Chinese Empire Reform Association

The Chinese Empire Reform Association, abbreviated as C.E.R.A (Baojiu Da-Qing Huangdi Hui, Chinese: 保救大清皇帝會; lit. 'Society to Protect the Qing Emperor'), or, more often, Baohuanghui, Chinese: 保皇會; lit. 'Protect the Emperor Society') was a worldwide Chinese political association founded by Kang Youwei (1858–1927) in Victoria, British Columbia on 20 July 1899. Its goal was to unite overseas Chinese to restore the Guangxu Emperor to his throne and transform China's autocratic empire into a constitutional monarchy.

Kang was a Cantonese scholar, teacher, and constitutional reformer who helped Guangxu enact extensive educational, political, social, military, economic, and administrative reforms during the tumultuous Hundred Days of Reform, June 11 to September 21, 1898.

The reforms only lasted 103 days because they threatened the power and position of the conservative Qing court and Guangxu's aunt and former regent, Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi took back the throne, put Guangxu under house arrest, and abolished the reform program. She executed six of the reform advisors, including Kang's brother, and called for Kang's arrest and execution.

Warned by the emperor of the impending crackdown, Kang fled into exile, and made it his mission to restore the emperor and his reform program. Kang turned to Chinese living in the Americas, Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe to join this nationalist movement. The result was a worldwide organization that grew to at least 230 local chapters and 100,000 members. The Chinese Empire Reform Association appealed to overseas Chinese who hoped to see their homeland modernize and democratize. It remained a strong organization until the end of 1911, when the revolutionaries led by Sun Yatsen were able to topple the Qing dynasty and form a republic. In effect, the Baohuanghui was the first mass Chinese political party.

North America—Canada, the United States, and Mexico—was where the association fulfilled its greatest potential, with at least 160 chapters that managed the full gamut of associated endeavors that Kang believed were necessary to save China: newspapers and schools to propagate reform ideology; military academies to train young Chinese to defend their country; women’s associations to promote gender equality; and businesses to raise funds for reform activities and expand Chinese commercial power in China and abroad. Between 1899 and 1907, Kang spent 29 months in North America, traveling widely both for his education and pleasure; organizing, fundraising, and making speeches to both Chinese and American audiences; and meeting North American leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, and Mexican President José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori.