This talk is based on the speaker’s newly published paper, “Transnationality and Nationalism: Shared and Contested Memories of Wu Lien-Teh Across East and Southeast Asia in Post-SARS Era.” Informed by Maurice Halbwachs’ study of memory, the speaker proposes that the reading of the pasts is shaped by interests and needs of the present. The surging interest in Wu Lien-Teh, Penang-born Cambridge trained plague fighter in China, across East and Southeast Asia in post-SARS era, appears to affirm Halbwachs’ view. Utilizing Halbwachs’ presentist and constructionist approach, Por reads post-SARS memories of Wu Lien-Teh as a contested terrain where various historical actors, under a mix of fortuitous as well as intentional circumstances, come to construct what they presently perceive as relevant and important. Memories of the past are sites that tell us about the present. Drawing on a variety of publications and online sources, the speaker makes post-SARS accounts of Wu in the region a case study of how the pasts are reconstructed to communicate the present. Given that the commemoration of Wu spans across various countries, the case also allows investigation into memory variation across the region.