Editing History of Taiwan (section)

==Empire of Japan (1895–1945)==
{{Main|Taiwan under Japanese rule}}
{{See also|Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)|List of Governors-General of Taiwan}}
[[File:1895 Meiji 28 Japanese Map of Imperial Japan with Taiwan - Geographicus - ImperialJapan-meiji28-1895.jpg|thumb| A map of the [[Empire of Japan]] including Taiwan ("barbarian land" in red) in 1895]]
[[File:Map of Taiwan 1901.jpg|thumb|right|1901 map with red line marking approximate boundary separating territory under actual Japanese administration from "Savage District"]]
The acquisition of Taiwan by Japan was the result of Prime Minister [[Itō Hirobumi]]'s "southern strategy" adopted during the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] in 1894–95. Itō and [[Mutsu Munemitsu]], the minister of foreign affairs, stipulated that Penghu and Taiwan must be ceded to Japan. These conditions were met during the signing of the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] on 17 April 1895. Taiwan and Penghu were transferred to Japan on 2 June.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=203}}{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=293}}

The period of Japanese rule in Taiwan has been divided into three periods under according to policies: military suppression (1895–1915), {{nihongo4||同化|dōka}}: assimilation (1915–37), and {{nihongo4||皇民化|kōminka}}: Japanization (1937–45). A separate policy for aborigines was implemented.{{sfn|Shih|2022|p=327}}<ref>Ching, Leo T. S. (2001). Becoming "Japanese": Colonial Taiwan and the Politics of Identity Formation. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 93–95. {{ISBN|0-520-22553-8}}.</ref> The matter of assimilation, {{nihongo4||同化|dōka}}, was tied to the admonition "impartiality and equal favor" (''isshi dōjin'') for all imperial subjects under the [[Emperor of Japan]]. Conceptually this colonial ideal conveyed the idea that metropolitan Japanese (''naichijin'') imparted their superior culture to the subordinate islanders (''hontōjin''), who would share the common benefits.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=203–204}}

=== Armed resistance ===
{{main|Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)|Taiwanese resistance to Japanese colonialism}}
[[File:Migita Toshihide - The Imperial Guard Defeats the Enemy in Hard Fighting at Jilong on the Island of Taiwan - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''The Imperial Guard Defeats the Enemy in Hard Fighting at Keelung on the Island of Taiwan'', 1895]]

The colonial authorities encountered violent opposition in Taiwan. Five months of sustained warfare occurred after the 1895 [[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)|invasion]] and partisan attacks continued until 1902. For the first two years the colonial authority relied mainly on military force. On 20 May, Qing officials were ordered to leave their posts. General mayhem and destruction ensued in the following months.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=205–206}}

Japanese forces landed on the coast of [[Keelung]] on 29 May. After the fall of [[Taipei]] on 7 June, local militia and partisan bands [[Taiwanese resistance to Japanese colonialism#Resistance to Japanese invasion|continued the resistance]]. In the south, a small [[Black Flag Army|Black Flag]] force led by [[Liu Yongfu]] delayed Japanese landings. Governor [[Tang Jingsong]] attempted to carry out anti-Japanese resistance efforts as the [[Republic of Formosa]].{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=205–206}} The [[Green Standard Army]] and [[Yue Chinese|Yue]] soldiers from [[Guangxi]] took to looting and pillaging. Taipei's gentry elite sent [[Koo Hsien-jung]] to Keelung to invite the advancing Japanese forces to proceed to Taipei and restore order.{{sfnp|Morris|2002|pp=4–18}} The Republic, established on 25 May, disappeared 12 days later when its leaders left for the mainland.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=205–206}} Liu Yongfu formed a temporary government in [[Tainan]] before escaping as Japanese forces closed in.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=207}} Between 200,000 and 300,000 people fled Taiwan in 1895.{{sfn|Wang|2006|p=95}}{{sfn|Davidson|1903|p=561}} Chinese residents in Taiwan were given the option of selling their property and leaving by May 1897, or become Japanese citizens. From 1895 to 1897, an estimated 6,400 people sold their property and left Taiwan.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=208}}{{sfn|Brooks|2000|p=110}}

[[Battle of Changhsing|Armed resistance]] by [[Hakka people|Hakka]] villagers broke out in the south. A series of attacks led by "local bandits" or "rebels" lasted throughout the next seven years. After 1897, uprisings by Chinese nationalists were commonplace. {{Interlanguage link|Luo Fuxing|zh|3=羅福星}}, a member of the [[Tongmenghui]], was arrested and executed along with 200 others in 1913.{{sfnp|Zhang|1998|p=515}} In June 1896, 6,000 Taiwanese were slaughtered in the Yunlin Massacre. From 1898 to 1902, some 12,000 "bandit-rebels" were killed in addition to the 6,000–14,000 killed in the initial resistance war of 1895.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=207}}{{sfn|Chang|2003|p=56}}

