陈嘉庚与新加坡闽侨辛亥保安捐款

Tan Kah Kee and Hokkien People Security Donation Campaign in Singapore for the 1911 Revolution of Fujian

1911年新加坡闽侨为响应国内革命于海外率先发起福建保安捐款,以福州"五字电文"为契机,其时在新加坡华社刚刚崭露头角的陈嘉庚被推举为保安会正总理。在领导保安捐款运动中,他以民族主义为号不分阶级和阶层广泛宣传和发动,所汇巨额华侨捐款为稳定光复后福建时局提供了有力财政支撑。在后续福建临时省议会侨籍议员选举选务工作中,由于在选举权和领导权问题上闽侨内部产生意见分歧,保安会不得不将选务领导权移交天福宫,陈嘉庚本人亦备受排挤和冤屈,由此酿下闽帮内部长期盘桓的权力之争。剖析此段鲜为人知的重大事件史,有助于更全面地理解陈嘉庚个人生命史、华侨民族主义以及20世纪上半叶新加坡华侨史等问题。

In the year of 1911,Hokkien people in Singapore took the lead in launching the Fujian Security Donation Campaign in response to the domestic revolution. With the help of the"five-character message",Tan Kah Kee,who had just risen in the Singapore Chinese society,was elected president of the Security Donation Committee. Heading the security donation campaign,he tapped into nationalism for extensive publicity and mobilization to raise money. Genernous overseas Chinese donations provided strong financial support for the Fujian government after the Retrocession. In the follow-up elections for the expatriate members of the Fujian Provisional Provincial Council,due to differences of opinion among Hokkiens on the issue of the right to vote and leadership,the Security Committee had to transfer the leadership of the election affairs to Thean Hock Keong,causing suffering to Tan Kah Kee. This led to a power dispute rooted in the long-term entanglement among Singapore Hokkien people. Analyzing this rarely known essential event can help us to further understand Tan Kah Kee’s personal life history and overseas Chinese nationalism,as well as the history of Singapore’s overseas Chinese in the first half of the 20 th century.