Government-General of Taiwan

Organization and structure

Governor-General

The Governor-General of Taiwan (Japanese: 臺灣總督, Hepburn: Taiwan Sōtoku, Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân Chóng-tok) 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 (Japanese: 總務長官, Hepburn: Sōmu Chōkan, Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chóng-bū Tiúⁿ-koaⁿ), named Chief of Civil Affairs (Japanese: 民政長官, Hepburn: Minsei Chōkan, Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bîn-chèng Tiúⁿ-koaⁿ) 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 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 (then Chief of General Affairs) became a role similar to a head of Government.

At the end of Japanese rule, the Government-General has the following organs.

External Departments

There is a large number of external departments of the Government-General. Notable departments are

• Courts
  • Taiwan High Court and 5 District Courts (Taihoku, Shinchiku, Taichū, Tainan, Takao)
  • Taiwan High Prosecutors Office and 5 prosecutors offices in the district courts
• Department of Transportation
  • Railway Bureau
  • Communications Bureau (for postal and telecommunications)
• Monopoly Bureau (for opium, salt, camphor, liquor and tobacco)
• Port Bureau
  • Takao Port Authority
  • Kīrun Port Authority
• Higher Education
  • Taihoku Imperial University
  • Taihoku College of Commerce
  • Taihoku College of Technology
  • Taihoku College
  • Taichū College of Agriculture
  • Tainan College of Technology
• Imperial Taiwan Library
• Governmental Hospital
• Shintō shrines
  • Taiwan Grand Shrine

Local government

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.