On its 110th anniversary, 1911 Revolution continues to inspire

Editor's note: Zheng Yuli, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

A century on, the gunshots at Wuchang – now part of Wuhan in Hubei Province, central China – have stopped, yet the mark left by the revolution that started there in 1911, ending more than two millennia of imperial rule in China, remains fresh.

The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution, began with an uprising in Wuchang on October 10, 1911, to overthrow the ruling Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Today, the 110th anniversary of the arduous struggle in pursuit of national unification and national independence is a reminder that any act to split the nation will meet firm opposition from all Chinese.

Ushering in a new chapter of history

In the late Qing Dynasty, the corrupt and incompetent Qing court levied exorbitant taxes domestically and repeatedly signed humiliating treaties ceding territory and paying indemnities to foreign powers. After its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), it ceded Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan, leading to the continuous erosion of China's national sovereignty and putting the survival of the nation in an unprecedented crisis.

At this moment, nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen called out to save the people from misery and prop up the "tottering country" and on October 10, 1911, gunfire in Wuchang sounded the start of a democratic revolution in modern China. The 1911 Revolution shattered the feudal myth of the "divine right of kings," and laid an important foundation for the reform and development of modern China.

Forging ahead with the great cause of rejuvenation

Though the 1911 Revolution could not accomplish the historic missions of national independence and people's liberation, it heralded the New Culture Movement, which advocated science, democracy and the emancipation of women, and the May Fourth Movement, in which students played a large role, paving the way for the dissemination of Marxism in China.

After the Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded in 1921, it became the most faithful inheritor and promoter of the spirit of the 1911 Revolution. It cooperated with the Kuomintang despite the latter's hostility to overthrow the "three mountains of oppression" – imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, and founded the People's Republic of China, which delivered full national independence and people's liberation. Since then, the CPC has been building the country through self-reliance and forging ahead in the new era.

As President Xi Jinping put it: "The aspiration of national revitalization that was deeply held by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the longing for a bright future for the Chinese nation that was cherished by the pioneers of the Revolution, and the great dream that the Chinese people have aspired and striven toward in modern times have all become or are becoming reality."

Upholding the cause of national unification

Sun Yat-sen had emphasized on multiple occasions that "unification is the hope of all Chinese people," and that "national unification and territorial unification" must be achieved. A century later, however, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have completely abandoned the spirit of the 1911 Revolution. Their separatist stance of "Taiwan independence" runs counter to Sun Yat-sen's last wish and the goals pursued by the pioneers of the 1911 Revolution. Their actions defy the shared will of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, gravely harm the overall interests of the Chinese nation, and constitute a source of turmoil and disaster for Taiwan.

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