San Min Chu-i
The "Three Principles of the People" is the national anthem of Taiwan. It was adopted in 1930 as China's national anthem and was used as such in Mainland China until 1949, when the Republic of China central government relocated to Taiwan following its defeat by the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War. It replaced the "Song to the Auspicious Cloud", which had been used as the Chinese national anthem before. The national anthem was adopted in Taiwan on October 25, 1945 after the surrender of Imperial Japan. Mainland China, being governed by the People's Republic of China today, discontinued this national anthem for "March of the Volunteers". The national anthem's words are adapted from a 1924 speech by Sun Yat-sen in 1937. The lyrics relate to how the vision and hopes of a new nation and its people can be achieved and maintained. Informally, the song is sometimes known as "San Min Chu-i" from its opening line, which references the Three Principles of the People (Sanmin Zhuyi), but this name is never used on formal or official occasions. During flag-raising ceremonies, the national anthem is played at the start prior to flag-raising followed by the National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China during actual flag-raising. The text was a collaboration between several Kuomintang (KMT) party members: Hu Hanmin, Tai Chi-tao, Liao Zhongkai, and Shao Yuanchong. The text debuted on 16 June 1924, as the opening of a speech by Sun Yat-sen at the opening ceremony of the Whampoa Military Academy. After the success of the Northern Expedition, the Kuomintang party chose the text to be its party anthem and publicly solicited for accompanying music. Cheng Maoyun won in a contest of 139 participants. On 24 March 1930, numerous Kuomintang party members proposed to use the speech by Sun as the lyrics to the national anthem. At the time, the national anthem of the republic was the "Song to the Auspicious Cloud". Due to opposition over using a symbol of a political party to represent the entire nation, the National Anthem Editing and Research Committee (國歌編製研究委員會) was set up, which endorsed the KMT party song.