When the May Fourth Movement exploded in China, Liu Tiao-tang, who had almost finished his education in Tokyo, felt the great tragedy of the Taiwanese under colonial rule, and with longing for his motherland courageously dropped out to become a follower of Sun Yat-sen in Shanghai. He told his wife and child that the family would not return to Taiwan until the Japanese had left.
「五四運動」在中國熱烈展開時，劉錦堂這一個即將在東京美術學校畢業的台灣學生，帶著身為殖民地台灣人的悲哀，及對祖國的嚮往，毅然放棄學業，隻身到上海要成為國父孫中山的追隨者，並在結婚生子後，告訴妻子只要日本人還在，他們就不回台灣。