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Mr Tan Kah Kee was born on 21 October 1874 in Beijing, China.

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He came to Singapore to work for his father, Tan Kee Peck. But his father had to repay depts so Mr Tan Kah Kee started his own business and not only settled his father’s debts, but also expanded his business empire.

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Mr Tan Kah Kee was a firm believer in education as a social leveller and continually guided by Confucian values, he was involved in setting up more than 10 schools and institutes (e.g. Tao Nan School, Ai tong school and The Chinese High School etc.).

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Mr Tan Kah Kee was elected to serve as president of the Hokkien Huay Kuan. He used it’s platform to call for unity among Singapore’s varied Chinese dialect communities and to put an end to social ills such as opium addiction.

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When the Japanese reached Singapore in 1942,Mr Tan rallied members of the Chinese community to aid the British in repelling the invaders. For all his anti-war efforts, He was a prime target of the Japanese and thus had little choice but to leave Singapore.

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Mr Tan Kah Kee founded and published Nan Chiao Jit Poh (a newspaper) that was critical of the ruling Kuomintang, which was in a protracted war with the Communist in China.

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Mr Tan found Nan Chiau Girls High School

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Mr Tan Kah Kee returned to China for the first time since the end of the Second World War.

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He returned to Singapore for the first time to wind up his businesses before retiring to his hometown, Jimei.

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Mr Tan Kah Kee passed away in Beijing on 12 August 1961.