The Preparatory Committee for the Centenary Celebrations of the Republic of China held a press conference at the Presidential Office Building on March 29 to unveil the logo for the ROC's centennial anniversary celebrations. President Ma and Vice President Vincent C. Siew, who is Preparatory Committee Chairman, were on hand for the unveiling of the logo, which marks the first in a series of activities that will be held to mark the 100th year of the nation's existence.
Speaking at the event, the president noted that the press conference to unveil the centenary logo was being held on Youth Day, which carried great symbolic significance. Calling attention to the importance of the year 1911, he noted that the March 29 Huanghuagang Uprising of that year marked the tenth attempt at a revolution by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the nation's founding father. Although it ended in failure and the deaths of many important people in the movement, it was precisely the failure of this uprising that awakened the people of the nation and ultimately paved the way for the successful Xinhai Revolution.
President Ma said that two Taiwanese participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising. One was the martyr Lo Fu-xing, who was from Dahu in Miaoli County, while the other was Mr. Xu Zan-yuan, who hailed from Tainan. In addition, Mr. Lin Wei-ge from the noted Lin family of Banqiao donated 3,000 Japanese yen, bankrolling 19 students studying in Japan so they could make their way by ship to Guangzhou and participate in the movement. Among these was Lin Jue-min, who wrote a famous farewell letter to his wife. The president said that these fascinating nuggets of history remind us that people from Taiwan also participated in the uprising.
The president remarked that 100 is a significant milestone. For the ROC, the past 100 years have been a time of tremendous hardships and setbacks, but these have not prevented us in Taiwan from building a strong state by dint of struggle and perseverance. Our nation today has entered upon an entirely new phase in its history. Therefore, these 100 years are truly worthy of celebration.
President Ma noted that last year marked the 60th anniversary of the government's relocation to Taiwan. What has developed here over the past six decades is a Chinese culture with Taiwan characteristics. These Taiwan characteristics, he added, are the core values of Taiwan, of which he named six: integrity, kindness, diligence, honesty, initiative, and tolerance. He said that the centenary logo is a stylized form of the number 100, which can be overlaid with all sorts of different photographic images to communicate the many important themes of the past century. Our most significant achievement of all, he said, is a free, democratic, and open society. Without it, a Chinese society with Taiwan characteristics would never have come to be.
The president furthermore said that when the ROC was established it was the first republic in
Asia. At present, the world is home to 195 countries. In 1912, however, only some 20-30 countries existed. The huge increase in the number of nations only came later. Therefore, it was quite a feat to establish the ROC back then. Even today, he said, the ROC on
Taiwan is the only place in the ethnic Chinese world that has fully embraced democracy. President Ma reminded everyone that two years ago when he won the presidential election, then US President George W. Bush sent a message of congratulations and characterized
Taiwan as a beacon of democracy in Asia and the world. We must cherish what we have, President Ma said, and continue to demonstrate the spirit of freedom and democracy. Only by so doing can we develop a Chinese culture with
Taiwan characteristics.