BEIJING - Officials and academics from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will gather in South China this week to discuss Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Kuomintang Party and a leader of China's republican revolution.

The forum, from Dec 16 to 18 in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, would be jointly hosted by mainland and Taiwan organizations, said Yang Yi, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference on Wednesday.

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Senior officials expected to attend included Wang Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Party chief of Guangdong, Wang Yi, the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, Chiang Hsiao-yen, vice chairman of the Kuomintang Party, and Yu Muming, chairman of Taiwan's New Party.

More than 200 experts and scholars from both sides would discuss topics such as the philosophy and ideas of Sun Yat-sen and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, said Yang.

Also on the agenda was a discussion of the 1911 Revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, which broke out on Oct 10, 1911. It overthrew the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), ending thousands of years of monarchy.

Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution.