[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14682]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON ITS 101ST ANNIVERSARY

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                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2012

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Double Ten Day, 
the National day of the Republic of China. On October 10th, Taiwan will 
celebrate the 101st anniversary of China's military Wuchang Uprising, 
the start of the Xinhai Revolution, which led to the collapse of the 
Qing Dynasty, the end of 2,000 years of imperial rule in China and 
ushered in the Republican Era.
  By the end of the 1683 century, Ching rulers governed all of China. 
After the first three emperors, the Ching Court began to decline, 
becoming weak and corrupt. In response, a group of national capitalists 
began inciting uprisings. One of the leaders of this nationalistic 
group, Sun Yat-sen, spent much of his youth in the United States and 
wanted a Western-style government for his country with a parliament and 
separation of powers. After the success of the uprisings, Sun Yat-sen 
became the first president of the Republic of China, a post from where 
he promoted the idea of a democratic society. Dr. Sun is now remembered 
as the father of modern China.
  When the Republic of China lost control over the mainland in 1942, 
the government retreated to Taiwan where its constitution remains in 
command today. Taiwan is an exemplary standard of civil, liberal 
government in East Asia, and the Republic of China has stood shoulder 
to shoulder with the United States to defend and promote the very 
values and ideals that inspired Dr. Sun and founded the Republic all 
those years ago.
  Mr. Speaker, I thus urge my colleagues to acknowledge the Founding 
Father Sun Yat-Sen and his vision to a democratic China, and join me in 
congratulating the Republic of China in Taiwan on its 101st 
anniversary.

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