Government-General of Taiwan


The Government-General of Taiwan was the government that governed Taiwan under Japanese rule between 1895 and 1945.

History

The Government-General of Taiwan was founded on May 10, 1895, two days after the Treaty of Shimonoseki was enforced. It started to rule Taiwan since June 17, 1895 after the Japanese forces took over Taiwan. On August 15, 1945, with the surrender of Japan, the organizations of Government-General was transformed to the newly established Taiwan Provincial Government and Taiwan Garrison Command. The transformation was completed on February 20, 1946.

Organization and structure

Governor-General

The Governor-General of Taiwan was the ruler of Taiwan in the Japanese era. The Governor-General was supervised by the Prime Minister of Japan, and then by the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Colonial Affairs. The Governor-General exercised executive, legislative, and judicial powers in Taiwan. The Governor-General was also the commander of the Mixed Brigade of Taiwan Defense until it reorganized to the Taiwan Army under the Imperial Japanese Army in 1919

Chief of General Affairs

The Chief of General Affairs, named Chief of Civil Affairs before 1919, was the primary executor of the policy in Taiwan, and the second most powerful official after the Governor-General.

Internal Departments

In 1895, the Government-General was founded with three departments: Department of Civil Affairs, Department of Army, Department of Navy. The military departments are to prepare the warfare with the rebellions in Taiwan. The Departments of Army and Navy were soon been merged into Department of Military Affairs in 1896. With the Civil-Military divide in the 1910s, the Department of Military Affairs were reorganized as the Taiwan Army Command under Imperial Japanese Army. All bureaus under the Department of Civil Affairs became independents departments under the Government-General, and the Chief of Civil Affairs became a role similar to a head of Government.
At the end of Japanese rule, the Government-General has the following organs.
NameKanjiJapaneseTaiwanese
Secretariat to the Governor-GeneralSōtoku KanbōChóng-tok Koaⁿ-pâng
Department of EducationBunkyō KyokuBûn-kàu Kio̍k
Department of FinanceZaimu KyokuChâi-bū Kio̍k
Department of Mines and IndustryKōkō KyokuKhòng-kong Kio̍k
Department of Agriculture and CommerceNōshō KyokuLông-siong Kio̍k
Department of PoliceKeimu KyokuKéng-bū Kio̍k
Bureau of Foreign AffairsGaiji BuGōa-sū Pō͘
Bureau of Judicial AffairsHōmu BuHoat-bū Pō͘

External Departments

There is a large number of external departments of the Government-General. Notable departments are
In 1945, Taiwan was divided to 8 prefectures. They are: Taihoku Prefecture, Shinchiku Prefecture, Taichū Prefecture, Tainan Prefecture, Takao Prefecture, Karenkō Prefecture, Taitō Prefecture, and Hōko Prefecture. The prefectures are further divided into 11 cities, 52 districts, and 2 subprefectures.

Governmental buildings

After the Treaty of Shimonoseki was enforced from May 8, 1895, the Empire of Japan started to rule Taiwan. In the early years, the Government-General was seated in the former Fukien-Taiwan Provincial Administration Hall build by the Qing Empire in 1892.
The new governmental building was planned in 1907 by the 5th Governor-General Sakuma Samata. Construction began on June 1, 1912 and was completed on March 31, 1919 at a cost of 2.8 million Japanese yen. The new building of the Government-General, now named Presidential Office Building, is still being used as the office of the President of the Republic of China after World War II.
The residence of the Governor-General of Taiwan is known today as Taipei Guest House.