On April 17th, 1895, the corrupt and incompetent Qing Dynasty government was forced to sign the ‘Treaty of Shimonoseki’ with Imperial Japan – ceding the ‘Chinese’ sovereignty of Taiwan and its affiliated islands, (including the Penghu Islands and other places) to the direct political, military and cultural control of Imperial Japan! The Treaty of Shimonoseki represents an extremely painful attack upon China’s sovereignty – perhaps the worst of its type suffered in modern times. The treasured island that people on both sides of the strait worked hard to develop for generations was destroyed. Since 1895, China’s ‘treasure island’ of Taiwan embarked upon fifty-years of tragic Japanese colonial rule!
“If a single individual can die for their country, there should be no regret!”
As soon as the news of the enforced loss of Taiwan spread, the whole of Chinese population was shocked, the government and the opposition were indignant, and a vigorous anti-imperialist struggle was quickly established throughout every stratum of Taiwanese (Chinese) society! The reaction of the Taiwanese (Chinese) people was particularly strong and vigorous! People ran from one village to the next spreading the news, others banged the gongs and stopped the market, crowded into the Residents of Officials, protested the traitorous behaviour of the Qing Court, and were determined to fight to the death to protect Taiwan! On April 18th, the second day after the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki – Taiwanese (Chinese) freedom-fighter Qiu Fengjia (丘逢甲) cut his finger and wrote in blood, ‘Rejecting the Japanese to defend the land!’, and specially wrote to the Qing government to abolish the treaty to fight against Japan!
In the case that the letter was ignored – on May 25th, Qiu Fengjia and (Qing) Taiwan Governor Tang Jingsong (唐景崧) – formed a Taiwan (Chinese) Rebel Army! Tang Jingsong was in Taipei, the leader of the Black Flag (黑旗 – Hei Qi) Army, whilst the patriotic General of the Qing Army Liu Yongfu (刘永福) was stationed in Tainan – with Qiu Fengjia positioned in the centre – all ready to fight against the Imperial Japanese invaders! Due to hasty organization and a lack of appropriate training and supplies, however, on June 7th, the Imperial Japanese Army captured Taipei, and Qiu Fengjia’s Rebel Army was forced to retreat after suffering terrible casualties! On June 17th, the Imperial Japanese Army – Commander Kabayama Sukenori announced the establishment of an Imperial Japanese colonial regime in Taipei, announcing that Taiwan (and the Penghu Islands) was now ‘incorporated into the territory of Greater Japan’ – subject to the rule of the Imperial Japanese Army, its Martial Law (and Punishment) – with this day known forever as ‘Government Day’!
Although the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Taipei; the resistance struggle of the Taiwanese (Chinese) people was more fiercely intensified throughout Taiwan as the militant Hakka (Chinese) clans became directly involved – often fighting to the last man, woman and child, whilst inflicting heavy losses upon the invading Imperial Japanese Army! The Hakka clans possessed an almost ‘mystical’ belief in the power of their ancient martial arts systems and stories abounded amongst the young Japanese soldiers who started to fear encountering them! Military and civilians all over the country organized all kinds of fighting units to resist the Japanese invasion! In Hsinchu – the gateway to Taichung – the Taiwanese (Chinese) freedom-fighters and the Imperial Japanese Army continued to fight for more than a month! They fought more than 20 battles whereby the defenders killed nearly 1,000 Japanese enemies! In the end, because of the lack of weapons, medical care and food, Hsinchu fell. The Japanese Imperial Army, which continued to move South to occupy the whole of Taiwan – encountered incredible and brave resistance from Taiwanese (Chinese) freedom-fighters comprised of military units made-up of many different clan name associations and different Chinese ethnic groups – who all followed the example of the Hakka clans and put (internal) historical differences aside, to physically attack the invading Japanese! At the end of August, the Taiwanese (Chinese) defenders had inflicted more than 2,000 casualties to the Japanese troops! At that time, a Japanese aggressor lamented: ‘I thought that Taiwan was no more than a palm-sized land, and could be wiped out with a single trip, but it turned out that it was wrong to believe this conclusion.’
