the world; if an enlightenment of such a scale is impossible for one, he should at least enlighten his community. Everyone should adopt the noble vision of "Nation and Community above all", and step forward in unity. If everyone could embrace the vision, how possibly could an enemy be successful in weakening us? I really hope that by interpreting the name and crest of our school, our students could build themselves a solid foundation, and not to deviate from the above-mentioned principles!" Background During the early 20th century, there was an influx of Chinese immigrants at the Straits Settlements, where a large proportion of them later resided in Penang. The events within China, after the Boxer Rebellion triggered political echoes locally, mostly within the city of George Town. Penang was designated as the headquarters of the Nanyang Tongmenghui (later Kuomintang) between 1909 and 1911. 29 Penang Tongmenghui members, as well as Sun Yat Sen, leader of the Tongmenghui and later the revolutions in China, formed the Penang Philomathic Union (Chinese: 槟城阅书报社）in December 1908, at Sun's residence at 404 Dato Keramat Road as a political wing of the Tongmenghui in Southeast Asia. Chinese education in Penang (especially secondary-education), despite having establishments as early as 1819 (the earliest in modern-day Malaysia), was seen as undeveloped and outdated by the early 1900s, in contrast to established English institutions such as the Penang Free School (1816), the St. Xavier's Institution (1852), and the Anglo-Chinese School (1891, now the Methodist Boys School). Reforming and expanding the reach of Chinese education, among the views of local educators and prominent social figures, was seen as a major step to improve the life standards and literacy rates of the Chinese people in Malaya and the Straits Settlements (Nanyang). Newly formed Chinese pro-revolutionary institutions highlighted the philosophy of the Three Principles of the People (San Min Zhu-i, Chinese: 三民主義) as the basis of their teachings, to show a positive plight on the political changes led by the revolutionaries, and to hope for a shift in local support, both morally and financially for the cause. Royalist sentiment was still sympathized by a large proportion of the local Chinese population prior to the Xinhai Revolution. In 1904, Chung Hwa School (Chinese: 中華學校, now Chung Hwa Confucian High School) was formed by Cheong Fatt Tze. It was the first modern Chinese school in Southeast Asia, adopting Vernacular Chinese as the standard curriculum.