Single-leaf broadside (ca. 33,7x43,9 cm or 13 x 17 in) folded in two. Printed text in English and Spanish, with Chinese headings and vertical marginalia. Tears at the verso of the broadside have been restored with paper tape. Fold marks, but otherwise a very good, important document.

Historically significant, extremely rare bilingual (English and Spanish) political declaration issued by the Chinese pro-Republican diaspora in an attempt to protect the young Republic of China from the threat of an upcoming monarchical coup in 1915.

At the time, this protest document likely served as an urgent, preventive counter-petition against President Yuan Shikai’s steps to overthrow the young Republic of China. After seizing power following the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, Yuan consolidated control and manufactured a fraudulent, state-sponsored "petition movement" to pressure the Senate into offering him the crown. This engineered propaganda campaign reached its peak during the autumn of 1915, generating orchestrated regional pleas that eventuated in Yuan officially declaring himself Emperor in December 1915 and establishing the short-lived Empire of China (1915–1916).

The bilingual petition, published as a single-leaf broadside, was strategically designed by pro-Republican diaspora organizations for distribution across major global immigrant hubs. The layout features both English and Spanish columns, pairing each language with a specific Chinese header that targets a distinct colonial jurisdiction. The English-language section is explicitly marked for use in "British territories" (Singapore, Hong Kong, or Malaya), while the Spanish-language portion is designated for the "Luzon territory" in the Philippines.

A close reading of the text suggests that the document was drafted in late 1915 as a preemptive political intervention rather than a response to an accomplished coup. The declaration presents the young Republic of China as the highest achievement of modern civilization while condemning an ongoing "Revolutionary Movement" aimed at "overthrowing the present Republican Government." The authors unite as "dutiful Sons of [our] beloved Country" and pledge their full support and resources to safeguard the democratic future of the Republic.

The document was explicitly designed to gather physical signatures from patriotic Chinese residents at a designated space at the bottom, and it was likely distributed within community clan association halls, merchant chambers, Chinese-language printing shops, local teahouses, and temples where the overseas community naturally gathered. Once completed, as instructed by the vertical text on the left margin, these signed declarations were placed in envelopes and mailed directly to the International Peace Conference (or today’s Hague Peace Conference). A third Hague conference had originally been planned for 1914, postponed to 1915 due to escalating international tensions, and ultimately canceled entirely. While it is unknown whether the petitions reached their destination amid the chaos of the war, the campaign succeeded in mobilizing the diaspora and fueling the widespread opposition that collapsed Yuan Shikai's regime after just 83 days.

Our copy likely belonged either to a Western diplomat or colonial official monitoring overseas Chinese political activity, or to a senior member of a Chinese merchant association who chose to preserve the document. Despite extensive searches of digital repositories and institutional databases, we have been unable to locate another recorded copy.

Overall, historically important and extremely rare bilingual (English and Spanish) political declaration likely issued by the Chinese pro-Republican diaspora in an attempt to protect the young Republic of China from the threat of an upcoming monarchical coup in 1915.