Kwong Wah Yit Poh
Kwong Wah Yit Poh or Kwong Wah Daily (simplified Chinese: 光华日报; traditional Chinese: 光華日報; pinyin: Guānghuá Rìbào; Wade–Giles: Kuang1-hua2 Jih4-pao4) is a Malaysian Chinese daily that was founded in 1910 by Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. It is the oldest surviving Chinese-language newspaper in Southeast Asia.[1]
Type
Daily newspaper
Kwong Wah Yit Poh Press Berhad
December 20, 1910
Chinese
100,000
光華日報
光华日报
Guānghuá Rìbào
Guānghuá Rìbào
Kuang1-hua2 Jih4-pao4
History[edit]
Background[edit]
During the early twentieth century, the Straits Settlements became a centre for political activists and refugees as a result of the struggles between the revolutionary and reformist movements in China. Both movements espoused their causes through their own newspapers, in order to solicit political and financial support from the overseas Chinese in the region.[1] In Penang, to rival the reformist newspaper Penang Sin Poe, which often denounced the revolutionary movement, the Penang branch of Tongmenghui felt necessary to establish its own newspaper.[2]
In 1907, the visitation of revolutionary activists Sun Yat-sen, Hu Hanmin, Huang Xing and Wang Jingwei to Penang had conceived a plan for a publication called Kwang Hwa Pao or 'Glorious Chinese Newspaper'.[2] Ultimately, the plan was aborted when financial backing wavered due to the collapse of tin prices.[3] The Yangon branch of Tongmenghui took up the idea and started Yan Kon Kwang Hwa Pao or Burma Chinese Times. After a short run, the Rangoon paper was banned by the British Burma government due to its radical stance.[2]