Industrial History of Taiwan

Industrial History of Taiwan

Taiwan's real economic development began in 1895 when it was captured

by the Japanese. They introduced a large number of new concepts and

began to turn Taiwan into another part of Japan. First of all, they

surveyed all the land to find which parts were useful to them and

began recording things about Taiwan in the form of surveys and a

census. They standardized measurements and currencies, introduced

strict military and police controls and most importantly, began to

monopolize on Taiwan's manufacturing potential.

By 1918, they began to introduce compulsory Japanese schooling and

developed Taiwan economically much more to make it base they could use

to begin their southward expansion. They also began to change the

culture to a more Japanese way of life, effectively beginning the

integration of Japan and Taiwan.

By 1940, Taiwan had truly become a part of Japan. The Taiwanese people

were forced to wear Japanese clothes, eat Japanese food, observe

Japanese religion and adopt Japanese names. They developed Taiwan as a

centre for heavy industry and foreign trade, developing their foothold

in the southern pacific during the war years, hoping to expand

southwards.

Over their time, the Japanese also vastly improved the Taiwanese

infrastructure. They expanded the 17 largest ports and dredged shallow

harbours to allow large boats to enter them. They also developed steam

ship lines to improve trade and built roads and railways to allow

goods to be easily transported around the country and make it much

easier for the industries to obtain heavy materials.

[IMAGE]The Japanese railways were some of the best in the world,

allowing travel over the large mountainous peaks in the centre of

Taiwan as illustrated by this diagram. One railway in particular

allowed Taiwan's abundant timber reserves to be reached as it

stretched high up into the mountains where the tree's existed. This

became quite a big trade for Taiwan and allowed it's industries to

flourish. By 1945, Japans had 2,857 miles of railway lines and over

2,500 miles of large roads.