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 Sun Yat-sen, who developed the Three Principles of the People | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 三民主義 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 三民主义 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheThree Principles of the People (Chinese:三民主義;pinyin:Sānmín Zhǔyì), also known as theThree People's Principles,San-min Doctrine,San Min Chu-i, or simplyTridemism,[1] is apolitical philosophy developed bySun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improveChina during theRepublican Era and later inTaiwan during theDang Guo era. The three principles are often translated into and summarized as nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people (or welfarism). This philosophy has been claimed as the cornerstone of the nation's policy as carried by theKuomintang; the principles also appear in the first line of thenational anthem of the Republic of China.
When theRevive China Society was formed in 1894, Sun only had two principles: nationalism and democracy. He picked up the third idea, welfare, during his three-year trip toEurope from 1896 to 1898.[2] He announced all three ideas in the spring of 1905, during another trip to Europe. Sun made the first speech of his life on the "Three Principles of the People" inBrussels.[3] He was able to organize the Revive China Society in many European cities. There were about 30 members in the Brussels branch at the time, 20 inBerlin, and 10 inParis.[3] After theTongmenghui was formed, Sun published an editorial inMin Bao (民報).[2] This was the first time the ideas were expressed in writing. Later on, in the anniversary issue ofMin Bao, his long speech of the Three Principles was printed, and the editors of the newspaper discussed the issue of people's livelihood.[2]
The ideology is said to be heavily influenced by Sun's experiences in theUnited States and contains elements of theAmerican progressive movement and the thought championed byAbraham Lincoln. Sun credited a line from Lincoln'sGettysburg Address, "governmentof the people, by the people, for the people", as an inspiration for the Three Principles.[3] Sun's Three Principles of the People are inter-connected as the guideline for China's modernization development as stretched byHu Hanmin.[4]
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Because "Mínzú" or "People" describes a nation rather than a group of persons united by a purpose, the 'Principle of Mínzú' (Chinese:民族主義;pinyin:Mínzú Zhǔyì) is commonly rendered as "nationalism".
Sun saw the Chinese Nation as under threat of annihilation by the imperialist powers.[5] To reverse the trajectory of such decline, China needed to become nationally independent both externally and internally.
Internally, national independence meant independence from theQingManchus who ruled China for centuries.[6] Sun thought that the Han Chinese people were a people without their own nation and thus strove for national revolution against Qing authorities.[6][7]
Externally, national independence meant independence from imperialist foreign powers. Sun believed China to be threatened by imperialism in three ways: by economic oppression, by political aggression, and by slow population growth.[8] Economically, Sun held themercantilist position that China was being economically exploited byunbalanced trade andtariffs.[8] Politically, he looked toward theunequal treaties signed by China as the reason of China's decline. Sun envisioned a future China that was strong and capable of fighting imperialists and standing on the same stage as western powers.[7]
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Although Sun initially believed in a form ofHan nationalism to oppose the rule of the Qing dynasty, he later came to acceptLiang Qichao’s multi-ethnic nationalist idea of a unified Chinese nation. To achieve "national independence", Sun believed that China must first develop a "China-nationalism,"Zhonghua Minzu, as opposed to anmono-ethnic nationalism. Sun developed the principles ofFive Races Under One Union to unite the five major ethnic groups of China—Han,Mongols,Tibetans,Manchus, and theMuslims (such as theUyghurs)—under one "Chinese Nation". This principle is symbolized by theFive Color Flag of theFirst Republic of China (1911–1928). He believed that China must develop a "national consciousness" so as to unite the Chinese people in the face of imperialist aggression. He argued that "minzu", which can be translated as "people", "nationality", or "race", was defined by sharing common blood, livelihood, religion, language, and customs. Sun also believed in a form ofinterculturalism that assimilated ethnic minorities into the dominant Han culture by a process of naturalization, rather than through brute force.
The framing of 'democracy' (Chinese:民權主義;pinyin:Mínquán Zhǔyì;lit. 'Principle of people's right') in the Three Principles of the People differs from the typical Western view democracy, being based in Liang's interpretation ofGeneral will, which prioritizes the power of the group over individual freedoms.[9]: 54 Sun viewed traditional Chinese society as too individualistic and stated that individual liberty must be broken down so that the Chinese people could pressed together, using the metaphor of adding cement to sand.[9]: 54
The power of politics (Chinese:政權;pinyin:zhèngquán) are the powers of the people to express their political wishes and keep administrative officers in check, similar to those vested in the citizenry or the parliaments in other countries, and is represented by theNational Assembly. The power of the people is guaranteed by four constitutional rights: the right toelection (選舉),recalling (罷免),initiative (創制), andreferendum (複決).[10] These may be equated to "civil rights".