The resistance of the small Taiwanese (Chinese) military and spirited civilians made the Japanese Imperial Army fall into a stagnant quagmire where it could not advance or retreat without suffering more casualties! This led to the Japanese government having to send military reinforcements – a situation the Japanese military had not anticipated. In mid-September, the Japanese army successfully mobilized more than 70,000 people and attacked in a large-scale attack at Chiayi – an important town in Tainan. The Taiwanese (Chinese) freedom-fighters fought bravely, outnumbered ten to one, and went on the attack without flinching! Quite often, the local Hakka (Chinese) clans led the way – preferring to suffer 100% casualties in the defence of their ancestral lands – than surrender to the Japanese invaders! As a consequence, the outcome of the battle was extremely tragic. The leader of the Anti-Japanese Taiwanese (Chinese) Freedom-Fighting Army – Xu Xiangshen (徐骧身) – was seriously injured, but he forced himself to stand-up and shout: ‘If a single individual can die for their country, there should be no regret!’ This was a heroic sacrifice. On October 21st, the Japanese Imperial Army took advantage of the fact that the defenders had no food, medical care or anywhere left to retreat – and captured Tainan! The key Taiwanese (Chinese) defender Liu Yongfu (刘永福) was forced to board a ship and return to the Mainland China – and this action signalled the ‘end’ of the official Taiwanese (Chinese) Resistance to the invasion of the Japanese Imperial Army!
From June to October 1895, what was left of the Taiwanese (Chinese) military and civilian forces (led by the Hakka clans), fought on bravely – despite the occupying Japanese invaders beginning a terror campaign of mass-rape of women and girls (and sometimes against men and boys)! The Japanese Imperial Army also began mass public executions to act as ‘warnings’ to any ethnic Chinese people still planning on ‘resisting’ the Japanese Occupation! Under extremely difficult conditions, these Chinese warriors wrote an epic martial chapter of resisting Japan and protecting Taiwan! Therefore, the new Japanese Authorities ‘banned’ the practice of indigenous Chinese martial arts – which the Japanese viewed as the vehicle through which the ethnic Chinese ‘resisted’ their own subjugation, and which served to inspire the very sense of distinct ‘Chinese’ identity the Japanese colonial presence sought to destroy! The Japanese invaders paid a heavy price. Prince Nohisa Kitagawa and Nobucheng Yamane, Head of the Second Brigade, were both killed. Around 4,800 Japanese troops were killed, and nearly half of the Japanese troops involved suffered some type of wound. A Japanese soldier recorded: ‘Whenever our Army is defeated, or suffers a set-back, the nearby Chinese villagers will immediately attack us with their bare-hands and feet – or with whatever they can immediately pick-up from the environment around them. Everyone, even young women and children will take up arms and collectively run at us and fearlessly give battle whilst shouting their clan names! I am told that many of this type of Chinese are ‘Hak-Gar’ and are people from North China! These opponents are very tenacious and have no fear of death. Their martial arts look different from other Chinese people! They hide in shacks, and when one shack is destroyed by artillery fire, the survivors (some with terrible wounds) calmly move to another house, only to attack us again when they get the chance!’
‘The Governor’s order is the law.’
On November 18th, 1895, Commander Kabayama Sukenori reported to the Japanese Headquarters that the entire island of Taiwan was completely pacified. However, the struggle of the Taiwanese (Chinese) people to resist Japanese colonial rule had not stopped. In order to suppress the uprising in Taiwan and implement colonial rule, from 1895 to 1919, Japan sent seven military governors to carry out a brutal military campaign of dictatorship.
During March 1896, Japan placed Taiwan under the jurisdiction of Takuya Province and enacted the ‘Taiwan Governor’s Office Regulations’ and related regulations, stipulating a dictatorship system that ‘in Taiwan, the governor’s order is the law’. In order to cooperate with this system of governors, Japan established a Special Police system in Taiwan. A police network has been set up throughout Taiwan. There were Police Stations (a foreign concept) established in all states, departments, cities, counties and even streets. The police were mainly Japanese and are responsible for various government affairs. The Japanese police control and patrol every corner and aspect of Taiwanese (Chinese) society, becoming a nightmare that penetrated the daily life of Taiwanese (Chinese) people – reinforced by the executioners who directly massacred Taiwanese (Chinese) people. Since then, Taiwan become a terrifying ‘Police State’. Taking 1902 as an example, there were 10 departments, 97 branch offices, and 992 Police Stations in Taiwan. In the future, there were more than 1,500 police agencies of various types – employing more than 18,000 Police Officers! In the more economically developed areas of Taiwan, there was a police agency every two or three kilometres, and one police officer for every 300 Taiwanese (Chinese) people! Wherever the Japanese police went, they murdered, set fire, raped and looted. At that time, there was an idiom among Taiwanese (Chinese) people used to frighten children: ‘The adults are coming!’ The so-called ‘adults’ refer to the vicious Japanese police at that time.
In order to suppress the successive uprisings in Taiwan, Japan sent a large number of troops, military police and other special ‘enforcers’ to maintain order. In 1897, the Japanese Imperial Army implemented the ‘Three Stages of Guarding Law’, which divided the whole island into three zones: the ‘safety belt’ mainly referred to some big cities and large villages – with civilian police responsible for the security; The ‘danger zone’ was the area where the Anti-Japanese Freedom-Fighters were stationed – suppressed by the military, supplemented by a gendarmerie or armed police. The third zone comprised of ambiguous areas that were a mixture of partly safe and/or dangerous areas. This measure further strengthened the military rule of the Japanese colonists over the people of Taiwan.
