Published on : 14/06/2024
On June 14, 1938, Soong Ching-ling (宋慶齡), the wife of Sun Yat-sen, established the "China Defence League" (保衛中國同盟) in Hong Kong, which was the predecessor of the China Welfare Institute (中國福利會).
At the time of the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Shanghai and Nanjing were successively lost. To escape the war, Soong Ching-ling left Shanghai and went to Hong Kong.
Soong made Hong Kong the main base of the anti-Japanese salvation movement, and after consulting with the Chinese Communist Party's Liao Chengzhi, she decided to initiate the China Defence League (CDL).
The CDL was an organisation that connected domestic and international communities, aimed at wartime relief, and supported long-term resistance against the invasion, with the principles of "propagating resistance against Japan, seeking international assistance, and supporting the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression".
The headquarters of the CDL was located at No. 21 Seymour Road, Hong Kong Island, with Soong Ching-ling personally serving as the Chairwoman of the Central Committee.
On the eve of Hong Kong's fall, Soong Ching-ling took the last flight out and arrived in Chongqing, where she rebuilt the CDL to continue supporting the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
In December 1945, after the victory of the war, the CDL was reorganised as the China Welfare Fund Committee, with its headquarters moved to Shanghai, primarily to assist in post-war reconstruction.
By August 1950, the China Welfare Fund Committee was renamed as the China Welfare Institute and continued to be chaired by Soong Ching-ling.
Thereafter, the focus of the Institute’s work was experimental and demonstrative work in the area of women's and children's health and sanitation, juvenile culture and education, human welfare, strengthening scientific research, and expanding international exchanges and cooperation.
