President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of July 4 attended the opening of an exhibition titled "Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the United States," which is being jointly held by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. President Ma was accompanied by AIT Director William A. Stanton in viewing the photographs, letters, and other treasured documents dating back to the time when Dr. Sun lived in the United States.
In remarks, the president noted that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China by Dr. Sun, while today also is US Independence Day. The AIT specially selected this time to hold an exhibit to commemorate Dr. Sun, and this event and its timing bear great significance to both nations, he said.
President Ma commented that Dr. Sun had a very close relationship with the United States. In 1894, he established the Revive China Society (興中會) in Honolulu, whose members swore a pledge to "expel the Manchus, restore Chinese rule, and establish a federal republic." Besides focusing on a spirit of national revolution, Dr. Sun also emphasized the development of democracy, he said. Subsequently the Revolutionary Alliance (中國同盟會) was founded, which featured the platform of "expelling the Manchus, restoring Chinese rule, establishing a republic, and equalizing land ownership." This was the first time that the "Principle of the People’s Livelihood" was advocated, which helped round out the "Three Principles of the People." President Ma explained that the Principle of the People’s Livelihood was deeply inspired by the writings of Henry George in his 1879 book Progress and Poverty. When the ROC government drafted a constitution in 1946, the first article of the document clearly stated, "The Republic of China, founded on the Three Principles of the People, shall be a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people, and for the people." The president said that the philosophy of this article was based on the spirit of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of 1863. The commonality of the founding spirit of the two countries is of historical significance, the president added.
President Ma stated that Dr. Sun in 1912 successfully achieved revolution and founded Asia's first democratic republic. Many of his philosophies, however, were not fully implemented in his lifetime. Upon his death in 1925 he left a will urging the public to work to abolish the unequal treaties. In 1943, the ROC signed new treaties of equality with England and the United States. Media coverage was extensive, and one headline proclaimed: "Century-old Shackles Come Off; Nation Rejoices." This development signified that the ROC was finally free, equal, and independent, the president said.
President Ma stressed that Dr. Sun was heavily influenced by the United States as he launched the revolution, as he traveled the United States to seek support, and when he founded Asia's first democratic republic. Dr. Sun received support from many people, including General Homer Lea, and the inspirational source for many of his philosophies came from the universal values of freedom and democracy espoused by the United States. The president also mentioned that the United States dispatched the Seventh Fleet after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 to assist in the protection of Taiwan, and in 1954 the two countries signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. From 1950 to 1965 the United States provided Taiwan economic assistance, and even after the severance of diplomatic relations between the two nations in 1979, the Taiwan Relations Act was enacted to continue to provide for Taiwan's security and interaction between the two sides. All of this was based on the two nations' shared commitment to the core values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law. President Ma expressed his hope this foundation will continue to serve as the basis for relations between the two countries to progress, enabling eternal friendship between the two.