Scouts of China
中華民國童軍
Headquarters	Hall of the Scouts of China
Location	Zhongshan District, Taipei
Country	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Founded	February 25, 1912 (Mainland) 1950 (Re-established in Taiwan)
Founder	Yen Chia-lin (嚴家麟)
Membership	53,972 (2021)
Chief Scout	Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)
Chairman	Lin Yu-chang
Affiliation	World Organization of the Scout Movement
Website www.scout.org.tw
Scouting portal

Scouts of China
Traditional Chinese	中華民國童軍
Simplified Chinese	中华民国童军
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuámínguó Tóngjūn
The General Association of the Scouts of China
Traditional Chinese	中華民國童軍總會
Simplified Chinese	中华民国童军总会
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá mínguó tóng jūn zǒng huì

The Scouts of China or the General Association of the Scouts of China (Taiwan) in full, is the national Scouting association of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and represents the Scouting organization in Taiwan. It is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. In 2021, the Scouts of China had 53,972 members.^[1]

History

Mainland China (1912–1949)

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.^[2]

The General Association of the Scouts of China was formally established in Nanking, the former capital of the Republic of China in 1934, and became a member of the International Scout Bureau in 1937.^[3][4] Many Scouts actively participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945.

There were 570,000 registered members in 1941.^[2]

Japanese military authorities did not consistently encourage the Scouting movement in occupied territories. Where local conditions were favorable, authorities would permit local Scouting or introduce Japanese-style Scouting, or Shōnendan, and sometimes even made this compulsory. On the other hand, where conditions were not favorable, and anti-Japanese sentiments were likely to be nurtured through Scouting, the authorities would prohibit it entirely. Taiwan was a colony of the Empire of Japan from 1895 until 1945, and Taiwan Boy Scouts/Shōnendan and other forms of pro-Japanese youth education had been introduced. Conversely, a number of Taiwanese boys were formed into a Shōnendan-style boy corps called Taiwan Shaoniantuan from 1939 through the 1940s to assist in Chinese resistance in the Second Sino-Japanese War.^[5]

Scouts of China in Taiwan (1945–)

In 1945, Chinese administration of Taiwan began. A few years later, in 1949 the ROC government withdrew to Taiwan, where it remains today. However, Scouting has continued in Taiwan to this day under the name of the Scouts of China.^[2][4][6]

Program

There are five programs or sections in the Scouts of China.^[7] They are Beaver Scout (稚齡童軍), Cub Scout (幼童軍), Scout (童軍), Senior Scout (行義童軍) and Rover Scout (羅浮童軍).

Beaver Scout is served for the children aged 6 to 8 including three ranks: Star (星星), Moon (月亮) and Sun (太陽).

Cub Scout is served for the children aged 8 to 12 including four ranks: Anor now, Scouts of China are promoting the development of Sea Scouts.^[8]