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With support from Hong Kong's Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, an exhibition entitled "The Centenary of China's 1911 Revolution" and a public lecture were officially unveiled yesterday (October 23, Toronto time) at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto. Attended by close to 200 people, the exhibition features over 100 historical pictures, invaluable artefacts and publications.
"The Centenary of China's 1911 Revolution" is hosted by the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto and sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Toronto. Apart from the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum in Hong Kong, the other supporters include the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at York University and the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library at the University of Toronto. Officiating at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were the Director of the HKETO in Toronto, Miss Gloria Lo; the Cultural Consul of the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto, Ms Hu Xiao; and officials from the three levels of government in Canada, including the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism, Mr Chungsen Leung, and the Ontario Minister of Tourism and Culture, Mr Michael Chan.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Miss Lo noted that the staging of a commemorative activity overseas during the centenary of the revolution imparted special meaning. The Chinese and mainstream communities in Toronto would gain a deeper understanding of Chinese history as well as of Dr Sun's life and the revolutionary ideas that Dr Sun said had originated from Hong Kong. Hong Kong played a pivotal role in aspects such as the setting up of the Xing Zhong Hui and Tong Meng Hui, fundraising for the revolutionary activities and the staging of the successive uprisings.
Miss Lo said, "This exhibition includes two sets of displays: "The 1911 Revolution in China - Francis Stafford's Photo Exhibition" and "Dr Sun Yat-sen and Family". They have been showcased in Hong Kong, which had countless ties with the 1911 Revolution. In addition, Hong Kong still conserves the historic home and heritage related to the revolutionary campaigns, from Central to Tuen Mun in the New Territories. I encourage you to visit Hong Kong and trace Dr Sun's footsteps over there."
Also in the exhibition are precious books relating to Dr Sun and the 1911 Revolution, a piece of Dr Sun's calligraphy and a cane he used, provided by the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto and the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library at the University of Toronto, as well as a good collection of stamps on Dr Sun. To tie in with the exhibition, Canada Research Chair in the history of modern China at the Department of History of York University, Professor Joshua Fogel, delivered a public lecture entitled "Dr Sun Yat-sen and the International Arena on the Eve of the 1911 Revolution" after the ceremony.
"The Centenary of China's 1911 Revolution" will be held at the Chinese Cultural Centre for two weeks, running until November 6. The displays will be moved to York University and the University of Toronto afterwards.
Ends/Monday, October 24, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:22
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