In 1898, the Japanese colonial authorities implemented the ‘Protect Armour Regulations’, which set ‘Protect Armour’ concept to be a governing concept to be applied through police and military rule. It stipulated that 10 households equalled one ‘Armouring’ unit, and that 10 ’Armouring’ units equalled one ‘Protection’ division. For one ‘criminal’ act (which included the practicing of ‘Chinese’ martial arts), everyone in the same household would be punished. There were hundreds of cases of this kind of unreasonable legal oppression every year during the era of Japanese Occupation. In addition, the Japanese Imperial Army also organized a strong militia group, which was under the command and supervision of the police authorities and became the main body used by the Japanese army to kill any and all anti-Japanese rebels! By 1943, a total of 6,074 militia units had been established in Taiwan, employing 58,000 men tasked with controlling 500,000 households; In this way, the ‘Protect Armour’ system controlled and enslaved the people of Taiwan as a way of ‘taking Taiwan to control Taiwan’, and it became an important means for the Japanese colonists to rule Taiwan.
The strange phenomenon of ‘starvation through export’ appeared in Taiwan!
While establishing the colonial rule system, Japan did not stop frantically exploiting and plundering. Since 1895, the Japanese Colonial Authorities had successively promulgated a number of rules and regulations regarding land reform, occupying 94.15% of Taiwan’s mountains and forests and 75% of the farming land. Many farmers in Taiwan went bankrupt and were forced to flee.
After the Japanese Colonial Authorities forcibly occupied most of the land and forests in Taiwan, they brutally exploited the vast number of peasants. The colonists charged high land taxes to achieve their economic model of colonial rule of ‘agricultural Taiwan serves industrial Japan’, comprehensively transforming the traditional farming methods and production conditions in Taiwan, and continuously exporting a large amount of food to Japan. According to statistics, by 1934, Taiwan’s rice imports to Japan had reached 515,000 tons, accounting for about half of Taiwan’s total rice production that year. The plundered grain was exported to Japan, resulting in a serious shortage of grain in what had been the rich and fertile island of Taiwan. This cruel and ‘weird’ phenomenon has been called the ‘starvation through export’ theory in history.
In addition to food, Taiwan’s other rich products also became the target of Japanese plunder. The Japanese colonists monopolized the necessities of life such as salt, tobacco, wine, and matches, and also monopolized opium – banned in Japan – but which was used in Taiwan to poison the Taiwanese (Chinese) people. The Japanese colonial authorities first established the Taiwan Pharmaceutical Laboratory in March 1897 to monopolize opium. Then, in May and August 1899, the Taiwan Salt Office and the Taiwan Camphor Bureau were established successively to monopolize salt and camphor. Finally, in June 1901, the Monopoly Bureau was officially established in the Taiwan Governor’s Office, which was in charge of the monopoly of all commodities in the entire Taiwan region.
The economic plunder by Japanese colonists in Taiwan is especially typical within the sugar industry. A historian once said: ‘A history of Taiwan’s sugar industry is a history of Japanese colonization.’ Cane can only be sold to local Japanese-controlled sugar clubs. Through compulsory monopoly, more than 90% of Taiwan’s sugar was imported into Japan every year, and Taiwan’s sugar prices fell again and again, and Taiwan’s sugarcane farmers become nothing but slaves to the Japanese sugar capitalists.
Under Japan’s control, Japan’s economic management in Taiwan become a devil sucking the blood of the Chinese people, and Taiwan has become a raw material and processing base for Japanese militarism. This kind of plunder aroused the anger of the Taiwan (Chinese) compatriots, who rose-up yet again and continued the anti-Japanese struggle.
On December 13th, 1895, just 20 days after invading – Commander Kabayama Sukenori the first Japanese governor of Taiwan – announced that ‘the whole island was completely pacified’, Lin Dabei (林大北), the former Head of the Black Flag Army, led a new revolt in Yilan!
The uprising of Lin Dabei fought bravely against Imperial Japan using the ‘Three Anti-Japanese Fighters’ – aroused the resisting consciousness of Taiwan compatriots from all over the world. People all over the island gathered to respond, and gradually formed a number of anti-Japanese units dominated by Jian Dashi (简大狮) in the north, Ke Tie (柯铁) in the middle and Lin Shaomao (林少猫) in the south. These three people were called ‘Anti-Japanese Three Fierce Resisters’ at that time.
