Sun: Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues: South
Asia Wed: East
Asia Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific
Frid: South
America Sat: Central & North
America Please join me in praying for one part of
the world each day:
Jesus, today please bless the people of
South America
Friday May 4, 2012 Daily Blog John W Previous 2012 blogs
Dear Friends
Today, May 4, is an important day in Chinese history
In Beijing on May 4, 1919, representatives from 13 universities held an historical meeting in the morning to discuss the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War One. In the afternoon, several thousand university students held a demonstration in Tiananmen Square.
The May 4 Movement protested the unfair treatment China received at the Treaty of Versailles. Even though 140,000 Chinese laborers had worked in France as part of the British army during World War One, the treaty failed to return Shandong to China after it had been occupied by Japan.
As a result of this unjust treatment from "the West" (Britain, France, USA), many Chinese thinkers looked to "the East" (Russia) for inspiration....and they found it in Marxism. Not long after, in 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was established. Some of its leading founders were May 4 Movement leaders.
Some historians ask the question: if the Treaty of Versailles had not been unfair to China, would the Chinese Communist Party have been born? In fact, the Treaty was also unfair to Germany, and was one of the main causes of World War Two.
What a sobering thought: unfairness and
injustice gave birth to World War Two and to the Chinese Communist Party.
At the end of World War Two, the West had learnt its lesson: it treated Japan in
a humane way. But as regards China, for better or worse, Communism was seen as
the way to bring about change
Usually on May 4, Premier Wen Jiabo visits a university and has lunch with the students. May the new generation of leaders in China also stay close to the students and uphold their hopes and dreams.
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On this 4th of the month,
Jesus please bless
the people of Guangdong
(Please join me in praying for one
part of China each day of the month)
My Bible Plan for today = Please join me in using these readings for more of the courage and energy of the 1919, May 4 university students!
Thank you for a prayer
God bless!
John W
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