From this building, Thong Chai continued to serve the poor and sick but it also became a centre for business and political activities. Several clan associations set up their headquarters there; the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was conceived in this building, and its first office operated there until 1906 when it moved to its own premises. In the early years of the twentieth century, when political tensions between China and Japan rose high, Chinese loyalists held public meetings at Thong Chai to garner support for their motherland.