I. Necessity
Whether to overthrow the Qing dynasty by revolutionary means is the focus of debate between the two sides. The reformists said that the revolution would cause riots of the lower classes, lead to foreign interference and carve-up, and make China "a river of blood" and "subjugate the country and exterminate the species". Therefore, to be patriotic, we can't engage in revolution, we can only reform and establish a constitution.
The revolutionaries pointed out that the Qing government was the "eagle dog" of imperialism, so patriotism must be revolutionary. Only through revolution can we avoid the disaster of division and achieve national independence and social progress.
Second, justice.
Regarding the reformist theory that "China citizens are bad", the revolutionaries pointed out that it is not a "bad citizen" but a bad government. Democracy and harmony are the general trend and the will of the people. To save China and build China, we must follow the law and directly implement the democratic system. Only "promoting civil rights and reforming democracy" is the only way out for China.
Third, progressiveness.
The revolutionaries emphasized that there were serious phenomena of "landlord power" and "uneven land rights" in China at that time. Only by realizing state-owned land through equal land rights and realizing social revolution at the same time as political revolution can we avoid a series of problems such as inequality between the rich and the poor.
Extended data
background
After the publication of People's Daily, the organ newspaper of the United League, it publicly declared that "overthrowing the existing bad government", "establishing a harmonious political system" and "land ownership" were "ism", analyzed the ethnic relations between China and Manchu with the theory of bourgeois nationality, and pointed out the irrationality of Manchu-Han high pressure and the justice of Han resistance.
It emphasizes that "autocracy is a curse", and through the history of the world bourgeois revolution, it shows that only a bloody battle with monarchical power can win civil rights. No autocratic king is willing to give up the power to oppress the people. The Qing Dynasty was a national oppressor and would not give up the political power peacefully.
In addition to the national revolution and political revolution, he also believed that "social revolution should go hand in hand with political revolution" and enthusiastically publicized the idea of "land ownership" armed with Sun Yat-sen's "Three People's Principles". People's Daily quickly occupied the central leading position of progressive public opinion and was greatly welcomed by progressive intellectuals at home and abroad.
The bourgeois reformists, represented by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, were frightened by the vacillation and loss of the authoritative position in the ideological circle, trying to refute the revolutionary program put forward by the League and prevent the spread of democratic revolutionary ideas.
Revolutionaries are clearly aware that in order to further promote the development of the revolution, they must vigorously counter the attacks of reformists. Therefore, the opposition between revolution and improvement is more acute, and the barriers between the two factions are more distinct.
The Qing government was on the verge of collapse due to internal troubles and foreign invasion. The domestic undercurrent is surging, the powers are eyeing up, and the future of the country and the nation tends to be hopeless. Facing the high-pressure rule of the feudal die-hards, the domestic revolutionary forces are getting stronger and stronger, and the people tend to revolution.
The royalist reformers headed by Kang Liang, in order to fight against the revolutionaries in Sun Wen, fantasized about establishing a constitutional monarchy headed by Guangxu, and launched this ideological debate.