Author: Extreme Warrior 40K
Link: https://www.zhihu.com/question/558217595/answer/3573714266
Source: Zhihu
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In 1950, the "direct election of local autonomy" was implemented in Taiwan, which was a dictatorial decision made by Chiang Kai-shek to suppress dissenting voices. As for the reason, it may be that Chiang Kai-shek wanted to show his commitment to democratic reforms in order to seek economic and military assistance from the United States.
During World War II, Taiwan was a servant of the Axis Powers, the Empire of Japan. Under the fifty years of colonial rule, the suzerain country was a fascist regime of military expansion, not a democratic country like the United Kingdom. As a servant of the Axis Powers during World War II, did the Japanese authorities really intend to bring democracy, elections, and happiness to the millions of Chinese people in Taiwan? You can ask the Japanese themselves, even they don't believe it. Why do some people think that a fascist regime would support democracy and grant citizens the right to vote and be elected?
After World War II, the Kuomintang government took over Taiwan's sovereignty and carried out the so-called "suppression of remnants of the servant army" against the local people in Taiwan. Similar suppression actions against servant armies and supporters of the Third Reich took place in Europe after World War II, except for Spain. According to statistics, the number of deaths reached millions, and of course, there were also many wrongful convictions.
Some Minnan and Hakka people in Taiwan criticize the post-war suppression actions, but they are just trying to cover up their own dark history: they were once servants of the Empire of Japan. After World War II, the ruling power in Taiwan was the enemy of the servant army (the Kuomintang, which was an ally of the Allied Forces during World War II), not like Burma or Indonesia, where the servant army controlled the post-war national government.
Taiwan's current democracy and economic achievements have nothing to do with Japanese colonial rule. Assuming that Taiwan was never ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan could still achieve its current achievements and democracy. The fifty years of colonial rule may have improved Taiwan's industrial level to some extent in the first half of the 20th century and reduced illiteracy rates by a small margin.
The surviving servants of the Axis Powers in Taiwan and some of their descendants hate this scene in the picture.
Moon Jae-in as a dividing line
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek led the Kuomintang government to retreat to Taiwan, facing internal and external troubles. The party was in decline, and the local economy in Taiwan suffered from inflation, production decline, soaring prices, and foreign exchange shortages. At this critical moment, Chiang Kai-shek actively promoted the reform and reconstruction of the Kuomintang, land reform, and direct election of local autonomy. Taiwan thus laid the foundation for modernization and became one of the four Asian Tigers.
Looking back at this history with today's perspective, it is still incredible and thrilling. We can't help but wonder: how did the Kuomintang overcome the difficulties and transition from a planned economy to a market economy in Taiwan? After the disastrous defeat on the mainland, where did the Kuomintang find the courage to hold direct elections in Taiwan? As for the modernization process of Taiwan, what reflections should we have?
From 1949 to 1953, it was a crucial period for Taiwan's development.
A large number of officials, military personnel, dependents, and civilians from the Nationalist government flooded into Taiwan. At that time, Taiwan had a population of just over 5 million, and suddenly there was an increase of more than 2 million people. The situation in Taiwan at that time was very miserable.
What's worse, the entire agricultural and industrial production in Taiwan was stagnant because more than 72% of the industries were controlled by a planned economy, which means that the majority of people's economic life was controlled by a planned economy. Many people thought that Taiwan had always been a market economy, but that was not the case. In 1949, Taiwan was a complete planned economy. It took the Kuomintang ten years to transition from a planned economy to a market economy.
The second thing Chiang Kai-shek did was local autonomy. Regarding local autonomy in Taiwan, based on some archives and oral history that I have done, I was shocked. In 1950, Chiang Kai-shek was determined to implement local autonomy. In January 1950, the major event list only had four words: "local autonomy." He hoped to implement direct elections for provincial councilors, county and city mayors in Taiwan. After he proposed this, there was immediate opposition within the party, including those around him. The reasons for opposition were, first, in early 1950, Taiwan was still in a precarious situation and was not stable enough to talk about local autonomy and elections. Second, the local people in Taiwan accounted for 85% of the population, while those who came from the mainland accounted for about 13%. If direct elections were held, most of the power would be taken away by the 85% of the people, and the Kuomintang would lose control in Taiwan. The entire Taiwan would be controlled by the local people, and the Kuomintang would have no place to stand.
