Dear Mario and your Ma ma,
At your earnest request, I wrote down ( as best as I could from
my recollections, or rather from what I heard from my Dad and
uncles and friends of his time ) this Historical Event of
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Founder and Father of the Republic of China.
I titled it as : – An Escape from the Jaws of Death.-
And I hope you’ll enjoy it, which is more or less as Uncle Samuel
told you on your recent visit to him in Malaysia. Only this time, it is
written with those rare words from my Dad and my other uncles
which hopefully will make this story more real and exciting.
AN ESCAPE FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH.
This is a historical event, a historical melodrama, which took place in
about 1911 when the newly born Republic of China was still in its cradle
fighting desperately for a place in the World of Democracy and Freedom.
To make a long story short, this is an account of an attempt on the life
of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the then newly elected President, the Founder and
Father of the Chinese Republic.
The Place was the Presidential Headquarters ( hereon called briefly the
HQ ) at a hillside in the City of Canton ( now known as Kwang–zhou ).
It is a river port at the mouth of the Pearl River. It is a cultural and
economical center of South China.
The Characters of this Drama are:
The President, Dr.Sun, himself.
His Cabinet Ministers.
His Commander-in-Chief of Military Forces,
General Abraham Lam.
And his Presidential Garrison.
Surrounding the above center stage are the Insurgent troops
with their soldiers blockading and patrolling
all the streets of the City.
SCENE ONE
Confidential urgent reports reaching the Presidential HQ.
Insurgent troops of over 20,000 men will launch a Surprise
attack at the HQ early the next morning with an attempt on
the lives of the President and all his Cabinet and Military
Officials.
SCENE TWO
Immediate urgent meeting of all officials in the HQ.
Consensus of the meeting : This Insurgency took everybody
by surprise. It will be too short a notice to call in any loyal
troops in the neighboring provinces to help The quickest arrival
of rescue forces will be a week away or longer, which will be
much too late.
The Presidential garrison forces were too thin to make an
effective defense against the insurgents.
Telegraphic communications with all possible sources of rescue
were hectic. Assurances of loyalty poured in ! But time, time was
so urgent. There wasn’t a single moment to lose.
Then, a ray of hope flashed out from the Telegraph ! The Naval
Headquarters came out with the assurance that a battleship could
make its way to the river port within 2 to 3 hours waiting for the
President to get aboard.
The problem appearing before the meeting was then, ” How do we
get the President safely aboard ? ” The distance between the HQ
and the river bank was about 5 miles with streets infested with
insurgent troops !
There were only two options open to the meeting :
Option One – is to fight the way through the blockades
with the tiny garrison forces. The obvious
results of this option will be heavy casualties
with no guarantee of safety for the President
who might even be killed before reaching the
river bank.
Option Two – this may seem absurd, but this is the last, if
not the worst, available option. This option
calls for an excellent Director and the most
competent Actors for a real life Melodrama in the
history of China in its survival. And who else
can be this Director and Actors other than the
President himself and General Abraham Lam.
Note: Abraham is the name of my father ( General Lam
Shu-ngai ) chosen by him for use whenever an
English name is needed.
SCENE THREE
Implementation of the Escape Plan ( Option Two ). Putting it on the
real to life Stage of the Historic Melodrama !
Actor One : Dr. Sun the President was the very sick old man,
with glazed eyes of a dead fish and the frothy mouth
of a sick dog – so miserably looking and apparently
dying that nobody would have the heart to take a
second look.
Actor Two : General Abraham Lam was the son of the sick old man.
His face was covered all over with sweat and tears,
carrying his dying father on his back, wearing a tattered
dress, displaying unmistakably the worries and panic of
a worried son, drawing sympathy and sighs from anyone
who saw him.
SCENE FOUR
5 MILES of streets after streets leading from the hillside of the HQ to
the river bank, with innumerable check points and patrols of Insurgent soldiers.
Soldier One : Where the hell you think you’re going, you miserable dog ?
Young guy : ( with his swollen eyes filled with tears, frightened and stammering )
My father is dying and I’m taking him home to the South bank of the
river. He had just been to the doctor receiving acupuncture treatments.
He may not be able to live, poor father ! ( choking with tears ).
Soldier Two : Get the hell out of here, and stay home, you rat !
Young guy : Yeh, yeh, yes Sir ! What’s happening here ? So many soldiers !
Soldier Three : Shut up and ask no questions ! or I’ll kick your guts out ! Go away !
This kind of scenes repeated themselves with different soldiers, different interrogations,
thrashing out insults after insults. However, the sick old man and the young guy got
through this spider web of soldiers with sheer luck and plenty of courage and strength
in their guts !
SCENE FIVE
River bank. A small sam-pam ( a small wooden boat ) with a boatman anxiously waiting.
Young guy : (panting and calling out) Uncle Boatman, good uncle !
Boatman : Yes, young man. What’s your trouble ? Where you want to go ?
Young guy : South bank, South bank. I’ve got 6 dollars and fifty cents ( a password
to the battleship ), I hope that’s enough for your trouble.
Boatman : O.K., step aboard !
SCENE SIX
The battleship with the Captain and all the sailors lining up the ship side to welcome
the sick old man ( the President ) and the tough sweating young guy ( General Lam ).
The President and the General hugging every sailor on board the ship which is now
cruising down the river, out to the sea to safety.
SCENE SEVEN
An empty Presidential HQ. The next morning, the charging Insurgent soldiers found only
an empty Building, with big banners in the Conference Hall displaying greetings of
” Long live China ! ” …… ” Long live Democracy ! “……. ” Long live Freedom ! ”
SCENE EIGHT
Oscar Awards.
One can imagine the Joy and the Cheer, nation-wide, when the President and the
General arrived safely at Nanking where people lined up the streets with flags flying
and shouts after shouts of welcome ! … and Long live the President and the General !
And perhaps an Oscar Award should go to :
President Sun Yat-sen, the best Actor in the Melodrama in Chinese History !
…… And another Award should go to :
General Abraham Lam, the best supporting Actor to the President !
….. And still another Award should go to :
All the soldiers and sailors in the rescue !
….. And lastly, but not the least, a heartfelt Thanks
and an Oscar to all interested readers of this Story.
And thanks a million from Bernie Lam who dared to write this Story.
