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Formosan Political Movements Under Japanese Colonial Rule, 1914–1937

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Edward I-te Chen
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Abstract

During much of the period under discussion Formosa was ruled by civilian governors-general who tolerated limited political activities to induce native cooperation. Formosans, however, wanted to use their organizations to obtain political concessions. The Assimilation Society (Dōkakai 1914–1915) and the New People's Society (Shinminkai, 1918–1923) sought equal treatment with the Japanese. The League for the Establishment of a Formosan Parliament (Taiwan Gikai Kisei Dōmei, 1920–1934) and the Taiwan Cultural Association (Taiwan Bunka Kyōkai, 1921–1930) advocated home rule by creating a colonial legislature. The Popular Party (Minshūto, 1927–1931) and the League for the Attainment of Local Autonomy (Taiwan Chihōjichi Kisei Dōmei, 1930–1937) supported the liberalization of local autonomy by demanding suffrage, irrespective of race. All resorted to racial consciousness to augment their movements, while staying within legal limits. In the end all were suppressed. Their leaders were heavily influenced by the political liberalism of the 1920's in Japan and received the active support of many famous Japanese liberals. Significantly, while Formosan leaders were conscious of being Chinese and were even stimulated by certain nationalistic events in China, their movements never produced sentiment supporting the island's restoration to China.

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Articles
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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , May 1972 , pp. 477 - 497
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1972

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References

1 Two recent articles provide an excellent description of the Formosan Republic and the 1895 War of Resistance. Lamley, Harry J., “The 1895 Taiwan Republic: A Significant Episode in Modern Chinese History,” JAS, XXVII, 4 (August 1968), 739–762CrossRefGoogle Scholar . A much lengthier version by the same author, “The 1895 Taiwan War of Resistance: Local Chinese Efforts against a Foreign Power,” is included in Gordon, Leonard H. D. (ed.), Taiwan: Studies in Chinese Local History, (Columbia, 1970), 23–76Google Scholar.

2 The Formosan Communist Party was created in Shanghai in April 1924. Though technically a branch of the Japanese Communist Party, it was strongly influenced by the Chinese Communist Party. Between 1924 and 1929 it succeeded in penetrating labor unions and farmers' organizations inside the island. It advocated independence of the island. For details about the Formosan Communist Party, consult: Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō [Formosan Nationalist Movements under Japanese Rule] compiled by Taiwan Shiryō Hozonkai [Association for the Preservation of Historical Materials on Formosa], Volume II: Seiji undō-hen [History of Political Movements], (Tokyo, 1969), 583–874. Hereafter cited as Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II. This volume is the reprint of the third volume of the original six-volume series entitled Taiwan sōtokufu keisatsu enkakushi [Chronicle of the Police Affairs of the Government-General of Formosa] and was compiled for the use of police personnel only. The reprint of the second volume of the original title is also available under the new title, Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, Volume I: Buryoku Teikō-hen [History of Armed Resistance], (Tokyo, 1969)Google Scholar.

3 Between 1922 and 1926, in the wake of the rising Chinese nationalism, Formosan students in Peking, Shanghai, Canton, and Amoy formed several organizations to promote the cause of self-determination for Formosans. Initially their activities were confined to speech making, holding of rallies, and magazine publication; but after the Manchurian Incident they openly advocated armed revolution, and succeeded in 1933 in creating an Underground organization inside the island. In the following year, however, it was uncovered by the police, resulting in the arrest of some 420 persons. For details about the anti-Japanese activities of Formosans in China, consult: T'ai-wan sheng wen-hsien wei-yü an-hui [Taiwan Provincial Historical Commission], comp., T'ai-wan sheng t'ung-chih Kao [Draft Gazetteer of Taiwan Province], Volume 9: Ke-ming chih k'ang-jih p'ien [History of Antipiled Japanese Revolutions], edited by ch'eng, Hwang Wang (Taipei, 1954), 214–259Google Scholar . Hereafter cited as T'ung-chih, Kao, IX.

4 Wan-chu, Lo et al. (ed.), Lin Hsien t'ang hsien-sheng chi-nien chi [Commemorative Collection of the Writings of Lin Hsien-t'ang], Volume I: Nien-p'u [Chronological Record] (Taipei, 1960)Google Scholar , 15 front. Hereafter abbreviated Lin Hsien-t'ang, I.

5 Lin Hsien-t'ang, I, 15 back.

6 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 12.

7 Lin Hsien-t'ang, I, 15 back and 16 front.

8 Itagaki was accompanied by a few personal followers from Japan who subsequently were appointed officers of the Assimilation Society. This gave rise to the criticism by the Japanese residents that the Society was controlled by the opportunistic elements who knew nothing about Formosa. See Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 18. Also, Kiwata, Ide, Taiwan chisekishi [Records of Japanese Administration in Formosa], (Taihoku, 1937), 428–429Google Scholar.

9 Article 3 of the Charter of the Assimilation Society. The Charter in its entirety is in Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, XL, 17–18.

10 Taken from the three speeches Itagaki delivered in Formosa. See Itagaki Taisuke zenshu [Complete Collection of the Writings of Itagaki Taisuke], edited by Monmasa, Itagaki, (Tokyo, 1933) (reprint in 1969), 395–412Google Scholar.

11 About this time the Japanese army captured the German-leased territory in Shantung and the government headed by Okuma Shigenobu was drafting the Twenty-One Demands.

12 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 22.

13 Because of the lack of higher educational in- stitutions in Formosa, wealthy families often sent their sons to colleges and universities in Tokyo. The number of Formosan students in 1908 was no more than 60; it increased to 300 in 1915 and reached 2,400 in 1922. Beginning in 1908 the branch office of the government-general of Formosa was established in Tokyo to “direct and supervise” the Formosan students. See Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 23–24.

