Qinggong and Dinner for Friends

Lin Xidi, chairman of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, said that the opening ceremony and dinner for the deceased will be held on November 19 at the seventh exhibition hall of the Singapore Expo. A huge basketball court-sized statue of the Patriarch Song Dafeng will be set up at the venue. After the opening ceremony, the white and brown rice used to build the Patriarch's rice statue will be distributed to the believers who attend the ceremony and dinner.

The Blue Cross Charitable Institution will celebrate the birthday of Patriarch Song Dafeng, the 75th anniversary of its establishment and the 15th anniversary of managing the Blue Cross Rainbow Nursing Home on the 19th of next month (Sunday). It will hold a special opening ceremony and dinner for thousands of people, inviting the public to pray for peace and success for the country, career and family.

Chairman Lin Xidi (Chairman of Nan Feng Shan Tang) said: "The opening ceremony and dinner for 1,000 people will be held in Hall 7 of Singapore Expo. A huge statue of Song Dafeng will be displayed at the venue as a highlight of this celebration." He said: "The statue of the ancestor is paved with white rice and outlined with purple-red brown rice. The rice statue is 72 feet long and 48 feet wide, as big as a basketball court. It is estimated that it will create the record of the "largest rice statue exhibition in Singapore." General Affairs Yang Xunzhong (Vice Chairman of Tong Feng Shan Tang) said: "The rice statue will be made of 3,000 kilograms of rice and 80 people will spend about 10 hours to build it. We have been preparing for several months and have invited someone to design the ancestor's portrait and conduct drills." He said: "Once the opening ceremony is over, the white and brown rice used to build the ancestor's rice statue will be divided into The white and brown rice were sponsored by Si Hai Zhan.

Speaking of the founding of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, consultant Weng Ya Zheng (former president of the association) pointed out that when Singapore fell in 1942, the Japanese army banned the activities of private societies; however, they invited Teochew charity organizations to take on the work of relief and corpse collection. ”

“Because the charity organizations follow the teachings of the founder Song Dafeng, they usually carry out various relief work for the people, including providing medical treatment and medicine, providing relief tea, porridge and clothing, especially for those who have no one to collect their bodies after death, the charity organizations will voluntarily help them bury their bodies.”

At that time, in order to coordinate and pool resources, the five established charity organizations: Pu Jiu, Xiu De, Tong Feng, Tong Jing and Nan An jointly established the Blue Cross Charitable Institution and adopted "Blue Cross" as the emblem. From the 1960s to the 1980s, another five charity organizations: Tong De, Bao De, Nan Feng, Zhong Hong and Chong Feng also joined the Blue Cross Charitable Institution.

Voluntary burial and rescue of the wounded and the needy emblem brings out the service purpose of the Blue Cross

Regarding the adoption of the Blue Cross as the emblem of the Association, Weng Yazheng explained: "The 'Black Cross' team of the charity hall that collects corpses and handles aftermath corresponds to the 'Red Cross' team of the international rescue organization. The Blue Cross Charitable Institution not only rescues the wounded and the needy but also voluntarily buries the dead. The combination of the red and black crosses forms the 'Blue Cross', which vividly interprets the service purpose of the Association."

Vice Chairman Zheng Ya (Chairman of Tongjing Charity Hall) pointed out that the Japanese military government specially allowed members of the charity hall to be exempted from forced labor. Many non-Teochew residents applied to join the charity hall, resulting in a surge in the number of members of the five charity halls at that time, with a total of more than 3,000 people.

From that time on, the local Teochew charity halls opened their doors regardless of race, place of origin and religion. In other words, the traditional functions of the Teochew charity halls have crossed the geographical threshold of the Teochew ethnic group, entered the general society, expanded social functions and missions, and are also deeply recognized by other communities.

Another vice-chairman, Lee Kee Wah (Chairman of Chong Feng Charity Hall), added that when the Japanese army attacked Singapore, they launched multiple air raids, causing countless casualties. "The charity hall's disaster relief team disregarded their personal safety, wore bamboo hats painted with the Blue Cross emblem, and ran around to carry out firefighting, rescue and disaster relief, showing great bravery."

Director Zhuang Yongcheng (Manager of Pu Shan Tang) also said: "Although the Blue Cross Association was not the earliest non-governmental organization to carry out charitable activities, it actively demonstrated the spirit of charity and relief when the country was most critical, which has played a certain role in Singapore's booming charitable activities today."

Talking about the current situation of various charity halls, Vice-chairman (Chairman of Zhong Hong Charity Hall) Deng Rongju said: "The charity halls all cooperate with the needs of the community and provide various welfare benefits for low-income families and disadvantaged groups, so that the beneficiaries can live healthier and happier in a rapidly developing society."

"For example, some charity halls have opened shelters for the mentally retarded, childcare centers, and nursing homes. Some also provide medical treatment and medicine, sponsor dialysis centers, and provide medical services. "As for the Rainbow Nursing Home, Vice Chairman Huang Yiqiang (also Chairman of Fengshan Hall) said that the Blue Cross Charitable Institution was entrusted by the government in 2002 to manage this nursing home for the mentally ill, which was well received by the authorities and the families of the inpatients. He said: "This commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the takeover of the Rainbow Nursing Home is also to hope that people from all walks of life can care for the vulnerable groups in the hospital."

Vice Chairman Chen Keren (Chairman of Nan'an Charity Hall) pointed out that the celebration dinner is expected to open 120 seats. The overseas friendly halls invited to participate include the four Xiu De Charity Halls in Malaysia, Tong Feng Charity Hall, Bao De Charity Hall and Ming Xiu Charity Society; from China, there are Shantou Cunxin Charity Hall, Chaoyang Bao De Ancient Hall, Chao'an Da Wu Xiu De Charity Hall, Anbu Tong Feng Charity Hall, Dongfeng Tong De Welfare Society, and Indonesia Tongxin Charity Society, a total of about 100 people.

Special Edition Release Conference on November 11

In conjunction with this celebration, the Association specially invited Dr. Li Zhixian to compile a special edition: "Blue Cross Spring and Autumn: Chaozhou Charity Hall Examination". Deputy General Manager Yu Yiyuan (Deputy General Manager of Xiu De Charity Hall Yangxin Society) said that this is to let more people, especially the next generation, understand the origin of the charity hall.

"The Association has scheduled a new book launch on the fourth floor of Zuihualin Club on November 11, and invited Li Yuyun, the association's consultant, to preside over the launch ceremony."

Treasurer Huang Chaolong (Secretary General of Tongjing Shantang) revealed that the General Association has prepared a total of 250,000 yuan to organize this celebration to let the public understand the service purpose and significance of the charity hall, but with the enthusiastic donations from the directors and members of the various charity halls, the actual expenditure may not be that much.