Social Contributions

Social Contributions
Along with his business ventures, Tan was also instrumental in contributing to various educational endeavours. In Singapore he helped set up schools like Ai Tong, Nan Chiau Girls', Chong Hock Girls' and Kong Hwa. In 1918, he founded the first Chinese secondary school in Singapore - the Nanyang Chinese High School, which was opened in March 1919. Originally located at Niven Road, it moved to to a bigger premise at Bukit Timah Road six years later. Furthermore, he donated large sums of money to two English-medium institutions - the Anglo-Chinese School and Raffles College. He was also co-founder with Tan Lark Sye in the start-up of the Nanyang University. He also developed key educational institutions in China, establishing the Amoy University in Fujian in 1921 as a private University and maintaining it for the next 16 years.

Tan was also a social activist during tumultuous times, aiding relief efforts such as the Fujian and Guangdong Flood Relief Fund and was closely associated with the Kuomintang and the Nationalist movement. During World War II, he helped recruit Chinese to assist the British. However, his support for the Chinese Communist Party led the British to deny him re-entry to Singapore after the war. He lived the rest of his life in the Fujian Province.