the end of 1928 and thus ended the rule-by-military phase. The nation embarked on a massive modernisation effort for the next ten years while simultaneously suppressing the communist rebels. Not being able to ignore Japanese aggression, in 1937 the Republic of China declares war on the Empire of Japan and draws blood from the foreign imperialist until the United States joins in December 1941. After the war, the 1947 Constitution ends the rule-by-party phase in the midst of the resumption of the Chinese Civil War. However, the realisation of a democratic government codified in the 1947 Constitution was delayed following the loss of Mainland China in 1949 with the establishment of martial law in Taiwan. For the next 20 years, efforts to counterattack and reclaim the Mainland failed, but efforts to hold off an invasion by the People's Liberation Army succeeded time and time again. Starting in the late 1960s, the economy of Taiwan experienced what was considered at the time miraculous growth and at the same time, activism calling for the end of martial law began to take root and spread throughout Taiwan. Due to the unwavering determination of these democratic activists, President Chiang Ching-kuo ended one-party rule in 1987 and martial law was officially lifted in 1991 under his successor. The 1990s saw the fruits of the democratic movement as talks between the Chinese Communist Party and the ROC resumed and elections were held for seats in the National Assembly. Taiwan has since established itself as a developed economy, with universal health insurance, a booming high-tech sector, and all the freedoms that a democratic society is able to enjoy.

This Monday, October 10, 2011, as 23 million people on Taiwan celebrating the uprising a century ago sing the National Anthem of the Republic of China, the lyrics remind us that we must be diligent and courageous in upholding these principles with one heart and one mind until the very end. Even though today China is split into two areas with two different governments, the revolutionaries have not died in vain. Their sacrifice is merely a reminder that the revolution is not over. 革命尚未成功。同志仍需努力。