On December 31st, 1895, Jian Dashi united thousands of rebels from all walks of life to besiege Taipei. Although the city could not be taken due to poor weaponry, the first governor of Japan who colonized Taiwan saw Taiwan’s powerful resistance. Then, Jian Dashi led the rebel army to repeatedly inflict heavy damage on the Japanese Imperial Army in various places. In 1898, Jian Dashi was surrounded by Japanese invaders and retreated to Xiamen. The Qing government was weak and afraid, and even attempted to extradited Jian Dashi to Japan. In 1901, Jian Dashi died in a Taipei Prison.
The Central rebels, headed by Ke Tie, had been cleverly hiding in the Daping Mountain near Yunlin County. In June 1896, Ke Tie led various rebel forces to attack and recapture Yunlin, Lukang, Changhua and Chiayi. In February 1900, Ke Tie unfortunately passed away, and his units were defeated by the Japanese Imperial Army one by one.
Lin Shaomao’s rebel army in the South was mainly active in the Fengshan area of Tainan, and its whereabouts was erratic, constantly hitting the Japanese colonists in different places. In December 1898, Lin Shaomao gathered thousands of rebels to attack Chaozhou and fought the Japanese for three days and three nights. In 1902, Lin Shaomao was unfortunately deceived by the Japanese Occupation Authorities, and his forces scattered. Since then, the armed anti-Japanese struggle of the Taiwanese (Chinese) people has turned from large-scale uprisings to sporadic resistance.
Sporadic resistance gave the Japanese an opportunity. The Japanese Colonial Authorities mobilized troops and police to suppress the uprising and massacre the local Taiwanese (Chinese) at will, committing heinous crimes. For example, in the ‘Great Pingding Incident’ in 1896, 30,000 people in Taiwan were slaughtered; in the ‘Houbilin Massacre’ in 1901, 3,473 Taiwanese people were massacred; in 1902, over 30,000 Taiwanese people were slaughtered in the ‘Baobasu Incident’ Massacre; in the ‘Miaoli Incident’ in December 1913, more than 1,200 people were massacred. According to statistics by some scholars, during the period of Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, 600,000 people in Taiwan were murdered by Japanese invaders.
Using ‘biological principles’ to rule Taiwan.
As Japan’s tyranny strengthened – the sense of unity among the Taiwanese people increased! The Japanese Colonial Authorities had to face up to the strong and lasting national cohesion of the Chinese people. Goto Shinpei, the Chief Civil Affairs Officer of the Japanese Colonial Authorities, suggested to the Japanese Headquarters that the governance of Taiwan must be based on ‘biological principles’, and threatened to implement a ‘scientific colonial policy’ – forcing ethnic Chinese people to become ‘Japanese’ by abandoning their indigenous culture!
Under the influence of Goto Shinpei, Japan first dispatched seven military governors to pacify the uprisings across Taiwan by military dictatorship. In October 1919, the Japanese Colonial Authorities changed the military system to separate the ‘military’ and ‘civilian’ elements of government and sent 9 civilian governors tasked to perform a charm offensive! The Taiwanese (Chinese) people had to voluntarily agree to give-up their ethnic identity and pretend they were ‘Japanese’!
One of the policies of assimilation was the promotion of enslavement education. Japanese education became compulsory for all Taiwanese (Chinese) children! The Japanese Colonial Authorities set up ‘Public Schools’ and ‘National (Japanese) Language Training Centres” to teach Japanese language and culture. This included Japanese martial arts such as the brutal ‘Swordsmanship of Bushido’ (and later such as ‘Karate-Do’, ‘Judo’) – designed to instil the Japanese National Fighting Spirit. In the school, the Japanese colonial teachers publicly shouted: ‘It is absolutely forbidden to use Chinese language or practice Chinese martial arts and those who are dissatisfied will be deported to ’Zhina’ [支那] (Japan’s disparaging name for China).’ Banning Chinese language and martial culture and popularizing Japanese is the most venomous move in Japan’s aggressive assimilation policy!
On the other hand, enslavement education prevented Taiwanese (Chinese) people from receiving higher education. Chinese students were excluded from college and university – except in special circumstances. Under this kind of enslavement education, Taiwan basically cannot find a secondary education institution suitable for Taiwanese people. This kind of discrimination was unbearable even for Japanese domestic educators that had to enforce it, and they even wrote articles criticizing it. Under pressure, the first civilian governor, Kenjiro Tian, decided that Taiwanese children with good Japanese could enter a good middle school and study in the same school with Japanese students. The Japanese Colonial Authorities preached that there was no racial difference in Taiwan’s education. In fact, this did not fundamentally change the discrimination against Taiwanese people in colonial education. Taiwanese higher education is basically enjoyed by the Japanese, and except for the Medical College and the Tainan Higher Commercial School, all other higher education institutions hold examinations in Japan. In the era of Japanese occupation, Japanese students accounted for more than 80% of Imperial University (later Taiwan University) attendees, whilst Chinese students accounted for less than 20%. The teaching content is mainly based on the dissemination of colonialist culture, whilst the history, ideology and culture of China were all excluded, so as to remove the influence of Chinese national culture at its root.
