In 1683 Qing troops entered Taiwan, establishing a
union between Taiwan and the mainland. At the start of its administration, the
Qing government issued a series of decrees, forbidding inhabitants of Fujian and
Guangdong to move to Taiwan. However, Taiwan's vast fertile land, yet untilled
-- "one year's harvest is several fold that of the mainland" -- and low taxation
nevertheless lured tens of thousands of migrants to the island, even on pain of
death. When Taiwan first unified with the mainland under the Qing, about 200,000
Han Chinese lived on the island, and by 1811they numbered more than 2 million.
Migrants opened up large stretches of wasteland, making Taiwan a new
agricultural region of the country. Not only did the people there have ample
food and clothing, but also the capacity to provide large amounts of rice and
sugar to the mainland. In 1885 the Qing government formally designated Taiwan as
a province of its empire, and the province went on to enjoy tremendous economic
and cultural development during the 212 years of
Qing rule
In 1895, at the end of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing
government signed the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding Taiwan and
Penghu to Japan. Taiwan thus became a Japanese colony. The Japanese forced its
policy of "industrial Japan, agricultural Taiwan" on the island, making Taiwan's
economy dependent on that of Japan. In order fully to exploit Taiwan's economic
resources, Japan further expanded its farmland, and the Japanese colonial
government, its financial magnates, and various individuals seized 68.5% of the
land and 97% of the forest. The Japanese established various industries on the
island, such as sugar processing, canning, paper making, camphor processing,
wood processing, textiles, chemical products, machinery, iron and steel, and
electricity. Although these industries served as the basis for Taiwan's modern
industrial development after WWII, they also provided large amounts of strategic
materials vital to Japan in its aggressive wars in Asia and the Pacific.
Important Events
In 1885, the Qing government formally designated Taiwan as a province. The
first governor, Liu Mingchuan, called for emigration from Fujian and Guangdong,
and large-scale development occurred on the island. He reinforced forts to
strengthen defense, set up arms and munitions manufacture, opened up mines,
built roads and railroads, started postal services, and established new schools.
When the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 ended, the Qing government signed the
humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to
Japan. The people of Taiwan were enraged; Taipei residents staged protests by
beating gongs demanding a boycott on Japanese goods, engulfing the city with
their remonstrations, and patriots submitted petitions to the Qing court,
swearing that "they would rather fight to death than give up Taiwan." Under the
leadership of Qiu Fengjia and Liu Yongfu, military resistance against the
Japanese occupation lasted for six months. On the October 19, 1895, Kaohsiung
and Tainan were captured by the Japanese, marking Japan's occupation of the
entire island. The picture shows Japanese policemen and their families at
Batungguan on Mount Yushan.
Japan's Plunder of Taiwan's Resources
The forestry farm on Mount Alishan set up during Japan's colonial rule of
Taiwan. The Japanese built special railroads to transport precious wood to
Japan. From 1914 to 1915, the Japanese opened up coal mines in Keelung and
Taipei, increasing coal production to 2.85 million tons of coal annually from
1.9 tons in 1897. They opened up gold mines in Jinguashi and Ruifang in northern
Taiwan for gold and copper, and in 1915, they extracted 1.64 million grams of
gold. In 1927, the Japanese exploited oil and gas resources in western Taiwan,
producing 22.83 million kilos of oil, the highest production in history. Gas
production was 18.97 million kilolitres. In 1937, the Japanese prohibited all
spoken and written Chinese. In 1940, Taiwan had 860,000 hectares of farmland,
and served as the major supplier of agricultural products to Japan. In 1942,
Japan instituted conscription in Taiwan.
