Confucius Descendants Association inaugurated

SINGAPORE - Around 100 people have banded together to form Singapore's first Confucius Descendants Association, to promote the values of the ancient sage.

The association was inaugurated this afternoon in a ceremony officiated by Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo at Furama Hotel City Centre.

Confucius, known as Kongzi in Mandarin, is believed to have been born in 551BC. There are now more than 2 million of his descendants across the globe who share his surname, including variants such as Hong. Of this pool, 2,000 are Singaporeans.

Confucius is revered for his teachings that centre around the values of righteousness and filial piety.

The association's president Henry Hong, 63, a retired car sales consultant, who is from the 74th generation, said: "We hope to create bonds within the Confucius family here and develop a base to promote the philosophy of our forefather.

"Today, if you are a businessman, soldier, educator or teacher, somehow or another you will have to fall back on his teachings."

The association, which was formed seven years ago by 18 founding members, has plans to roll out scholarships for Confucius' descendants here.

It is also looking into building a $20 million Confucius cultural centre to extend his philosophy to others in the community.

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