The New Republic

The Background

In the late nineteenth century, various political groups from China contested for the support of Chinese people overseas. Newspaper was one of the best means to influence the local public. At the time, Victoria’s Chinatown was one of the largest Chinese communities in North America. In 1899, Kang Youwei and his followers established the Chinese Empire Reform Association in Victoria and gained enormous financial and personnel support from the local Chinese community.

In January 1911, Sun Yet-sen came to Canada to raise funds for his anti-Qing uprisings in China. During this trip, he was warmly welcomed by local Chinese communities, especially the Chee Kong Tong (later Chinese Freemasons). The Chee Kong Tong in Victoria mortgaged their building for $12,000. Including donations from Chee Kong Tong organizations in other Canadian cities and from local Chinese communities, Sun received about $40,000 from the Canadian Chinese community, which was the largest donation at the time. The donation directly supported the Guangzhou [Guangzhou] Uprising that occurred on April 27, 1911.

Some early documents from UBC Archives have shown that The New Republic was started in 1911 as a newspaper of the Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmenghui).