 Thau Yong Social Engagement
 Thau Yong 陶融儒乐社 as a cultural institute has a long history of social engagement through their performances to raise funds for social causes. The following are some of the major fund raising activities in the pre war days.
In 1935, Thau Yong performed their Waijiang opera debut in Great World and used the 3-day performance to raise relief funds for the needy in China suffering from the effects of the Chinese Civil War (十年内战 1927-1937). The all-men cast performed a total of 10 odd Waijiang opera excerpts.
Other than contributing all their performance proceeds to the suffering in China, Thau Yong participated in Chinese fund-raising concerts and carnivals, contributing whatever they had to the society and their homeland, like the Overseas Chinese Plane Funding Arts Carnival (for Kuo Min Tang, Republic of China) (华侨购机寿蒋筹款游艺会) on the 4th - 6th September 1936 at Great World.
After moving to the 2nd storey of 45 Hong Kong Street, Thau Yong started preparing for their 5th anniversary charity performance with all proceeds going to charity. When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out on 7th July 1937, the committee decided immediately to continue with the performance and re-direct all proceeds to the Chinese government as war funds.
Passionate about their interest and driven by the burning desire to help China, Thau Yong took a revolutionary step to change the traditional Waijiang opera stage layout, by relocating the four musicians seated at the center stage (四点金) to the side for better viewing pleasure. It was a roaring success and the total amount collected was spectacular.
Thau Yong also participated in multiple funding events such as the Malayan Chinese Fund-Raising Arts Carnival and the Guangdong Victims’ Relief Fund Performance, financially contributing to both the Chinese & the British army in their fight against the Japanese.
Thau Yong series of articles contributed by Ms Javier Lee
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