January 6, 2017
An international academic symposium celebrating the 150th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s birth was held at the Kobe University Integrated Research Center on the theme of “Sun Yat-sen and the Asia-Pacific – Crossing Borders”. The event was hosted by the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Foundation and co-organized by the Association for Sun Yat-sen Studies and the Kobe Overseas Chinese Research Association, with support from the Center for Asian Academic Collaboration.
The event began on November 26 with opening speeches from Mr. SAITO Tomio (Director of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Foundation), Mr. IDO Toshizo (Governor of Hyogo Prefecture, speech given by the Deputy Governor), and Professor INOUE Noriyuki (Kobe University Executive Vice President in Charge of International Exchange).
This was followed by keynote speeches from Professor SANG Bing (Sun Yat-sen University) and Professor MURATA Yujiro (University of Tokyo) on “Sun Yat-sen’s Advance North and Relationship with the Qing Dynasty in the First Year of the Republic of China” and “Pan-Asianism after Sun Yat-sen”. The first group discussion was held on these topics with panelists Professor ZHENG Chenglin (Central China Normal University), Professor LIAO Da Wei (Donghua University), and Professor Emeritus HAZAMA Naoki (Kyoto University), moderated by Professor OGATA Yasushi (Kobe University Center for Asian Academic Collaboration).
On the second day (November 27) four breakout sessions were held on “Systems and the Public Sphere”, “Those who Inherit Sun Yat-sen’s Philosophy”, “Crossing Borders”, and “Participation and Mobilization”. These sessions featured academic reports from 16 researchers in modern Chinese history, including scholars from China, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Italy and America. The final group discussion focused on insights gained from each of the four sessions and new developments in research on Sun Yat-sen. Professor HUANG Xianqiang (National University of Singapore), Visiting Professor NAKAMURA Tetsuo (East China Normal University), and Professor Emeritus YAMADA Tatsuo (Keio University) participated as panelists, and Professor OGATA Yasushi acted as moderator.
During this symposium, the 120 participants explored the political, economic, social and cultural issues faced by the Asia-Pacific region in the era from Sun Yat-sen’s birth until the present time. The resulting discourse offered many insights on international affairs and cultural exchange in the current era.

(International Affairs Planning Division)