Hsu Hsiu-hui, a professor at the Center for Studies of Fujian and Taiwan at Fujian Normal University, said that the success of the 1911 Revolution rekindled the hope of Taiwan compatriots to return to their motherland.
Lin Tsu-mi (1878–1925), a prominent figure from Taiwan's Wufeng Lin family, represented a key historical connection in this history. Lin formally renounced his Japanese "colonial nationality" to restore his Chinese nationality.
"His primary purpose in restoring his nationality was to follow Sun's revolutionary cause," Hsu said. Lin eventually led his own forces to Fujian to fight alongside Sun against regional warlords and seek the establishment of a unified nation.
Today, numerous roads and parks across Taiwan and the mainland bear Sun's name.
Hsu noted that while this history has been long obscured, it proves that Taiwan compatriots never backed away from the motherland's revolutionary causes.
Hsu said that the "de-Sinicization" efforts by the DPP on the island have been ongoing for decades, and Sun has been removed from school textbooks, leaving many young people unaware of Sun's history.
Under the current curriculum guidelines by the DPP, Chinese history has been reclassified under East Asian history, treating China as a "foreign neighbor", Hsu said.
"As a mother, I was deeply worried that my children would grow up to be pro-'independence' youth under this educational framework," Hsu said, adding that she relocated her family to the mainland in 2019.
Chen Chien-an, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Minnan Normal University, which is based in Zhangzhou, Fujian, shared his personal memories of growing up in Taiwan surrounded by Sun's legacy.
"I attended Zhongshan Primary School in Yilan county (in Taiwan), which sat right across from Zhongshan Park," Chen said, recalling that Sun's presence extended from Taipei's historic Zhongshan Hall to the island's Sun Yat-sen Freeway.
However, Chen observed that younger generations in Taiwan are becoming less aware of this heritage, as schools and parents gradually downplay Sun's historical significance under the current political atmosphere on the island.
This rising ignorance, Chen noted, is exacerbated by the DPP authorities' deliberate manipulation of mainstream media and suppression of mainland social platforms, which has created a chilling effect that makes many people hesitant to share objective information.
Chen said that the DPP fears cross-Strait exchanges because they worry Taiwan compatriots will realize the mainland is highly developed, which would immediately debunk the political lies and stereotypes propagated by the ruling party.
To rekindle youth interest, Chen suggested integrating scattered cultural resources across Taiwan, Macao, and Zhongshan in Guangdong province, using generative artificial intelligence to create short dramas or animated series to approach young people directly via social media.
Hsu said that an increasing number of Taiwan students and teachers are "voting with their feet" due to the mainland's growing economic strength and favorable policies, such as the pilot integration measures in Fujian, and the inclusion of Taiwan residents in the mainland's urban and rural medical insurance system.
To counter the historical amnesia imposed by the island's authorities, Hsu's academic center has been compiling a comprehensive set of history textbooks designed for middle and high schools, which are distributed to educators in Taiwan as supplementary materials.
Hsu added that the center helped organize a touring photo exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration to the motherland, which travels across the mainland to chronicle the island's history of anti-colonial resistance.
"History remains our most vital shared heritage and our most natural common language because it carries the memory of our ancestors," Hsu said.