Major armed resistance was largely crushed by 1902 but minor rebellions started occurring again in 1907, such as the [[Beipu uprising]] by Hakka and [[Saisiyat people]] in 1907, Luo Fuxing in 1913 and the [[Tapani Incident]] of 1915.{{sfnp|Katz|2005}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1095&context=theses |title= The turtle woman's voices: Multilingual strategies of resistance and assimilation in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule |author= Huang-wen lai|date=2015 |format=pdf published=2007|access-date=11 November 2015 |page=113}}</ref> The Beipu uprising occurred on 14 November 1907 when a group of Hakka insurgents killed 57 Japanese officers and members of their family. In response, 100 Hakka men and boys were killed in the village of Neidaping.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a35fDwAAQBAJ&dq=beipu+uprising&pg=PT275 | isbn=9781780239521 | title=Lesser Dragons: Minority Peoples of China | date=15 May 2018 | publisher=Reaktion Books }}</ref> Luo Fuxing was an overseas Taiwanese Hakka involved with the Tongmenghui. He planned a rebellion against the Japanese with 500 fighters, resulting in the execution of more than 1,000 Taiwanese by Japanese police. Luo was killed on 3 March 1914.{{sfn|Chang|2003|p=56}}<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yf5f-O2AYWkC&dq=luo+fuxing&pg=PA39 | isbn=9781135790394 | title=Place and Spirit in Taiwan: Tudi Gong in the Stories, Strategies and Memories of Everyday Life | date=29 August 2003 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref> In 1915, Yu Qingfang organized a religious group that defied Japanese authority. In the Tapani incident, 1,413 members of Yu's group were captured. Yu and 200 of his followers were executed.{{sfn|Tsai|2009|p=134}} After the Tapani rebels were defeated, [[Andō Teibi]] ordered a massacre. Military police in [[Yujing District|Tapani]] and [[Jiasian District|Jiasian]] lured out anti-Japanese militants with a pardon. They were told to line up in a field, dig holes, and were then executed by firearm. According to oral tradition, some 5,000–6,000 people died in this incident.{{sfn|Wang|2000|p=113}}{{sfn|Su|1980|p=447–448}}

=== Non-violent resistance ===
[[File:Flag of Taiwanese People's Party (1929).svg|thumb|The original flag of the [[Taiwanese People's Party]], 2 January 1929 – 6 October 1929]]
[[Nonviolent resistance|Nonviolent means of resistance]] such as the [[Taiwanese Cultural Association]] (TCA), founded by [[Chiang Wei-shui]] in 1921, continued after most violent means were exhausted. Chiang joined the "Chinese United Alliance" founded by [[Sun Yat-sen]]. He saw Taiwanese people as Japanese nationals of Han Chinese ethnicity and wished to position the TCA as an intermediary between China and Japan. The TCA also aimed to establish independence for Taiwan.{{sfn|Shih|2022|p=329}} Statements of self determination were possible at the time due to the relatively progressive era of [[Taishō Democracy]]. "Taiwan is Taiwan people's Taiwan" became a common position for all anti-Japanese groups. In December 1920, Lin Hsien-tang and 178 Taiwanese residents filed a petition seeking self-determination. It was rejected.{{sfn|Shih|2022|p=330–331}}

The TCA had over 1,000 members of various backgrounds from across Taiwan except in indigenous areas. The TCA promoted vernacular Chinese language. In 1923 the TCA co-founded ''Taiwan People's News'' which was published in Tokyo and then shipped to Taiwan. It was subjected to censorship and seven or eight issues were banned. Chiang and others applied to set up a parliament for Taiwan that was deemed illegal. In 1923, 99 Alliance members were arrested and 18 were tried in court.{{sfn|Shih|2022|p=331–333}} Thirteen were convicted. Chiang was imprisoned more than ten times.{{sfn|Shih|2022|p=333}}

The TCA split in 1927 to form the New TCA and the [[Taiwanese People's Party]], which both Chiang and Lin left for. The New TCA later became a subsidiary of the [[Taiwanese Communist Party]] and the only organization advocating Taiwanese independence. The TPP brought forth issues such as Japanese opium trafficking, the inhumane treatment of the [[Seediq people]], and revealed the colonial authority's use of poisonous gas. In February 1931, the TPP was terminated. Chiang died on 23 August.{{sfn|Shih|2022|p=335–336}}

{{wide image|File:Taiwan daily news taiwan map.jpg|1000px|Japanese painting of Taiwan, 1928}}

=== Assimilation movement ===
In 1914, [[Itagaki Taisuke]] briefly led a Taiwan assimilation movement as a response to appeals from influential Taiwanese spokesmen. In December 1914, Itagaki formally inaugurated the Taiwan Dōkakai, an assimilation society. Within a week, over 3,000 Taiwanese and 45 Japanese residents joined the society. After Itagaki left later that month, leaders of the society were arrested and its Taiwanese members detained or harassed. In January 1915, the Taiwan Dōkakai was disbanded.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=219}}

