Everything about Scouting In Mainland China totally explained
Since the founding of the
People's Republic of China (PRC) by the
Communist Party in 1949,
Scouting has officially been banned, while the
Young Pioneers of China and the
Communist Youth League have become the dominant youth organization in
mainland China for younger and older youth, respectively. Currently in mainland China, Scouting is found only in some
international schools.
Scouting is active in both
Hong Kong and
Macau,
special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, whose legal systems are separate from that of the rest of the PRC.
Scouting existed in mainland China before 1949 under the
Republic of China (ROC). In 1949, the ROC government withdrew to
Taiwan, where it remains today, and Scouting has continued in Taiwan under the name
Scouts of China.
In
2004, the
Scout Club of Hainan (海南童子军俱乐部), borrowing heavily from Scouting in terms of emblems, uniforms and activities, was founded in
Hainan Province; it is, however, not affiliated with worldwide Scouting. An attempt to organize a nationwide Scouting organization in
Wuhan was ended by the government in
2004.
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.
Russian Scouts fleeing
bolshevism followed
White Russian émigrés from 1917 to 1922 through
Vladivostok to the east into
Manchuria and south into central China, where very large groups of thousands of Russian Scouts came into being in cities such as
Harbin,
Tientsin and
Shanghai.
The
General Association of the Scouts of China was formally established in
Nanking in
1934, and became a member of the
International Scout Bureau in
1937. Many Scouts actively participated in the
Second Sino-Japanese War from
1937 to
1945.
In
1939 the United Rovers were founded by the Austrian
Scouter Fredy Mittler in
Shanghai. This group consisted of
Austrian and
German émigrés. It was affiliated to the
The Boy Scout Association. At the end of
World War II there were 120 members.
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 after the ROC government was relocated to Taipei, and resumed the membership of International Scout Bureau as
Scouts of China.
Recent developments
Since the transfer of the sovereignty of
Hong Kong to PRC in
1997,
The Scout Association of Hong Kong (SAHK) has been being actively organising exchange programmes in mainland China. In 2004, the SAHK, the
Shenzhen Youth Federation and the Working Committee of
Young Pioneers in Shenzhen organized the first joint camp with 490 Hong Kong and 360 Shenzhen participants. The SAHK hold five regional camps in mainland China in 2005: in
Xinjiang,
Gansu,
Qinghai,
Jilin and the
Inner Mongolia. All mainland China activities of the SAHK are coordinated via its "International and Liaison Branch".
The
Hong Kong Girl Guides Association has also established partnerships with youth and women organizations in mainland China.
A first local Scout organization emerged in the
Tianjin municipality in 1997 mainly aimed at disadvantaged children. It was still active in January 2004 with 40 local groups and more than 4,000 members of both genders, but its actual status is unknown.
An attempt to start a nationwide Scouting organization in
Wuhan was curtailed by the government in mid-
2004. The website of the incipient organization continues to exist as an active community of people interested in the subject, but the organization hasn't been restarted.
Also in mid-2004, the Scout Club of Hainan was started in
Hainan province. It borrows heavily from international Scouting in terms of its emblem, ideals, uniforms, and activities, and has organized frequent outdoor camps since its founding. It is, however, not affiliated with international Scouting.
There is also the Shanghai Scout Club in
Shanghai. It was founded in December 2006.
This group participated in JOTI 2007. It also borrows heavily from international Scouting in terms of its emblem, ideals, uniforms, and activities.
This group was mentioned as a
Radio Scout group in the Austrian Scout magazine Telescout-News in December 2007.
Hong Kong and Macau
Hong Kong and
Macau are
special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, for example with legal systems separate from that of
mainland China (for example the rest of the country). The two territories were European possessions until 1997 and 1999 respectively. Scouting has continued after the transfers of sovereignty. In Hong Kong,
The Scout Association of Hong Kong has 99,591 Scouts, and
The Hong Kong Girl Guides Association has 40,576
Guides. In Macau Scouting is organised by
The Scout Association of Macau, a WOSM associate member.
International Scouting units in mainland China
In addition, British Scouts have units of
The Scout Association in various cities including Nanjing.
USA Girl Scouts Overseas in
the People's Republic of China are serviced by way of USAGSO headquarters in
New York, with troops in
Beijing,
Guangzhou,
Nanjing,
Shanghai,
Shekou,
Tianjin and
Zhuhai. Also, there are both American Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Lone Scouts in
Xiamen (Amoy) and possibly other locations, linked to the
Direct Service branch of the
Boy Scouts of America, which supports units around the world.
Chinese Scouting ideals
The
Scout Motto in
Chinese is 準備, translating as
Be Prepared (pronunciation may vary by
spoken variant). The Scout Motto in
Uyghur is
Tayyar Bol, translating as
Be Prepared.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Scouting In Mainland China'.
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