At Kobe, whither I fled from Hong Kong, I took a step of great importance. I cut off my cue, which had been growing all my life.
Sun Yat-SenRead
How can human rights be ever developed for the majority of Chinese people? The only way is to organize. To organize workers, peasants, merchants, industrialists, and students at the grassroots level.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human rights for the Chinese can only be achieved through collective organization of the people.
This quote by Sun Yat-Sen emphasizes the necessity of grassroots organization among diverse social groups—workers, peasants, merchants, industrialists, and students—for the development of human rights in China. It highlights the idea that individual efforts are not enough; true progress requires united action among all sectors of society to advocate for and secure basic rights.
Themes
Human RightsOrganizationGrassrootsCommunityCollective Action
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about the importance of social movements and collective rights advocacy.
More from Sun Yat-Sen
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Because of poverty, we must adopt the capitalist means of production to develop our resources to get rich. However, if we ignore the issue of social justice at the beginning of China's industrialization, we will sow the seeds of class warfare in the future.
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China's republican politics is like a child who just started schooling. He must have a good teacher and be surrounded by good friends. By the same token, the Chinese people, new to the republican politics, must be educated properly. The revolutionary government should be the people's tutor to impart advanced awareness and experience.
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