Japanese colonial policy sought to strictly segregate the Japanese and Taiwanese population until 1922.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=220–221}} Taiwanese students who moved to Japan for their studies were able to associate more freely with Japanese and took to Japanese ways more readily than their island counterparts. However full assimilation was rare.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=230}}

An attempt to fully Japanize the Taiwanese people was made during the ''kōminka'' period (1937–45). The reasoning was that only as fully assimilated subjects could Taiwan's inhabitants fully commit to Japan's war and national aspirations.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=240}} The ''kōminka'' movement was generally unsuccessful and few Taiwanese became "true Japanese" due to the short time period and large population. In terms of acculturation under controlled circumstances, it can be considered relatively effective.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=242}}

=== Education ===
[[File:臺中一中舊校舍02.jpg|thumb|[[Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School|Taichung Middle School]] in 1919]]

A system of elementary common schools taught Japanese language and culture, Classical Chinese, Confucian ethics, and practical subjects like science.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=210–211}} The emphasis was on Japanese language and ethics while Classical Chinese was included to mollify upper-class Taiwanese parents.{{sfn|Kishida|2021}} These schools served a small percentage of the Taiwanese population and Japanese children attended their own primary schools. Post-elementary education was rare for Taiwanese people and a portion of the population continued to enroll in Qing-style private schools due to limited access to government educational institutions. Most boys attended Chinese schools while a smaller portion trained at religious schools. Elementary education was offered to those Taiwanese who could afford it.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=210–211}}

The gentry was urged to promote the "new learning" and those invested in the Chinese education style were resentful of the proposal. Younger Taiwanese started participating in community affairs in the 1910s. Many were concerned about obtaining modern educational facilities and the discrimination they faced in obtaining spots at the few government schools. Local leaders in [[Taichung]] campaigned for the inauguration of the Taichū Middle School but faced opposition from Japanese officials.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=217–218}}

In 1922, an integrated school system was introduced opening common and primary schools to both Taiwanese and Japanese based on Japanese language proficiency.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=221}} Few Taiwanese children could speak fluent Japanese and only the children of wealthy Taiwanese families with close ties to Japanese settlers were allowed to study alongside Japanese children.{{sfn|Matsuda|2019|p=103–104}} The number of Taiwanese at formerly Japanese-only elementary schools was limited to 10 percent.{{sfn|Kishida|2021}} Some Taiwanese sought secondary education and opportunities in Japan and [[Manchukuo]].{{sfn|Kishida|2021}} In 1943, primary education became compulsory, and by the next year nearly three out of four children were enrolled in primary school.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=243}} By 1922, around 2,000 Taiwanese students were enrolled in metropolitan Japan, increasing to 7,000 by 1942.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=230}}

=== Japanization ===
[[File:Chiayi City Historical Relic Museum 20060121.jpg|thumb|[[Kagi Shrine]], one of many Shinto shrines built in Taiwan.]]
After [[Japanese invasion of China|full-scale war with China]] in 1937, the "[[Kōminka movement (Taiwan)|''kōminka'']]" imperial Japanization project was implemented to ensure the Taiwanese would remain subjects of the Japanese Emperor rather than support a Chinese victory. The goal was to make sure the Taiwanese people did not develop a sense of national identity.{{sfn|Chen|2001|p=181}} Although the stated goal was to assimilate the Taiwanese, in practice the process segregated the Japanese into their discrete areas, despite co-opting Taiwanese leaders.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=238–239}} The organization was responsible for increasing war propaganda, donation drives, and regimenting Taiwanese life.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=239}}

As part of the policies, Chinese language in newspapers and education were removed.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=240}} China and Taiwan's history were erased from the curriculum.{{sfn|Chen|2001|p=181}} Chinese language use was discouraged. However even some members of model "national language" families from well-educated Taiwanese households failed to learn Japanese to a conversational level. A name-changing campaign was launched in 1940 to replace Chinese names with Japanese ones. Seven percent of the Taiwanese had done so by the end of the war.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=240}} Characteristics of Taiwanese culture considered "un-Japanese" or undesirable were banned or discouraged. The Taiwanese were encouraged to pray at [[Shinto]] shrines. Some officials removed religious idols and artifacts from native places of worship.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=241–242}}

===Aboriginal policies===
[[File:SavageTribesOfFormosa1926 Detail Photo.jpg|thumb|Photo from ''Savages of Formosa'', a 1926 government report on tribal life in Taiwan]]
[[File:二次霧社事件.jpg|thumb|Severed heads of [[Seediq people|Seediq]] rebels]]

Japan continued the Qing classification of [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples|aborigines]]. Acculturated aborigines lost their aboriginal status. Han Chinese and ''shufan'' were both treated as Taiwanese by the Japanese. Below them were the semi-acculturated and non-acculturated "barbarians" outside normal administrative units and Japanese law.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=189–190}} According to the ''Sōtokufu'' (Office of the Governor-General), mountain aborigines were animals under international law.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=192}} The ''Sōtokufu'' declared all unreclaimed and forest land in Taiwan as government property, forbidding any new use of forest land.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=183}} The Japanese authority denied aboriginal rights to their property and land. Han and acculturated aborigines were forbidden from any contractual relationships with aborigines.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=191}} The aborigines could not enjoy property ownership and acculturated aborigines lost their rent holder rights under the new property laws.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=192}}{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=195–197}}