The power of governance (Chinese:治權;pinyin:zhìquán) are the powers of the administration to govern the people. He criticized the traditionalthree-branch democratic government for vesting too much power in the legislative branch.[6] He expanded and reworked the European-Americanthree-branch government and the system ofchecks and balances by incorporating traditional Chinese administrative systems to create a government of five branches (each of which is called a Yuan (Chinese:院;pinyin:yuàn;lit. 'court')) in a system known as the Five Power Constitution.[11] The state is divided into five "Yuan"s:Legislative Yuan, theExecutive Yuan, and theJudicial Yuan came fromMontesquieuan thought; theControl Yuan and theExamination Yuan came from Chinese tradition.[7] (Note that the Legislative Yuan was first intended as a branch of governance, not strictly equivalent to a national parliament.)
The Principle of Mínshēng (Chinese:民生主義;pinyin:Mínshēng Zhǔyì;lit. 'Principle of people's welfare/livelihood') is sometimes translated as "[Principle of] Government for the People" or "Socialism". The concept may be understood associal welfare and as a direct criticism of the inadequacies of unregulatedcapitalism.[citation needed] He divided livelihood into four areas: clothing, food, housing, and mobility; and planned out how an ideal (Chinese) government can take care of these for its people.[citation needed]
Sun was influenced by the American thinkerHenry George and intended to introduce aGeorgist tax reform.[12][13] Theland value tax in Taiwan is a legacy thereof. Sun said that "[land value tax] as the only means of supporting the government is an infinitely just, reasonable, and equitably distributed tax, and on it we will found our new system."[14]
Sun proposed a land reform system known as "equalization of land rights", which involves the implementation of four different acts: regulation of land price, in which each landowner reports the value of their property sans improvement; taxation of land, which involves aland value tax set on all land properties; purchase of land, which sets up a system where government can purchase land for public use byeminent domain; and profit belongs to the public, in which a 100% tax is levied on all profit gained from trading of land (sans improvement). According to Sun, the existence of land purchase and land taxation guarantees that landowner wouldn't over-report (which would lead to high taxation on land) nor under-report (which would lead to their land being cheaply acquired for eminent domain) their land values.[15]
However, theKuomintang failed to achieve any successful land reform Sun envisioned in mainland China and only succeeded inTaiwan during theCold War era.
Sun died before he was able to fully explain his vision of this Principle and it has been the subject of much debate within both the various factions withinKuomintang andCommunist Parties, with the latter suggesting that Sun supportedsocialism.Chiang Kai-shek further elaborated the Mínshēng principle of both the importance of social well-being and recreational activities for a modernized China in 1953 in Taiwan.[16]
The most definite (canonical) exposition of these principles was a book compiled from notes of speeches that Sun gave nearGuangzhou (taken by a colleague, Huang Changgu, in consultation with Sun), and therefore is open to interpretation by various parties and interest groups (see below) and may not have been as fully explicated as Sun might have wished. Indeed,Chiang Kai-shek supplied an annex to the Principle of Mínshēng, covering two additional areas of livelihood: education, land, and leisure, and explicitly arguing that Mínshēng was not to be seen as supporting eithercommunism orsocialism.The French historian of Chinese history, Marie-Claire Bergère's view is that the book is a work of propaganda. Its purpose is to appeal to action rather than to thought. As Sun Yat-sen declared, a principle is not simply an idea; it is "a faith, a power."[17]
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The Three Principles of the People were claimed as the basis for the ideologies of theKuomintang underChiang Kai-shek, theReorganized National Government of China underWang Jingwei, and an inspiration of theChinese Communist Party underMao Zedong as the stage of "old democracy". The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party largely agreed on the meaning ofnationalism but differed sharply on the meaning of democracy and people's welfare, which the former saw in Western social democratic terms and the latter interpreted in Marxist and communist terms. The Japanese collaborationist government interpreted nationalism less in terms of anti-imperialism and more in terms of cooperating with Japan to advance theoreticallypan-Asian, but in practice, typically Japanese interests.
During theRepublic of China'sNanjing period, the KMT developed a national censorship apparatus as part of its "Arts of the Three Principles of the People" cultural campaign.[18]: 121 This program sought to censor cultural products deemed unwelcomed by the KMT, such as works by left-wing artists or writers.[18]: 121–122
There were severalhigher-education institutes (university departments/faculties andgraduate institutes) in Taiwan that used to devote themselves to the 'research and development' of the Three Principles in this aspect. Since the late 1990s, these institutes have re-oriented themselves so that other political theories are also admitted as worthy of consideration, and have changed their names to be more ideologically neutral (such as Democratic Studies Institute).
In addition to this institutional phenomenon, many streets and businesses in Taiwan are named "Sān-mín" or for one of the three principles. In contrast to other politically derived street names, there has been no major renaming of these streets or institutions in the 1990s.
Although the term "Sanmin Zhuyi" (三民主義) has been less explicitly invoked since the mid-1980s, no political party has explicitly attacked its principles with practices under theMartial Lawruling era then except theTangwai movement groups such asDemocratic Progressive Party. The Three Principles of the People remains explicitly part of the platform of the Kuomintang and in theConstitution of the Republic of China.[citation needed]
As forTaiwan independence supporters, some have objections regarding the formal constitutional commitment to a particular set of political principles. Also, they have been against the mandatory indoctrination in schools and universities, which have now been abolished in a piecemeal fashion beginning in the late 1990s. However, there is little fundamental hostility to the substantive principles themselves. In these circles, attitudes toward the Three Principles of the People span the spectrum from indifference to reinterpreting the Three Principles of the Peoplein a local Taiwanese context rather than in a pan-Chinese one.[citation needed]
TheThree Principles of the People has been reinterpreted by theChinese Communist Party (CCP) to argue that communism is a necessary conclusion of the Three Principles of the People and thus provides legitimacy for the communist government. This reinterpretation of the Three Principles of the People is commonly referred to as theNew Three Principles of the People (Chinese:新三民主义, also translated asNeo-tridemism), a word coined by Mao's 1940 essayOn New Democracy, in which he argued that the CCP is a better enforcer of the Three Principles of the People compared to the bourgeoisNationalist Party and that the new three principles are about allying with the communists and the Russians (Soviets), and supporting peasants and the workers.[19] Proponents of the New Three Principles of the People often claim that Sun's bookThree Principles of the People acknowledges that the principles of welfare is inherently socialistic and communistic.[20]
In response to a question from aReuters reporter in 1945,CCP chairmanMao Zedong said: "A free and democratic China will be a country in which all levels of government up to the central government are elected by universal, equal, secret suffrage and are accountable to the people who elected them. It would realize Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, Lincoln's principles of government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and Roosevelt'sFour Freedoms. It will guarantee the country's independence, unity, unification and cooperation with the democratic powers."[21]
TheVietnam Revolutionary League was a union of various Vietnamese nationalist groups, run by the pro-ChineseViệt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng. The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng translates directly into Vietnamese Kuomintang (or the Vietnamese Nationalist Party", and it was largely a resemble of the original Chinese Kuomintang party. Its stated goal was for unity with China under the Three Principles of the People, and opposition to Japanese and French imperialists.[22][23] The Revolutionary League was controlled byNguyễn Hải Thần, who was born inNorthern Vietnam. GeneralZhang Fakui blocked the Communists of Vietnam, andHo Chi Minh from entering the league, as his main goal was Chinese influence in Indochina.[24] The KMT utilized these Vietnamese nationalists during World War II against Japanese forces.[25]
The motto of Independence - Freedom - Happiness of theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam and theSocialist Republic of Vietnam, despite its communist political background, was also taken from the Three Principles of People.
The pro-Kuomintang and pro-ROCKhamba revolutionary leaderPandatsang Rapga, who established theTibet Improvement Party, adopted Dr. Sun's ideology including the Three Principles, incorporating them into his party and using Sun's doctrine as a model for his vision of Tibet after achieving his goal of overthrowing the Tibetan government.
Pandatsang Rapga hailed the Three Principles for helping Asian peoples against foreign imperialism and called for the feudal system to be overthrown. Rapga stated that "The Sanmin Zhuyi was intended for all peoples under the domination of foreigners, for all those who had been deprived of the rights of man. But it was conceived especially for the Asians. It is for this reason that I translated it. At that time, a lot of new ideas were spreading in Tibet", during an interview in 1975 with Heather Stoddard.[26] Sun's ideology was put into a Tibetan translation by Rapga.[27]
He believed that change in Tibet would only be possible in a manner similar to when theQing dynasty was overthrown in China. He borrowed the theories and ideas of the Kuomintang as the basis for his model for Tibet. The party was funded by the Kuomintang[28] and by the Pandatsang family.
The establishment of thePeople's Power Party in May 2015 by opposition politicianGoh Meng Seng marks the first time in contemporarySingaporean politics that a political party was formed with the Three Principles of the People and its system of having five branches of government as espoused by Sun Yat-Sen as its official guiding ideology.[29]
The People's Power Party has adapted the ideas with a slight modification to the concepts of the Five Powers in order to stay relevant to modern contemporary political and social structures. The emphasis is put on the separation of the Five Powers which naturally means the separation of certain institutions from the Executive's control.
The power of impeachment (originally under the Control Yuan) has been expanded to include various contemporary functional government institutions. Examples include the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, advocacy of the Ombudsman Commission, Equal Opportunity Commission,freedom of the press andfreedom of speech.
The power of examination has been adapted and modified to fit the modern concept of selection for both political leaders as well as civil servants. This involves institutions like the Elections Department and Public Service Commission.
The People's Power Party advocates that the institutions included in these two powers, namely the power of impeachment and the power of selection, be put under the supervision of Singapore's elected president.[30]
The teachings of your single-taxer, Henry George, will be the basis of our program of reform.
Chang Fa-Kuei vnqdd.
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