In 1936, in order to cooperate with the Japanese Imperial Army’s full-scale invasion of China, the 17th governor, Kobayashi Jizao, who took office soon, began to carry out the ‘Imperialism Movement’. The concept of the Motherland was firmly instilled in the minds of Japanese subjects.
After the implementation of the ‘Imperialism Movement’, the Japanese Colonial Authorities in 1936, in order to cooperate with the Japanese Imperial Army’s full-scale invasion of China, the 17th governor, Kobayashi Jizao, who took office soon, began to carry out the ‘Imperialism Movement’. The concept of the Motherland was firmly instilled in the minds of Japanese subjects.
Taiwan as a strategic pawn for aggression against China!
With the deepening of the war of aggression against China, the Japanese colonists made Taiwan an important pawn on the strategic chessboard. In September 1942, the Japanese government established the ‘Greater East Asia Province’ to administer the newly occupied areas, and gather the territories occupied before the war, (such as Taiwan and Korea), under the jurisdiction of the “Ministry of the Interior” in an attempt to give the false impression that the Taiwan region of China was part of the Japanese homeland!
During the war, Japan successively built several airfields in Taiwan as outposts for bombing mainland China and the Pacific. The air power that the Japanese Imperial Army relied on to capture Nanjing and invade Southern China also came from bases in Taiwan.
In order to supplement the source of troops and military expenses, the Japanese Colonial Authorities forced the ‘Golden Service to the Country Movement’, issued ‘Tribute Public Bonds’ and ‘Serve the Country Bonds’, and went door-to-door to collect private gold (forcing the Taiwanese population to ‘fund’ their own subjugation and the war against China and the West)! In 1944 alone, the Japanese military expenses borne by Taiwan reached 150 million yuan! Around 35% of per capita income was used for Japanese military expenditure; on the other hand, the Japanese Colonial Authorities, in the name of the ‘Temporary Ministry of Labour’, forced a large number of Taiwanese (Chinese) labourers to work as soldiers, translators and nurses, etc. on battlefields such as Mainland China and Southeast Asia. Indeed, as the war progressed, the various revisions of the Military Service Law Forced Taiwan youth to participate in the war of aggression. According to statistics, more than 200,000 people were forcibly conscripted into the Army by the Japanese invaders, and more than 30,000 people died in battle.
Such colonial brutality by Japan made the people of Taiwan full of anger, and many patriots returned to the Mainland to do their part for the great cause of resistance against Japan; whilst others stayed and organized political parties on the island to carry out legal struggles and propaganda; some founded publications to agitate against colonial rule.
On August 15th, 1945, Japan announced its Unconditional Surrender. The people of Taiwan ran to tell each other, and they all cheered! The major cities in Taiwan were full of people, cheering and firecrackers resounding through the sky. Everyone is now waiting for the coming of the day of recovery when they will throw off the final shackles of foreign domination and return to the loving embrace of the Motherland!