Initially the Japanese spent most of their time fighting Chinese insurgents and the government took on a more conciliatory approach towards aborigines. In 1903, the government implemented harsher policies. It expanded guard lines to restrict the aborigines' living space. Sakuma Samata launched a five-year plan for aboriginal management, attacking aborigines and using landmines and electrified fences  to force them into submission.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=193}}

A small portion of land was set aside for aboriginal use. From 1919 to 1934, aborigines were relocated to out of the way areas. A small compensation for land use was initially given out but discontinued later on. In 1928, each aborigine was allotted three hectares of reserve land. Some of the allotted land was taken away and it was discovered that the aboriginal population was bigger than the estimated 80,000. The allotted land was reduced but they were not adhered to anyways. In 1930, the government relocated aborigines to the foothills. They were given less than half the originally promised land, or one-eighth of their ancestral lands.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=204–205}}{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=1}}

Aboriginal resistance lasted until the early 1930s.{{sfnp|Katz|2005}} By 1903, indigenous rebellions had resulted in the deaths of 1,900 Japanese.{{sfn|Price|2019|p=115}} In 1911, an army invaded Taiwan's mountainous areas and by 1915, many aboriginal villages had been destroyed. The [[Atayal people|Atayal]] and [[Bunun people|Bunun]] resisted the hardest.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=211–212}} The last major aboriginal rebellion, the [[Musha Incident|Musha (Wushe) Uprising]] occurred on 27 October 1930 when the [[Seediq people]] launched the last headhunting party. Seediq warriors led by [[Mona Rudao]] attacked police stations and the Musha Public School. Approximately 350 students, 134 Japanese, and 2 Han Chinese were killed. The armed conflict ended in December when the Seediq leaders committed suicide.{{sfn|Matsuda|2019|p=106}}{{sfnp|Ching|2001|pp=137–140}} According to a 1933-year book, wounded people in the war against the aboriginals numbered around 4,160, with 4,422 civilians dead and 2,660 military personnel killed.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=JJAkAQAAMAAJ&q=those+35+years,+those+of+police,+Japanese+and+native,+numbered+2,660+and+those+of+civilians+4,422.+During+the+same+period+4,160+were+wounded+in+connection+with+the+campaign+against+savages....+...+Musha+Revolt+A+big+revolt+of+savages+known+as+%22+Musha+Revolt+%22+took+place+in+the+summer+of+1929+in+Formosa+among+tribesmen+of+Musha+... The Japan Year Book 1933], p. 1139.</ref> After the Musha Incident, the government took a more conciliatory stance towards the aborigines.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=193}}

===Japanese colonists===
Japanese commoners started arriving in Taiwan in April 1896.{{sfn|Tai|2014|p=90}} Japanese migrants were encouraged to move to Taiwan but few did during the colony's early years. Concern that Japanese children born in Taiwan would not be able to understand Japan resulted in primary schools conducting trips to Japan in the 1910s. Japanese police officers were encouraged to learn the [[Southern Min|Minnan]] and [[Hakka language|Hakka]] languages. Police officers who passed language examinations received allowances and promotions.{{sfn|Matsuda|2019|p=103–104}} By the late 1930s, Japanese people made up about 5.4 percent of Taiwan's population but owned a disproportionate amount of high quality land (20–25 percent of cultivated land) as well as the majority of large land holdings. The government assisted them in acquiring land and coerced Chinese land owners to sell. Japanese sugar companies owned 8.2 percent of the arable land.{{sfn|Ye|2019|p=201}}

There were almost 350,000 Japanese civilians living in Taiwan by the end of [[World War II]].{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=115–117}} Offspring of intermarriage were considered Japanese if their Taiwanese mother chose Japanese citizenship or if their Taiwanese father did not apply for ROC citizenship.{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=122}} As many as half the Japanese who left Taiwan after 1945 were born in Taiwan.{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=115–117}} The Taiwanese seized or attempted to occupy property they believed were unfairly obtained in previous decades.{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=118}} Japanese assets were collected and the ROC government retained most of it for their use.{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=129}} [[Chen Yi (Kuomintang)|Chen Yi]], who was in charge of Taiwan, removed Japanese bureaucrats and police officers from their posts. A survey found that 180,000 Japanese civilians wished to leave for Japan while 140,000 wished to stay.{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=119}} From February to May, the vast majority of Japanese left Taiwan for Japan.{{sfn|Dawley|2015|p=120–122}}

===Industrialization===
[[Image:Bank of Taiwan Head Office Building 1940.jpg|thumb|Bank of Taiwan established in 1897 headquartered in Taihoku (Taipei).]]

