Canada's Major Role in Modern China

From the Group Comes the Nation: China’s First Mass Political Organization, the Baohuanghui

Photo via UCLA Library Digital Collections.

"Chinese civil society took a big step forward in 1899 with the founding of the Chinese Empire Reform Association, or the Baohuanghui 保皇会 (literally the “Protect the Emperor Society”), in Victoria, Canada...The Baohuanghui became the largest and most influential overseas Chinese political organization during its late Qing heyday, far surpassing Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary groups in scope and influence, both inside and outside China."

http://www.thechinabeat.org/?p=3178

Getting away from the muckraking rags of late, we turn to the China Beat for a bit of scholarly investigation into the role of Canada in the formation of modern China.  Canada--where Sun Yatsen met Liang Qichao; where the attempted assassination of Kang Youwei took place--has had a major role in Chinese history.  Here Jane Leung Larson investigates the Baohuanghui and its crucial role "in spreading the acceptance of constitutionalism, nationalism, and popular sovereignty among Chinese both outside and inside China."  Amazing reading!

LWB