Chinese Language Source:
https://www.lishibaike.net/page/14381.html
日本统治台湾50年干了些什么？
2020-07-08 10:55:35
1895年4月17日，腐败无能的清政府被迫与日本签署《马关条约》，把台湾岛及其所属岛屿、澎湖列岛等地的主权让与日本。《马关条约》是近代中国所受到的极为惨痛的一次宰割，两岸人民世世代代辛勤耕耘开发的宝岛一朝断送。从此，中国的宝岛台湾陷入日本的殖民统治长达半个世纪之久。
“大丈夫为国死，可无憾！”
割让的消息一传开，举国震惊，朝野上下群情激愤，迅速掀起轰轰烈烈的反割台斗争。台湾民众的反应尤为强烈，人们奔走，鸣锣罢市，拥入官署，抗议清廷卖国割台行径，决心誓死抗日保台。4月18日，《马关条约》签署的第二天，台湾爱国义士丘逢甲愤而割破手指血书“拒倭守土”，并特地上书清政府废约抗日。
在上书无效的情况下，5月25日，丘逢甲联合台湾巡抚唐景崧组建义军，唐景崧坐镇台北，黑旗军首领、清军爱国将领刘永福驻守台南，丘逢甲则居中，准备抗击日寇。但因组织仓促，6月7日，日军攻占台北，丘逢甲的义军宣告失败。6月17日，日军统帅桦山资纪在台北宣布建立殖民统治政权，宣布台湾及澎湖列岛“归入大日本版图”，并定此日为所谓的“始政日”。
虽然日军占领了台北； 台湾（中国）人民的反抗斗争更加激烈，因为激进的客家（中国）氏族直接参与其中，经常战斗到最后一个男人，女人和孩子，同时给入侵的日本帝国军造成了沉重的损失！ 客家人对自己的武系力量有着近乎“神秘”的信念！ 在台中门户新竹，台湾义军与日军持续作战一个多月，先后进行大小战斗20余次，歼敌近千名，最终因为军械不继，粮食断绝，新竹失陷。继续南下欲侵占整个台湾的日军，处处遇到台湾义军和民众的抵抗，8月底，有2000余日军毙命。当时，有侵略者哀叹道：“原以为台湾不过巴掌大小之地，以一旅之众即可一举歼灭，而结果证明，轻信这种结论是错误的。”
台湾军民的抵抗使日军陷入泥潭，日本政府不得不派兵增援。9月中旬，日军先后调集7万余人，倾巢进犯，大举进攻台南重镇嘉义。台湾义军奋勇抗击，以一当十，毫不退缩，战斗异常惨烈。抗日义军首领徐骧身负重伤，仍跃起高呼：“大丈夫为国死，可无憾!”壮烈牺牲。10月21日，日军趁守军内无粮饷、外无强援的情况下，攻陷台南，守将刘永福被迫登船退返大陆。至此，台湾人民抗击日本占领的有组织斗争告一段落。
从1895年6月到10月，不畏强暴的台湾军民前仆后继，奋勇杀敌，在极为艰难的条件下谱写了可歌可泣的抗日保台篇章。日本侵略者付出了惨重代价，北白川宫能久亲王和第二旅团长山根信诚被击毙，4800名日军被打死，近一半的日军被打伤。日方曾有记载：“不论何时，只要我军一被打败，附近村民便立刻变成我们的敌人。每个人，甚至年轻妇女都拿起武器来，一面呼喊着，一面投入战斗。我们的对手非常顽强，丝毫不怕死。他们隐藏在村舍里，当一所房子被炮火摧毁，他们就镇静地转移到另一所房子里去，等一有机会就发动进攻。
“总督命令即为法律”
1895年11月18日，桦山资纪向日本大本营报告，台湾全岛完全平定。然而，台湾人民反抗日本殖民统治的斗争却没有停息。为了镇压台湾起义，实施殖民统治，从1895年至1919年间，日本派出7任军人总督，进行残酷的军人专政。
1896年3月，日本将台湾划归拓殖省管辖，颁布《台湾总督府条例》及相关条例，规定“在台湾，总督命令即为法律”的独裁制度。为配合这种总督制度，日本在台湾又建立了特殊的警察制度，在台湾全岛布设警察网，州、厅、市、郡乃至街道都有警察部门，警察以日本人为主体，负责各类政务。警察遍及台湾社会的各个角落，成为伸入台湾民众日常生活的鬼魇和直接屠杀台湾民众的刽子手。从此，台湾成为名副其实的警察社会。以1902年为例，全台设有10个厅、97个支厅、992个派出所，以后最多时各类警察机构达到1500余处，警察1.8万余人。在台湾的经济发达地区，每隔两三公里就有一个警察机构，每300人就配有一名警察。日本警察所到之处，杀人放火，奸淫掳掠。当时，台湾民间吓唬小孩儿有一句惯用语：“大人来啦！”所谓“大人”就是指当时的凶恶的日本警察。