Under the colonial government, Taiwan was introduced to a unified system of weights and measures, a centralized bank, education facilities to increase skilled labor, farmers' associations, and other institutions. Transportation and communications systems as well as facilities for travel between Japan and Taiwan were developed. Construction of large scale irrigation facilities and power plants followed. Agricultural development was the goal of colonial projects and the objective was for Taiwan to provide Japan with food and raw materials. Fertilizer and production facilities were imported from Japan. Textile and paper industries were developed near the end of Japanese rule for self-sufficiency. All modern and large enterprises were owned by the Japanese.{{sfn|Shih|1968|p=115–116}}

The [[Rail transport in Taiwan|Taiwan rail system]] connecting the south and the north and the Kīrun and Takao ports were completed to facilitate transport and shipping of raw material and agricultural products.{{sfnp|Takekoshi|1907}} Exports increased fourfold. Fifty-five percent of agricultural land was covered by dam-supported [[irrigation]] systems. Food production increased fourfold and [[Sugarcane|sugar cane]] production increased 15-fold between 1895 and 1925. Taiwan became a major foodbasket serving Japan's economy. A health care system was established. The average lifespan for a Taiwanese resident was 60 years by 1945.{{sfnp|Kerr|1966}}

Taiwan's real GDP per capita peaked in 1942 at $1,522 and declined to $693 by 1944.{{sfn|Hsiao|2017|p=197}} Wartime bombing caused significant damage to cities and harbors. The railways and factories were either badly damaged or destroyed.{{sfn|Shih|1968|p=116}} Only 40 percent of the railroads were usable and over 200 factories were bombed. Of Taiwan's four electrical power plants, three were destroyed.{{sfn|Kuo|1995|p=54}} Damage to agriculture was relatively contained but most developments came to a halt and irrigation facilities were abandoned. Since all key positions were held by Japanese, their departure left Taiwan with a severe lack of trained personnel. Inflation was rampant as a result of the war.{{sfn|Shih|1968|p=116}} Taiwan's standards of living did not recover until the 1960s.{{sfn|Hsiao|2017|p=195}}

{{wide image|File:1934 Showa 9 Panoramaic Map of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria - Geographicus - Railguide2-japan-1934-verso reflipped.jpg|1000px|Panoramic map of the [[Empire of Japan]] including Taiwan, Korea, and Manchukuo, 1934.}}

===World War II===
{{see also|Taiwan Army of Japan|Taiwanese Imperial Japan Serviceman}}
[[File:Takasago Volunteer Corps.JPG|thumb|[[Takasago Volunteers]] in October 1944]]
[[File:歷史不容抹滅日本政府道歉, Taipei, 2018年8月14日, video of sit-in protest outside the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association 台日交流協, a bit after 10AM.webm|thumb|Protest outside the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association with banner text: "Comfort women never be forgotten", 14 August 2018]]
As Japan embarked on [[Japanese invasion of China|full-scale war with China]] in 1937, it began expanding Taiwan's industrial capacity to manufacture war material. The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] operated heavily out of Taiwan. The "[[The Japanese Navy Taiwan and South Pacific Mandate political project|South Strike Group]]" was based out of the [[Taihoku Imperial University]]. Taiwan was used as a launchpad for the invasion of Guangdong in late 1938 and for the occupation of [[Hainan]] in February 1939. A joint planning and logistical center was established in Taiwan to assist Japan's southward advance after the [[bombing of Pearl Harbor]].{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=235}} Taiwan served as a base for Japanese naval and air attacks on [[Luzon]] until the surrender of the [[Philippines]] in May 1942. It served as a rear staging ground for attacks on [[Myanmar]]. As the war turned against Japan in 1943, Taiwan suffered due to Allied submarine attacks on Japanese shipping. In the latter part of 1944, Taiwan was bombed in U.S. air raids.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=235–236}} An estimated 16,000–30,000 civilians were killed.<ref name="Hsiao">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_E5GDwAAQBAJ&dq=taiwan+economy+1945+bombing&pg=PA197 | isbn=9781783086887 | title=Economic Development of Emerging East Asia: Catching up of Taiwan and South Korea | date=27 September 2017 | publisher=Anthem Press }}</ref> By 1945, Taiwan was isolated from Japan.{{sfn|Rubinstein|1999|p=235–236}}

Starting in July 1937, Taiwanese began to play a [[Taiwanese Imperial Japan Serviceman|role on the battlefield]], initially in noncombatant positions. Taiwanese people were not recruited for combat until late in the war. In 1942, the Special Volunteer System was implemented, allowing even aborigines to be recruited as part of the [[Takasago Volunteers]].  From 1937 to 1945, over 207,000 Taiwanese were employed by the Japanese military. Roughly 50,000 went missing in action or died, another 2,000 were disabled, 21 were executed for war crimes, and 147 were sentenced to imprisonment for two or three years.{{sfn|Chen|2001|p=182}} Some Taiwanese ex-Japanese soldiers claim they were coerced and did not choose to join the army.{{sfn|Chen|2001|p=183–184}} Racial discrimination was commonplace despite rare occasions of camaraderie. After Japan's surrender, the Taiwanese ex-Japanese soldiers were abandoned by Japan and no transportation back to Taiwan or Japan was provided. Many of them faced difficulties in mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan. An organization of Taiwanese ex-Japanese soldiers tried to get the Japanese government to pay their unpaid wages several decades later. They failed.{{sfn|Chen|2001|p=192–195}}

