Kok Min Yit Poh (国民日报)

Kok Min Yit Poh (国民日报) was first published on 18 May 1914 in Singapore, founded by the local branch of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) under the leadership of Sun Yat Sun and Tan Sin Cheng. This newspaper was a mouthpiece for the Kuomintang in Southeast Asia where many overseas Chinese were residing. The Kok Min Yit Poh focused on political and military-related news and helped to spread Sun Yat Sen’s political ideology and movement.

The paper printed a series of cartoons attacking Yuan Shih Kai. This particular one caricatured Yuan as a traitor monkey, opening up the doors of Beijing to allow the entry of birds, which symbolised Japanese imperialists.

After the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement in 1919 in China, the newspaper editorial team responded by publishing several articles to urge readers to boycott Japanese goods. The colonial government thus arrested the general manager of the newspaper and banned it from publication on 6 August 1919. This marked the end of Kok Min Yit Poh which was on circulation for 5 years and 3 months. The newspaper reorganised and resumed for publication on 1 October 1919, under the new name The Sin Kuo Min Press.

Publications of the paper from October 1914 to June 1919 are now available online at Digital Gems.

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