Scouts of China

Scouts of China
Traditional Chinese	中華民國童軍
Simplified Chinese	中華民国童军
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Tóngjūn

Scouts of China
中華民國童軍
Headquarters	The General Association of the Scouts of China
Location	Taipei City
Country	Republic of China
Founded	February 25, 1912
Founder	Yen Chia-lin
Membership	49,457
Director	Chao Shou-po
Affiliation	World Organization of the Scout Movement
Website Scouts of China
Scouting portal

The Scouts of China (中華民國童軍總會) is the national Scouting association of the Republic of China, and is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The Scouts of China has 49,457 members as of 2011.^[1]

History

Following the birth of the Republic of China, the first Scout troop was organized by Reverend Yen Chia-lin in Wuchang on February 25, 1912 and the Scouting movement spread rapidly all over the country. In 1930 the First National jamboree of the Boy Scouts of China was held in Nanking, attended by 3,575 Scouts, and the Second National Jamboree in 1936, also held in Nanking, hosted 13,268 Scouts. The General Association of the Boy Scouts of China was formally established in Nanking in 1934, and became a member of the International Scout Bureau in 1937.

Registered membership reached 570,000 in 1941. However, all Scouting activities were interrupted in 1949, when the Chinese communists took over Mainland China. The Chinese Scout Association was reorganized in 1950 on the island of Taiwan, and resumed the membership of the International Scout Bureau as Boy Scouts of China (BSC) and later Scouts of China, though the full name of the Scout organisation is the General Association of the Scouts of China. Scouting on Taiwan had been under the Boy Scouts of Japan prior to World War II.

In 1974, Chuan Kai Teng was awarded the Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. Other recipients include You-hwa Shieh in 1976 and Chung-Shin Chen in 1982.

On November 1–3, 1993 Taipei hosted the 23rd Asia Pacific Committee meeting; in 2004, Scouts of China held the 12th World Rover Scouts Moot in Hualien, Taiwan.

In 2009, Scouts of China changed its Chinese formal name from the "General Association of the Scouts of China" to the "General Association of the Scouts of the Republic of China" and replaced specific references to "China" (zhongguo) in its promise.

Program

National Flower Class badge

The fundamental core values of the Scouts of China are reflected and expressed through the Scout Promise, Law and Motto.

The Scout emblem features the Blue Sky with a White Sun.

The highest rank is the National Flower Class (國花童軍) earned by the Senior Scout branch (行義童軍). National Flower refers to the plum blossom, official flower of the Republic of China. The badge has the plum blossom on the center-top position, flanked by three colours of red, white and blue of the national flag. The first class emblem of the Scouts of China occupies the center, surrounded by golden laurel wreaths to indicate the prestige and completed progress achieved in the Senior Scout training.

Scout Promise

憑我的榮譽，我願盡力，遵守童軍規律，終身奉行下列三事：
第一、敬天樂群，做一個堂堂正正的好國民。
第二、隨時隨地扶助他人，服務社會。
第三、力求自己智識、品德、體格之健全。

Official translation:

On my honor, I promise that I will obey the Scout Law, and all my life do my best

1. To do my duty to God, be friendly to the people and become a righteous citizen.
2. To help others and serve the public at all times.
3. To strive to make myself rich in knowledge, perfect in character, and healthy in physical constitution.

Scout Law

一、誠實：為人之道，首在誠實，無論做事、說話、居心，均須真實不欺。
二、忠孝：對國家須盡忠，對父母應盡孝。
三、助人：盡己之力，扶助他人，每日至少行一善事，不受酬，不居功。
四、仁愛：待朋友須親愛，待眾人須和善，對生命要尊重，對社會要關心，對大自然要愛護。
五、禮節：對人須有禮貌，凡應對進退，均應合乎規矩。
六、公平：明事理、辨是非，待人公正，處事和平。
七、負責：信守承諾，克盡職責，遵守團體紀律，服從國家法令。
八、快樂：心常愉快，時露笑容，無論遇到何困難，均應處之泰然。
九、勤儉：好學力行，刻苦耐勞，不浪費時間，不妄用金錢。
十、勇敢：義所當為，毅然為之，不為利誘，不為威屈，成敗在所不計。
十一、整潔：身體、服裝、住所、用具須整齊清潔，言語須謹慎，心地須光明。
十二、公德：愛惜公物，重視環保，勿因個人便利，妨害公眾。

Official translation:

1. Honesty
2. Loyalty and Filial Devotion
3. Helpfulness
4. Loving Kindness
5. Courtesy
6. Justice
7. Responsibility
8. Cheerfulness
9. Industriousness and Thrift
10. Courage
11. Cleanness
12. Public Spirit

Scout Motto

一、準備。
二、日行一善。
三、人生以服務為目的。

Official translation:

1. Be Prepared
2. Practise a Good Turn Everyday
3. Service as Goal of Life

Song of the Chinese Scouts

Badge for the 10th World Scout Jamboree in 1959

中華童軍，童軍，童軍；
我們，我們，我們是中華民族的新生命，
年紀雖小志氣真，獻此身、獻此心、獻此力，為人群；
忠孝、仁愛、信義、和平，充實我們行動的精神，
大家團結向前進，前進，前進；
青天高，白日明。^[2]

Translation:

Scouts, Scouts, Scouts of China

We, we, we are the new lives of Chinese race.

Although we are young, our determination is real. We contribute our bodies and efforts to serve mankind.

Loyalty and Filial Devotion, Loving Kindness, Honesty and Justice, and Peace empower our spirit in action.

We unite and go forward, forward, forward.

Blue sky is high. White sun is bright.

Note: The "Blue Sky and White Sun" referred to in the song is the national emblem of the Republic of China and can be found on the republic's flag.

See also

• Scouting in Mainland China
• The Scout Association of Hong Kong
• The Scout Association of Macau
• Girl Scouts of Taiwan
• Sun Li-jen
• Yang Huimin
• World Buddhist Scout Brotherhood

References

1. ^ "Triennal review: Census as at 1 December 2010". World Organization of the Scout Movement. http://scout.org/en/content/download/22261/199900/file/Census.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-13. 
2. ^ The lyrics and score of the song.

Further reading

• Facts on World Scouting, Boy Scouts International Bureau, Ottawa, Canada, 1961

External links

• The official website of the General Association of the Scouts of China
• http://www.pinetreeweb.com/left5-4.htm