Between 1,000 and 2,000 Taiwanese women were part of the [[comfort women]] system. Aboriginal women served Japanese military personnel in the mountainous region of Taiwan. They were first recruited as housecleaning and laundry workers for soldiers, then they were coerced into providing sex. They were gang-raped and served as comfort women in the evening hours. Han Taiwanese women from low income families were also part of the comfort women system. Some were pressured into it by financial reasons while others were sold by their families.{{sfn|Ward|2018|p=2–4}} However some women from well to do families also ended up as comfort women.<ref name = "origins"/> More than half were minors with some as young as 14. Very few women who were sent overseas understood what the true purpose of their journey was.{{sfn|Ward|2018|p=2–4}} Some of the women believed they would be serving as nurses. Taiwanese women were told to provide sexual services to the Japanese military "in the name of patriotism to the country."<ref name="origins">{{cite web | url=https://www.e-ir.info/2018/12/14/the-origins-and-implementation-of-the-comfort-women-system/ | title=The Origins and Implementation of the Comfort Women System | date=14 December 2018 }}</ref> By 1940, brothels were set up in Taiwan to service Japanese males.{{sfn|Ward|2018|p=2–4}}

===End of Japanese rule===
{{main|Political Status of Taiwan}}
[[File:Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chiang,Kai Shek, and Churchill in Cairo, Egypt - NARA - 196609.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Generalissimo [[Chiang Kai-shek]], President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] met at the Cairo Conference in Cairo, 25 November 1943.]]
In 1942, after the United States entered the war against Japan and on the side of China, the Chinese government under the [[Kuomintang]] renounced all treaties signed with Japan and made Taiwan's return to China one of the wartime objectives. In the [[1943 Cairo Declaration|Cairo Declaration]] of 1943, the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Powers]] declared the return of [[Taiwan (island)|Taiwan]] (including the [[Pescadores]]) to the Republic of China. The Cairo Declaration was never signed and is not legally binding. In 1945, Japan surrendered with the signing of the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|instrument of surrender]] and ended its rule in Taiwan. The territory was put under the administration of the ROC in 1945 by the [[United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration]].<ref name="unhcr.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,TWN,,4954ce6323,0.html |title=UNHCR &#124; Refworld &#124; World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Taiwan: Overview |access-date=2010-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728144641/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,TWN,,4954ce6323,0.html |archive-date=2011-07-28 }} UNHCR</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2013/06/09/2003564336
|title=CIA report shows Taiwan concerns
|work=Taipei Times |date=9 Jun 2013 |page=1 |last=Lowther |first=William
|quote=[Quoting from a declassified CIA report on Taiwan written in March 1949] From the legal standpoint, Taiwan is not part of the Republic of China. Pending a Japanese peace treaty, the island remains occupied territory in which the US has proprietary interests.
|access-date=2015-09-28}}</ref> Japanese forces in China and Taiwan surrendered to [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and on 25 October 1945, Governor-General [[Rikichi Andō]] handed over the administration of Taiwan and Penghu to  [[Chen Yi (Kuomintang)|Chen Yi]].{{sfn|Tsai|2009|p=173}}<ref name ="Henckaerts1996"/> On 26 October, the government of the Republic of China declared that Taiwan had become a province of China, however the Allied Powers did not recognize this unilateral declaration.<ref name="Henckaerts1996c">{{cite book|last=Henckaerts|first=Jean-Marie|title=The international status of Taiwan in the new world order: legal and political considerations|year=1996|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=90-411-0929-3|page=337|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9kuVIayxDoC&q=cairo+declaration&pg=PA7|quote = p4. "On October 25, 1945, the government of the Republic of China took over Taiwan and the P'eng-hu Islands from the Japanese and on the next day announced that Taiwan had become a province of China."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | author = [[CIA]] | title = Probable Developments in Taiwan | url = http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/89801/DOC_0000258551.pdf | date = 1949-03-14 | pages = 1–3 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141222073143/http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/89801/DOC_0000258551.pdf | archive-date = 2014-12-22 | access-date = 2015-03-08 | url-status = live | language = en | quote = From the legal standpoint, Taiwan is not part of the Republic of China. Pending a Japanese peace treaty, the island remains occupied territory......neither the US, or any other power, has formally recognized the annexation by China of Taiwan......}}</ref>

In accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of the [[San Francisco Peace Treaty]], the Japanese formally renounced the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu islands.<ref name="unhcr.org"/> The Republic of China and Japan signed the [[Treaty of Taipei]] on April 28, 1952, which some consider to be legal support for the ROC's claim to Taiwan as "de jure" territory. The treaty states that all treaties, conventions, and agreements between China and Japan prior to 9 December 1941 were null and void. This is supported by Japanese court decisions such as in 1956 stating that Taiwan and the Penghu islands came to belong to the ROC on the date the Treaty of Taipei came into force.<ref name="Henckaerts1996">{{cite book|last=Henckaerts|first=Jean-Marie|title=The international status of Taiwan in the new world order: legal and political considerations|year=1996|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=90-411-0929-3|page=337|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9kuVIayxDoC&q=Formosa+and+the+Pescadores+came+to+belong+to+the+Republic+of+China+1956&pg=PA7|quote = p7. "In any case, there appears to be strong legal ground to support the view that since the entry into force of the 1952 ROC-Japan bilateral peace treaty, Taiwan has become the ''de jure'' territory of the ROC. This interpretation of the legal status of Taiwan is confirmed by several Japanese court decisions. For instance, in the case of ''Japan v. Lai Chin Jung'', decided by the Tokyo High Court on December 24, 1956, it was stated that 'Formosa and the Pescadores came to belong to the Republic of China, at any rate on August 5, 1952, when the [Peace] Treaty between Japan and the Republic of China came into force…'" <br />p8. "the principles of prescription and occupation that may justify the ROC's claim to Taiwan certainly are not applicable to the PRC because the application of these two principles to the Taiwan situation presupposes the validity of the two peace treaties by which Japan renounce its claim to Taiwan and thus makes the island ''terra nullius''." }}</ref> The official position of the [[Government of Japan]] is that Japan did not in the Treaty of Taipei express that Taiwan and Penghu belong to the ROC,<ref>{{lang|ja|[http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/038/0082/03802020082002a.html 衆議院会議録情報 第038回国会 外務委員会 第2号]. 2 February 1961. p. 23.}} (in Japanese) {{lang|ja|"従って日華条約によりまして日本が台湾及び澎湖島を中華民国に帰属せしめたという意思表示はしていないのでございます。"}}</ref> that the Treaty of Taipei could not make any disposition which is in violation of Japan's renouncing Taiwan and Penghu in the San Francisco Peace Treaty,<ref>{{lang|ja|[http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/046/0514/04602290514017a.html 衆議院会議録情報 第046回国会 予算委員会 第17号]. 2 February 1964. p. 24.}} (in Japanese) {{lang|ja|"日華条約におきましても、これを、サンフランシスコできめた、日本が放棄したということに反するようなことはできないのであります。"}}</ref> and that the status of Taiwan and Penghu remain to be determined by the Allied Powers in the future.<ref>{{lang|ja|[http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/046/0082/04602060082001a.html 衆議院会議録情報 第046回国会 外務委員会 第1号]. 6 February 1964. p. 11.}} (in Japanese) {{lang|ja|"台湾の帰属の問題につきましては、御指摘のように、カイロ宣言では、中華民国に返させるというカイロ宣言の当事国の意思の表明がありました。これはポツダム宣言で確認されておりますが、最終的な領有権の問題については、日本の平和条約で、日本から放棄されるだけであって、将来の連合国間の決定にまかされておるというのが連合国の見解でございます。"}}</ref>