为镇压台湾此起彼伏的各地起义，日本派了大量军队、宪兵和警察维持秩序。1897年，日军实行“三段警备法”，将全岛分为三个地带：“安全带”主要指一些大城市和大村落，由警察负责治安；“不稳带”是义军经常出没的地区，由宪兵和警察协同警备；“危险带”是抗日义军驻守区域，由军队警备，辅以宪兵进行讨伐。这一措施进一步加强了日本殖民者对台湾人民的武力统治。
1898年，日本殖民当局又实施“保甲条例”，将保甲设为警察军事统治的辅助组织，规定10户一甲，10甲为一保，全保全甲内部连坐，只要一甲之内某户出现“犯罪”，同甲户的人都会受惩罚。这种毫无道理的连坐案件在日据时代年年都有数百例。另外，日军还组织壮丁团，接受警察当局指挥、监督，成为日军剿杀抗日义军的炮灰。到1943年，全台共设保6074个，设甲5.8万个，控制户数达50余万户；壮丁团团丁最高时达到13万多人。这样，保甲制度以一种“以台制台”的方式控制和奴役台湾民众，成为日本殖民者对台湾统治的重要手段。
台湾出现“饥饿输出”怪现象
在建立殖民统治制度的同时，日本没有停止疯狂的剥削和掠夺。从1895年开始，日殖民当局先后颁布了关于土地的若干条规则和条例，强占全台94.15%的山林原野和75%的土地，台湾许多农民破产，被迫逃亡。
日本殖民当局强占了台湾绝大部分土地和山林后，对广大农民进行了残酷的剥削。殖民者收取高额土地税，实现其“农业台湾，工业日本”的殖民统治的经济模式，全面改造台湾地区传统的耕作方法和生产条件，还将大量粮食源源不断地输往日本。据统计，到1934年，台湾输入日本的稻米已达51.5万吨，占台湾当年稻米生产总量的一半左右。粮食掠夺般地输往日本，造成物产丰富、土地肥沃的台湾岛内粮食严重缺乏，历史上称这种残酷而又“怪异”的现象为“饥饿输出”。
除了粮食，台湾其他丰富的物产也成了日本掠夺的目标。日本殖民者对食盐、烟、酒、火柴等生活必需品实行专卖，还把在日本国内禁止吸食的鸦片在台湾实行专卖，毒害台湾人民。日本殖民当局于1897年3月最先设立了台湾制药所，对鸦片实行专卖。接着又于1899年5月和8月先后设立了台湾盐务所和台湾樟脑局，对食盐和樟脑实行专卖。最终于1901年6月在台湾总督府内正式设立了专卖局，统一负责掌管整个台湾地区的全部商品的专卖事宜。
日本殖民者在台湾的经济掠夺尤以制糖业最为典型，曾有历史学家称：“一部台湾糖业史，就是一部日本殖民史。”日本殖民当局无理地规定，台湾蔗农生产的甘蔗只能卖给当地日本控制的制糖会社。通过强制性的垄断，每年90%以上的台湾糖输入日本，台湾的糖价也一跌再跌，台湾蔗农成为日本糖业资本家的奴隶。
在日本的控制之下，日本在台湾的经济管理部门成为吮吸中国人民膏血的魔鬼，台湾成了为日本军国主义服务的原料、加工基地。这种掠夺激起了台湾同胞的满腔怒火，他们纷纷揭竿而起，继续进行抗日斗争。
1895年12月13日，就在第一任日本殖民台湾的总督桦山资纪宣布“全岛完全平定”的二十几天后，黑旗军旧部林大北在宜兰起义，打响台湾沦陷后抗日的第一枪。
“抗日三猛”奋勇抗日
林大北的起义唤起了各地台胞的反抗意识。全岛民众云集响应，逐渐形成了以北部简大狮、中部柯铁和南部林少猫为主的多支抗日义军。此三人当时被称为“抗日三猛”。
1895年12月31日，简大狮联合各路义军数千人围攻台北，虽因武器简陋未能破城，但让日本殖民台湾的首任总督见识到台湾强大的反抗力量。接着，简大狮率义军，屡屡在各地重创日军，使日本占领当局寝食难安，将其视为眼中钉、肉中刺。1898年，简大狮遭日寇围剿退到厦门。清政府软弱怕事，竟引渡简大狮给日本。1901年，简大狮就义于台北监狱。
中部义军以柯铁为首，一直坚守在云林县附近的大坪山上。1896年6月，柯铁率领各部义军出击，收复云林、鹿港、彰化和嘉义等地。1900年2月，柯铁不幸病逝，余部被日军逐个击破。
南部林少猫的义军主要活动在台南凤山一带，行踪飘忽不定，不断给日本殖民者以打击。1898年12月，林少猫集合数千义军攻打潮州，与日军血战三天三夜，令日军闻风丧胆。1902年，林少猫不幸被日本占领当局骗杀，余部离散。此后，台湾人民的武装抗日斗争由大规模的起义开始转入零星的反抗。
零星的反抗给了日军可乘之机。日本殖民当局调集军队、警察开往各地镇压起义，随意屠杀当地台湾民众，犯了滔天罪行。比如，在1896年“大平顶事件”中，3万台湾民众被屠杀；在1901年“后壁林惨案”中，3473人被屠杀；在1902年“噍吧篍事件”中，3万余人被屠杀；在1913年12月“苗栗事件”中，1200余人被屠杀。有的学者统计，在日本殖民统治台湾期间，被日寇残杀的台湾民众达60万人。