But Chiang Kai-shek insisted. At that time, Ruan Yicheng was in charge of local autonomy in Taiwan. His son, Ruan Daren, told me in person that despite opposition within the party, Chiang Kai-shek overcame all difficulties and implemented local autonomy. First, the Taiwan Provincial Local Autonomy Research Association was established to study and plan. At the same time, to cooperate with local autonomy, the Reconstruction Committee passed a resolution in September 1950, transferring the management and taxation of tobacco, alcohol, and forestry to the local government. This gave the local government a source of revenue.
Don't forget, what was Taiwan like in 1950? In such an environment, on July 2, 1950, the first county and city councilor elections in Taiwan were held. The Kuomintang was cautious and did not hold a one-time election. Instead, it was conducted in phases and in six periods. Hualien County was the first to hold elections, and the pilot was successful. It was then expanded to Pingtung County, Kaohsiung County, Kaohsiung City, Tainan County, Tainan City, Taichung City, Changhua County, Chiayi County, and so on.
Then the elections for county and city mayors were held, and the positions of local leaders were more important than county councilors. The Kuomintang divided the elections into eight periods, with two or three counties and cities in each period, as it was easier to control. This was also successfully completed. Then came the election of the Taiwan Provincial Council, which was also successfully completed. The entire process of local autonomy was completed within two years. At the same time, grassroots village chiefs, district chiefs, town chiefs, village chiefs, and neighborhood chiefs were also directly elected by the people.
I only read this story in Chiang Kai-shek's diary three months ago: during the first elected county and city mayor elections in Taiwan in December 1950, there was fierce competition for the mayor of Taichung City between independent candidate Yang Jixian and Kuomintang candidate Lin Jinbiao. Another non-Kuomintang candidate, Liao Chaozhou, was also competing for the mayor's position. Liao Chaozhou was not significant, and the main competition was between Yang Jixian and Lin Jinbiao. Yang Jixian was a influential figure in the local gentry, and he inevitably criticized the Kuomintang during the competition. Chiang Kai-shek closely monitored his words and actions. Yang's momentum looked good, and he was about to win the election. Chiang Kai-shek couldn't help it anymore. On December 27, he called the provincial chairman Wu Guozhen and asked Wu to tell Yang Jixian to withdraw from the election voluntarily. As a result, Wu Guozhen reported that the other party agreed to withdraw and had a "good attitude." Now Chiang Kai-shek felt embarrassed. He felt uneasy and thought that his interference in the election was "improperly handled." After considering it for three days, on December 30, 1950, he decided to proceed according to the law without interference, even if the Kuomintang candidate failed, he would have "no regrets." After telling Wu Guozhen about this decision, he felt "very happy." After Wu Guozhen called Yang Jixian, Yang gladly accepted. In the end, the Kuomintang failed, and the first mayor of Taichung City was a non-Kuomintang member. I asked many friends, and they didn't know. They thought that when the Kuomintang went to Taiwan, with such a huge party-political-military force, they must have controlled this and that. But they didn't expect that the first mayor of Taichung City was not a member of the Kuomintang!
Finally, the mayor of Taipei, which was particularly important. Unfortunately, there was a more influential person named Wu Sanlian, whose family is now the Uni-President Group. They had more influence than Yang Jixian. Various ideas within the Kuomintang came out, asking him to withdraw from the election or postpone the election, but in the end, Chiang Kai-shek decided not to interfere in the election. Wu Sanlian was eventually elected with the highest number of votes. Therefore, the first mayor of Taipei was also not a member of the Kuomintang. After seeing this, I felt emotional. I believe that Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, and other Kuomintang leaders at that time did not understand elections. They only knew that they wanted democracy but did not know how to implement it. They were learning and practicing in the struggle.
Taiwan's total population over the years.