Sun Yat-sen and Other Third World Countries: Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines

Abstract

Sun Yat-sen’s political ideas were an action-orientated system of belief also attractive to other Third World countries seeking to throw off imperial domination. They were particularly suitable because Sun Yat-sen’s theory did not assume developed political and economic individualism, provided for lack of experience of democracy, and endeavoured to introduce a socialist system that was not Marxist/Leninist and would therefore have a wider appeal. Sun’s economic theories faced the problem of modernising without totally Westernising. Three Third World countries whose revolutionary leaders were influenced by Sun Yat-sen were Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.