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Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU)

Written by Jess Sturman-Coombs | October 4, 2022 at 8:23 AM

SOCIETY FOR ANGLO-CHINESE UNDERSTANDING

Providing online access to their significant historical archive through the PastView publishing platform.

Their logo being the Chinese character for friendship, the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) was founded in 1965 to promote friendship and understanding between the peoples of Britain and China. This has been achieved through ongoing education about China and the Chinese people and through the following three aims, which seek to:

  • Help the UK flourish in a world increasingly influenced by China
  • Help overcome misplaced suspicion and increase understanding of China within the UK
  • Help members progress their China-related interests and so help SACU thrive


Over the 57 years since foundation, SACU has accumulated a vast collection of material to include minutes, reports, newsletters, fascinating documents, photos, magazines, videos, articles and books, which they wished to provide online access to due to their historical importance. The move offers members, visitors and researchers the opportunity to explore what has become a significant historical archive on the relations between China and the UK while, at the same time, protecting the original documents and safeguarding them for the future.

We are thrilled to announce that for SACU, PastView offered the flexibility, ease of use, and ease of updating that they were looking for in a publishing platform, providing the access necessary for more people to understand China and SACU’s contributions, and offering the freedom to differentiate between member and non-member benefits. Making this archive available online removes any physical barriers that might otherwise exist and enabling the aims and missions of SACU to  be better promoted, helping membership to grow. 

Existing members can enjoy unrestricted access to SACU’s archive, which consists of, but is not limited to, their collection of newsletters and details of discussions in meetings contained within a ‘documents’ section. Their magazine collection contains issues of China Eye, China in Focus, and China Now publications while their photo card collection, which is available to all, holds the most incredible pictures of life in China. Photos include fashion shows, all-women fishing teams and crews, women’s gymnastics, colourful fruit markets, and celebrations.      

The site was launched on 22nd January 2023 and is ready and waiting to be discovered and explored!

Please join us in recognising SACU's continued hard work and dedication and congratulating them on their move to online access.