Some scholars argue that no post-World War II treaties ceded the territories to any specific state.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.taiwanbasic.com/lawjrn/res-cs2.htm
|title=Resolving Cross-Strait Relations Between China and Taiwan
|author=Jonathan I. Charney and J. R. V. Prescott
|publisher=American Journal of International Law, July 2000
|access-date=2011-01-30}}</ref> According to Taiwan Civil Society, the [[1943 Cairo Declaration|Cairo Declaration]] that had as one of its main clauses the restoration of territories taken from the Chinese by Japan to the Republic of China (Manchuria, Formosa, Pescadores), was not a binding declaration.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.civil-taiwan.org/japansurr.htm
|title=The Japanese Act of Surrender
|publisher=Taiwan Documents Project
|year=2002
|access-date=2010-09-01
}}</ref> The Cairo Declaration was considered outdated by  [[Winston Churchill]] in 1952, who denied that Taiwan was under Chinese sovereignty or that the Chinese Nationalists represented China and that they only occupied Taiwan militarily. It was not recognized by [[Anthony Eden]] in 1955, who said there was a difference of opinion on which Chinese authority to hand it over to.<ref name="Henckaerts1996"/><ref>{{Citation
|url=http://www.taiwanbasic.com/hansard/uk/uk1955as.htm
|title=UK Parliament
|date=4 May 1955
|access-date=2010-02-27}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
|url=https://www.taiwanbasic.com/hansard/uk/uk1955aq.htm
|title=There was no transfer of the sovereignty of Taiwan to China in 1945. 
|date=February 7, 1955 
|access-date=2022-09-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |given=Drew |surname=Middleton |title=Cairo Formosa Declaration Out of Date, Says Churchill |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 February 1955 |page=1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/02/02/archives/cairo-formosa-declaration-out-of-date-says-churchill-churchill.html |access-date=14 April 2021}}</ref> In 1954 and 1960, the United States denied that the issue of sovereignty over Taiwan and the Penghu islands had been settled, although it accepted that they were under ROC control, the exercise of Chinese authority over Taiwan, and that the ROC was the legal government of China.<ref name="Henckaerts1996b">{{cite book|last=Henckaerts|first=Jean-Marie|title=The international status of Taiwan in the new world order: legal and political considerations|year=1996|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=90-411-0929-3|page=337|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9kuVIayxDoC&q=effectively+controls&pg=PA7|quote = p5. "The United States position on the status of Taiwan is, as stated by the late Secretary of State Dulles in a press conference held on December 1, 1954, "that technical sovereignty over Formosa [Taiwan] and the Pescadores has never been settled" and that "the future title is not determined by the Japanese peace treaty, nor is it determined by the peace treaty which was concluded between the Republic of China and Japan. On the other hand, the United States also recognizes that the Republic of China "effectively controls" Taiwan and the Pescadores."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite periodical | author = [[Department of State]] |title=News Conference Statements: Purpose of treaty with Republic of China |periodical=Department of State Bulletin |volume=XXXI |issue=807 | page = [https://archive.org/stream/departmentofstat311954unit_0#page/896/mode/2up 896] | publisher = [[United States Government Printing Office]] | location = [[Washington, D.C.]] | date =December 13, 1954 | language = en | quote = The legal position is different, as I think I pointed out in my last press conference, by virtue of the fact that technical sovereignty over Formosa and the Pescadores has never been settled. That is because the Japanese peace treaty merely involves a renunciation by Japan of its right and title to these island. But the future title is not determined by the Japanese peace treaty, nor is it determined by the peace treaty which was concluded between the Republic of China and Japan. Therefore, the juridical status of these islands, Formosa and the Pescadores, is different from the juridical status of the offshore islands which have always been Chinese territory.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = William P. Rogers, Attorney General of the United States, Appellant v. Cheng Fu Sheng and Lin Fu Mei, Appellees, 280 F.2d 663 (D.C. Cir. 1960) | url = https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/280/663/263772/ | date = 1960 | quote = But in the view of our State Department, no agreement has 'purported to transfer the sovereignty of Formosa to (the Republic of) China. At the present time, we accept the exercise of Chinese authority over Formosa, and recognize the Government of the Republic of China (the Nationalist Government) as the legal Government of China.}}</ref>

Scholars and politicians have argued over the international status of Taiwan based on the [[Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan]], with talking points revolving around [[President Truman]]'s statement on the status of Taiwan in 1950, lack of specificity on the transfer of Taiwan in the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, and the absence of explicit provisions on the return of Taiwan to China in the 1952 Treaty of Taipei. The Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan is supported by some politicians and jurists to this day, such as the [[Government of the United States]] and the Japanese diplomatic circle.<ref name = "Henckaerts undecided view">{{cite book|last=Henckaerts|first=Jean-Marie|title=The international status of Taiwan in the new world order: legal and political considerations|year=1996|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=90-411-0929-3|page=337|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9kuVIayxDoC&dq=A+minor+issue+pertains+to+whether+the+ROC+controls+Taiwan&pg=PA95|quote = p95. "A minor issue pertains to whether the ROC controls Taiwan. A minority of scholars of scholars and politicians argue that the international status of Taiwan remains ''undecided''... That Taiwan's status is still undetermined is a peculiar argument to forestall PRC's claim over Taiwan. However, it is also an insignificant one, since the ROC can still ascertain its control over Taiwan through the principle of effective control and occupation (for a long period of time)."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | author = Shirley A. Kan | author2 = Wayne M. Morrison | title = U.S.-Taiwan Relationship: Overview of Policy Issues | url = http://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41952.pdf | publisher = [[Congressional Research Service]] | location = [[Washington, D.C.]] | date = 11 December 2014 | page = 4 | quote = The United States has its own "one China" policy (vs. the PRC's "one China" principle) and position on Taiwan's status. Not recognizing the PRC's claim over Taiwan nor Taiwan as a sovereign state, U.S. policy has considered Taiwan's status as unsettled.}}</ref><ref name="日本外交界常識">{{cite news | author=曾韋禎 | script-title = zh:台灣主權未定論 許世楷：日本外交界常識 | trans-title = [[Koh Se-kai]]: Theory of the Undetermined Sovereignty of Taiwan Is a General Knowledge in the Japanese Diplomatic Circle | url = http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/focus/paper/300420 | newspaper = [[Liberty Times]] | location = [[Taipei]] | date = 3 May 2009 | access-date = 24 January 2015 | language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | author = 林良昇 | script-title = zh:國際法觀點 學者：台灣被中華民國政府佔領70年 | trans-title = ⟨International Law Perspective⟩ Scholar: Taiwan Has Been Occupied by the Government of the Republic of China for 70 Years | url = http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/1485820 | newspaper = [[Liberty Times]] | location = [[Taipei]] | date = 24 October 2015 | access-date = 12 December 2015 | language=zh}}</ref>