用“生物学原则”统治台湾
日本施行暴政反而加强了台湾民众的团结意识，日本殖民当局不得不正视到中国人民的强大和持久的民族凝聚力。日本殖民当局民政长官后藤新平向日本大本营建议，治台必须建立在“生物学原则”基础上，扬言实行“科学的殖民政策”，既要镇压各地起义，建立统治机构，又要采取集中渐进的同化主义政策。
在后藤新平的影响下，日本先派出7任军人总督，以军人专政的方式平定台湾各地起义。1919年10月，日本殖民当局改军人体制为军政分立制，派出了9届文职总督实行同化政策，笼络台湾民众，企图达到永久霸占台湾的目的。
同化政策之一是推行奴化教育。一方面，在初等教育上推行普及日语的教育。日本殖民当局设立“公学校”和“国(日)语传习所”，专门教授日语，培训日本特色的文化内容，比如武士道的剑术等，灌输日本民族精神。在学校里，日本殖民当局公开叫嚣：“绝对禁止使用汉文，不满者滚回支那(日本对中国的鄙称)去。”禁止汉语、普及日语，是日本同化侵略中最毒辣的一招。
另一方面，奴化教育又防止台湾民众接受高等教育。从中等教育开始限制中国学生所学专业；高等教育更是明显。在这种奴化教育下，台湾基本上找不到一所适合台湾百姓的中等以上教育机构。这种歧视连日本国内教育家都无法忍受，纷纷撰文进行批评。迫于压力，第一任文官总督田健治郎决定，日语好的台湾儿童可以进入好的中学，并与日本学生同校学习。日本殖民当局以此鼓吹，台湾教育已经没有种族差别，实际上这并不能从根本上改变殖民教育对台湾百姓的歧视。台湾高等教育基本上由日本人享受，而且除了医学专门学校及台南高等商业学校外，其他一切高等学校都在日本国内举行考试。在日本霸占时代，帝国大学(后来的台湾大学)内日籍学生占80%以上，中国学生不到20%。教学内容更是以传播殖民主义文化为主，有关中国的历史、思想、文化均在排除之列，以从根上切除中华民族文化的影响。
1936年，为配合日军全面侵华，到任不久的第17任总督小林跻造，即开始推行“皇民化运动”，主要内容是，进行亲日思想宣传和精神动员，极力消除台湾民众的祖国观念，灌输大日本臣民思想。
在推行“皇民化运动”后，日本殖民当局进一步强制推行日语，设立3832处日语讲习所，连居住在山区的高山族人都必须使用日语。接着，日本当局又强迫中国人从生活习俗等各方面向日本方式看齐。日本殖民当局下令撤销春节等传统节日，烧毁台湾民间的诸家神灵，专设日本的天照大神，并且强令在10月27日都要祭祀；中小学则规定每月1、8、15日都要按时参拜神社。台湾家庭必须使用日本式的家庭用品，妇女必须穿和服；吃饭要吃日本料理；行礼要行日本90度的弯腰礼；结婚要在日本花嫁神前结婚；葬礼要采用大和安葬式。为挖掉台湾民众身上的中国根，日本殖民当局后来还禁止中国人使用中国名字，仅在1941年，被迫改名的台湾民众就有7万多人。
把台湾作为侵华的战略棋子
随着侵华战争的深入，日本殖民者把台湾设为战略棋盘上的一颗重要棋子。1942年9月，日本政府成立了“大东亚省”管辖新占领地区，而将台湾、朝鲜等战前就已霸占的领土置于“内务省”管辖之下，妄图将台湾“内地化”。
战争期间，日本在台湾先后修建了数个机场，作为轰炸中国大陆和太平洋地区的前哨基地。日军攻占南京、侵略华南所依赖的空中力量也都来自台湾的基地。
为了补充兵源和军费，日本殖民当局一面强迫开展“金报国运动”，发行“奉公债券”、“报国债券”，挨家挨户搜刮民间藏金，仅1944年，台湾负担的日本军费高达1.5亿元，人均收入的35%都被用于日本军费；另一方面，日本殖民当局以“临时劳务部”的名义，强迫大批台湾劳工到中国大陆、东南亚等战场充当军夫、翻译、护士等工作，同时，修改兵役法，强迫台湾青年参加侵略战争。据统计，20多万人被日本侵略者强征入伍，3万多人战死。
日本这种殖民暴行使台湾民众积聚了满腔怒火，许多爱国志士有的纷纷返回大陆，为抗日大业尽一份力量；有的在岛内组织政党，进行合法手段的斗争和宣传；有的创办刊物，为反对殖民统治呐喊助威。
1945年8月15日，日本宣布无条件投降，台湾人民奔走相告，无不欢欣鼓舞，台湾各大城市人山人海，欢呼声、鞭炮声响彻云霄。所有人都在等待着重新回到祖国怀抱的光复日的到来。
THE SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 