Representative Francis Liang offering flowers at the Memorial Ceremony to commemorate the 153rd birth anniversary of ROC Founding Father Dr. Sun Yat Sen.
 

On 12 November 2018, Representative Francis Kuo-Hsin Liang led officials from the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore in commemorating the 153rd birth anniversary of ROC Founding Father Dr. Sun Yat Sen at Wan Qing Yuan (also known as the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall). 40 persons, including community leaders and members of the Taiwanese community in Singapore attended the memorial service.

Representative Francis Liang delivering his address at the Memorial Ceremony to commemorate the 153rd birth anniversary of ROC Founding Father Dr. Sun Yat Sen
 

At the ceremony, Representative Liang offered flowers before the statue of Dr. Sun Yat Sen and led the attendees in taking three bows in front of Dr. Sun’s statue. In his address, Representative Liang spoke of Dr. Sun’s lifetime mission of fighting for the nation and the Chinese people. Through eleven uprisings, Dr. Sun created Asia’s first democratic Republic. Today, his legacy and spirit continue to inspire the Chinese people the world over.

Group photo of Representative Francis Liang (front row, fifth from right) and distinguished attendees at Wan Qing Yuan to commemorate the 153rd birth anniversary of ROC Founding Father Dr. Sun Yat Sen.
 

Singapore was one of the key revolutionary bases in Nanyang for Dr. Sun. Dr. Sun visited Singapore nine times between 1900 and 1911 to promote his democratic-revolutionary ideals. On four of his nine visits, Dr. Sun had stayed at Wan Qing Yuan, and three of the eleven uprisings to overthrow the Manchu dynasty had been secretly planned at the villa. Wan Qing Yuan, therefore, makes for both a meaningful and special place to hold the service to commemorate Dr. Sun’s birth anniversary and to also remember the contributions of Singaporean Chinese in Dr. Sun’s patriotic pursuits. Singaporean compatriots such as Mr. Teo Eng Hock, Mr. Tan Chor Lam and Mr. Lim Nee Soon offered financial and material support to Dr Sun's uprising, and provided money to receive and support exiled revolutionaries. In addition, of the 72 martyrs in the failed Huanghuagang Uprising, five of the 29 men from Nanyang came from Singapore.