Taiwan people mark 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth

TAIPEI, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- People from various sectors in Taiwan held a series of commemorative events Thursday, marking the 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth and honoring his revolutionary legacy.

At the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, a steady stream of visitors gathered throughout the morning to pay their respects. More than 100 representatives of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT), the New Party and the Taipei Kwong Tung Community Association and other groups took turns paying tribute before a statue of Sun.

Born in 1866, Sun led the Revolution of 1911 more than a century ago to abolish the absolute monarchy that had ruled China for thousands of years. He was also a founding figure of the KMT. Sun died in 1925 and is widely revered by Chinese people as one of the nation's revolutionary forefathers.

"Sun devoted his life to national reunification and rejuvenation. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should remember him and carry forward his spirit," said a Taipei resident surnamed Li, who has attended the annual commemorative event for years.

A woman surnamed Wu from New Taipei City, who attended with a friend, said she considered the visit meaningful. Having learned about Sun through books and documentaries, Wu said she admired his ideals and convictions, adding that his thinking remained relevant today and worthy of further study.

At a conference on the cross-Strait peace initiative held on Thursday, Kao Yuang-kuang, former dean of the College of Social Sciences at Chengchi University, highlighted Sun's historical connections with Taiwan.

Sun visited Taiwan three times and helped establish a branch of the revolutionary organization Tongmenghui in Taiwan, introducing democratic and revolutionary ideas to the island. He also inspired many young patriots in Taiwan to travel to the mainland to join the revolution, Kao said.

On Thursday afternoon, a lecture commemorating Sun was held. Lin Kuang-hui, founding chairman of an association for the descendants of anti-Japanese patriots in Taiwan, recounted the life of his grandfather, Lin Tsu-mi, who was a patriot in Japanese-colonized Taiwan and joined Sun's revolutionary campaigns on the mainland.

The lecture sought to help younger generations in Taiwan better understand this period of history and ensure it is not forgotten, Lin said.

Lan Bo-chow, a renowned writer, said resistance movements launched by people in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945) had been inspired by the 1911 Revolution and could be seen as its manifestation on the island.

These movements demonstrated the close historical ties between Taiwan and the mainland, reflecting a shared sense of identity and solidarity, Lan said.