Dawn of Modern China: The 100th Anniversary of China’s 1911 Revolution and the Significance of the Republic of China

2011 marks the centennial of China’s October 1911 Revolution, a landmark event which ended China’s imperial era and unleashed a host of changes upon Chinese society and the world which continue to reverberate today. The Republic of China (ROC) was established in the wake of the revolution as a new, “modern” political order, but it was soon wracked by warlordism, foreign invasion, and further revolution. But the ROC survives on the island of Taiwan and continues to play a major role in world affairs.

On May 20, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at Brookings hosted leading historians and analysts for a discussion of some of the political ramifications of the 1911 revolution; the roles that the Republic of China has played in the history of China and the world since 1911; and the significance of the Republic of China in contemporary and future cross-strait relations and international politics. Mary Backus Rankin, a leading expert on the 1911 revolution, delivered the luncheon keynote address. Ambassador Jason Yuan, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, delivered opening remarks prior to the beginning of the panel discussion.

After each panel, the speakers took audience questions.