Tan Kah Kee's contribution to rebuilding new China

 Chinese Civilization is everlasting and unlike other civilizations which had long disappeared it has survived for over 5,000 years. Chinese civilization can last so long because it has never indulged in foreign aggression and foreign wars. On the contrary China has always been subjected to foreign aggression and foreign invasions. First for thousands of years China has always been attacked by invading border tribes from Central Asia and Siberia which is north of the Heilongjiang River. China was frequently raided by the savage tribes of the Hsiung Nus from the north western border and the Mongols and Khitans. China always pacified these invading tribes with diplomacy and with huge gifts of food and provisions as well as building the Great Wall of China stretching over 12,000 miles to prevent them from invading China.

But from the 16th century AD, China faced a more menacing and more dangerous type of aggression from the barbaric European countries and Japan. These new barbarians came with modern firearms and were more determined to attack and invade China. China was caught unprepared and as a result lost millions of square miles of Chinese territories to Russia, England, France, Germany and Japan.

From 1800s to 1948 China faced a mortal danger to survival of her sovereignty as a nation and civilization. However, during this critical period many unknown Chinese heroes arose and came to help and lead millions of Chinese patriots to resist and fight the foreign invaders.

From 1931 to 1945 Japan started a very fierce and brutal war of aggression against China. During this critical time China was unfortunate to also face a civil war between the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party of brainless Chiang Kai-Shek and the noble patriotic Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) of Mao Tse-Tung.

During this period of Japanese invasion many overseas Chinese people and the Chinese Clan Associations donated funds to fight the Japanese. Rich Chinese millionaires and clan associations not only contributed to Chinese defense funds but also helped to provide various Chinese cities with schools and universities to help giving Chinese youths better education. The most notable overseas Chinese patriot and millionaire was Tan Kah Kee who built many schools and universities in Xiamen ( Amoy ), Canton, Shanghai and Nanking.

Indeed and in fact the overseas Chinese diaspora had contributed in some small ways to help China defeat imperial Japan and thus saved the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization.

Southernglory1
Thursday, 21st November, 2024