A Commentary

 

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Must Be Included in China Dream

 

Pang Chien-kuo

 

Professor of Graduate Institute of Mainland China Studies and Dr. Sun Yet-sen’s Thoughts, Chinese Culture University

 

Source: China Times

 

November 12, 2014

 

Mainland China hosted the 2014 APEC Meeting, fully displaying the grandeur of a great nation.  Mainland China seems to be a bellwether in the Asia-Pacific region, as Mainland leader Xi Jinping’s call for Chinese people to pursue a “China Dream” for the great renaissance of the Chinese nation, setting a historic footnote.   As a part of the Chinese nation, we applaud the Mainland’s achievements, but we also call on the Mainland to adopt a broader viewpoint and more wisdom in facing future challenges and dealing with cross-Strait relations because we are all descendants of Emperors Yan and Huang.

 

Since the Mainland began to reform its economic system, it has achieved great successes.  The Mainland’s current development model faces a bottleneck due to disequilibrium, disharmony, and unsubstainability, so it must adjust the pace of its economic development as well as live with lower economic growth rates.  In the meantime, the Mainland must reform its political system while also further reforming its economic system.

 

The Third Plenum of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress passed a resolution titled, “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms,” and The Fourth Plenum of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress passed a resolution titled, “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Rule by Law.”  From the two resolutions, we can see the determination of the Mainland’s leadership and agree that they are moving in the right direction.  It is worth noting that within all the reforms of its economic system and measures to open up its markets in the past, as well as the current wave of reforms, it is hard to find any direct connection with Marxism–Leninism or Maoism.  On the contrary, Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s plans to develop a modern China have become clearer and clearer during the process of the Mainland’s reforms and measures to open its markets.

 

For example, “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms” proposed handling relations between the government and the market so as to allow the market to decide how to allocate resources and bring the government’s strengthens into full play.  Such views cannot be found in any books on Marxism–Leninism or Maoism, but they are clearly enumerated in Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s discourses on the Principle of Peoples’ Livelihood (Mínshēng Principle, 民生主義).

 

The CCP’s leadership has always shown great respect for Dr. Sun Yat-sen.  When CCP General-Secretary Hu Jintao took office as the Mainland’s leader, he mentioned the idea of “empathizing with the common man, exercising power for the benefit of the people, and working for the people's interests (情為民所繫、權為民所用、利為民所謀), thus echoing Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People, i.e., the idea of government of the people, by the people, for the people.

 

This year marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.  We look forward to seeing how the Mainland will use Dr. Sun Yat-sen to connect the two sides of the Strait and spread Dr. Sun’s thoughts on both sides of the Strait as the common conviction to build a “China Dream” for the decedents of the ancient Emperors Yan and Huang, now that the Mainland has achieved a milestone by hosting the 2014 APEC Meeting.

 

【Editor’s note: We suggest that the Mainland should honor Dr. Sun Yat-sen as the Father of Modern China, rather than the forerunner of the revolution.】