14 Actually the New People's Society was an outgrowth of Keihatsukai or Enlightenment Society which was established in the summer of 1918 in Tokyo by students. To permit the participation of nonstudent elements, however, it was dissolved in 1919 and the New People's Society was formed in early 1920 to embrace all interested Formosans in Japan. Sec Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 25.

15 Nihon tojika no minzokft undo, II, 27.

16 Ts'ai Pei-huo in 1914 acted as interpreter between Itagaki and Lin Hsien-t'ang. When the Assimilation Society was suppressed Ts'ai was dismissed from his job as a certified teacher in a public school. Subsequently Lin financed Ts'ai's study in Tokyo; and it was through him that Lin became acquainted with many Formosan students in Japan. See ō Toku, Iku, Taiwan, kutmon-suru rekishi [Formosa, History of Her Agony], (Tokyo: Kōbundō, 1964), 115Google Scholar.

17 Tung-chih kao, IX, 174–175.

18 Lin Ch'eng-lu's proposal was contained in an article he wrote for Formosan Youth (December 1920 issue), a summary of which is printed in Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 312–313.

19 The educational background of Lin Ch'eng-lu should suffice to explain why he favored the idea of home rule. He was graduated from Meiji University and taught political science briefly at a Hunan university in China. In 1920 he was back in Japan, and was in frequent contact with Japan's leading authority on colonialism, Professor Yanaihara Tadao, a strong advocate of home rule for Korea and Formosa. Sec T'ung-chih kao, IX, 173.

20 Article I, para. 2, Taiwan ni shikō subeki Hōrei ni kansuru hōritsu [Law relating to Laws and Regulations to be enforced in Formosa], as amended in 1921.

21 Yang Chao-chia, one of the now very few survivors who personally observed the activities of Formosans in the early 1920's, praised Lin Ch'eng-lu for having successfully brought back the waylaid Formosan movement from the road of assimilation to the road of home rule. See Chao-chia, Yang, Yang Chao-chia hut i lu [Memoirs of Yang Chao-chia] (Taipei, 1967), II, 412Google Scholar.

22 These points of contention are taken from the sixth petition submitted to the Diet on February 17, 1925, as listed in its entirety in Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 370–376.

23 Jirō, Miyakawa, Taiwan no seiji undō [Political Movements in Formosa], (Taihoku, 1931), IIIGoogle Scholar.

24 Nihon tōjika no minzou undō, II, 341.

25 Yang Chao-chia hut i lu, II, 208–209.

26 Kiyose was a famous lawyer best known for his role as the defense lawyer for General Tōjō at the Tokyo trial. In 1960 he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. See The Japan Biographical Encyclopedia and Who's Who (Tokyo, 1960), 639 and 2169Google Scholar.

27 Shimada was one time editor-in-chief of Tōkyō Mainichi Shimbun. He was also famous for his crusade against licensed prostitution. See The Japan Biographical Encyclopedia, 1394.

28 In an editorial dated February 20, 1926, Osaka Mainichi supported the proposal to establish a Formosan parliament as a constitutionally justifiable demand. The editorial is cited in its entirety in Fūrō, Izumi, Taiwan no minzoku undō [Formosan Nationalist Movements], (Taichu, 1928), 56–59Google Scholar.

29 By 1930 the Japanese population in Formosa had increased considerably (232,299) as a result of the increased emigration from Japan; but compared with the native population (4,446,767) they were still a very small minority. Takumu-shō [Ministry of Colonial Affairs], Takumu tōkei [Colonial Statistics], annual.

30 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 342.

31 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 342–343.

32 Tung-chih kao, IX, 178–179.

33 T'ung-chih kao, IX, 179.

34 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 378–379.

35 Statement by Chiang Wei-shui published originally in Taiwan minpō (No. 67) and cited by Miyakawa, 122–123. (For full citation see footnote 22.)

36 T'ung-chih kao, IX, 135.

37 Statistics are taken from: T'ai-wan nien-ch'ien, 1947 [Taiwan Yearbook], (Taipei, 1947), V2–V3Google Scholar.

38 The figures are cited by Tadao, Yanaihara, Teikoku shugika no taiwan [Formosa Under Japanese Imperialism], Volume two of yanaihara Tadao zenshū [Complete Works of Yanaihara Tadao], (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1963), 381Google Scholar.

39 Taken from the platform of the party as listed in: Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 429.

40 The full text of the petition can be found in Miyakawa, 230–234.

41 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 1351.

42 Tung-chih kao, IX, 200.

43 Tung-chih kao, IX, 199.

44 Lin Hsien-t'ang, I, 46 back.

45 According to Takumu tōkei, official colonial statistics, the annual tax burden per person (including Japanese and Formosans) was 4.385 yen. As it is a well-known fact that the Japanese paid much more tax per person, the per capita tax payment of Formosans would probably be below the four-yen level. In fact, in the election of 1935, fewer Formosans (28,952) than Japanese (30,969) were qualified to vote because of tax qualification. See Yang Chao-chia, II, 288.

46 Article 43, Taiwan shūsei shikōrei [Detailed Regulations for the Enforcement of Provincial System in Formosa, 1936]. For more detailed discussion concerning the Japanese colonial administrtion and local autonomy system, consult: Chen, Edward I-te, “Japanese Colonialism in Korea and Formosa: A Comparison of the Systems of Political Control,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, XXX, 1970, 126–158CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

47 Nihon tōjika no minzoku undō, II, 581–583.

48 For details about the 1947 revolt and the Settlement Committee, see Kerr, George H., For-mosa Betrayed, (Houghton Mifflin, 1965), 254–290Google Scholar.