Hou Youyi was speaking at the CCBA of Washington, DC, and like Zhu Lilun did in 2015, Hou said that the Three Principles of the People of Sun Yat-sen is “Of the People, By the People, For the People”, which of course it wasn’t.
Sun did mention Of the People, By the People For the People in his Three Principles of the People. However, if you read that entire sentence, it could be really shocking to those who only saw history through Chiang Kai-shek’s distorted lenses.
我們要解決中國的社會問題，和外國是有相同的目標。這個目標，就是要全國人民都可以得安樂，都不致受財產分配不均的痛苦。要不受這種痛苦的意思，就是要共產。所以我們不能說共產主義與民生主義不同。我們三民主義的意思，就是民有、民治、民享。這個民有、民治、民享的意思，就是國家是人民所共有，政治是人民所共管，利益是人民所共享。照這樣的說法，人民對於國家不只是共產，一切事權都是要共的。這才是真正的民生主義，就是孔子所希望之大同世界。
We must resolve China’s social issues, and this goal is no different from what foreign nations have been trying to achieve. The goal is for every citizen to enjoy peace and prosperity, and spared from the suffering brought on by inequality. The means to avoid that suffering is communism. Therefore, there is no difference between communism and Principle of People’s Livelihood. The purpose of the Three Principles of the People is Of the People, By the People, For the People, meaning the nation is owned by all citizens. Its politics governed by the people, its profits shared by the people. As such, not only the nation is the shared property of the people, all rights and privileges is also communal. That’s the true Principle of People’s Livelihood, and the great harmony that Confucius aspired to.
I mean, if you have to equate the Three Principles of the People to Of the People, By the People and For the People, you have to use this passage, and then equate communism with the Three Principles of the People.
In this old post, @OysterOmelet quoted another source where SYS equates Principle of People’s Livelihood with Communism.