A six-part documentary titled Sun Yat-sen premiered across mainland China on Sunday evening, setting the stage for high-level state commemorations marking the 160th anniversary of the revolutionary leader’s birth, according to Lianhe Zaobao.
The state broadcaster’s production weaves Sun’s revolutionary biography together with modern Chinese history across 50-minute episodes. Official materials emphasize the project’s role in illustrating Sun’s historical significance in consolidating patriotic united fronts and advancing cross-strait relations. Advanced artificial intelligence techniques were deployed to assist in reconstructing historical scenes for the broadcast.
Wang Kung-yi, chairman of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, noted to Lianhe Zaobao that invoking Sun’s historical image signals to Taiwan that cross-strait issues encompass ethnicity and national identity alongside governance.
Ahead of Thursday’s scheduled commemoration in Beijing, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council issued prohibitions barring central government personnel and local magistrates from traveling to the mainland for the events. Taipei urged citizens to avoid participation, characterizing the gatherings as united front activities.
In tandem with the broadcast, cultural institutions across China rolled out specialized archival projects and retrospectives. A digital database focusing on Sun’s Industrial Plan and collections from the Shanghai Sun Yat-sen Residence Museum launched at the Shanghai Library, offering free public access to rare manuscripts and first-edition foreign press reports, The Paper reported.
Concurrently, state media outlets released multimedia projects tracing Sun’s formative years in Hong Kong and Macau. Xinhua News Agency highlighted how the 17-year-old student transitioned from medical studies to revolutionary politics during his time at the Hong Kong Central书院, Xinhua reported.
