Let the statistics stand

Today, on a popular nightly political talk show here in Taiwan, 大話新聞, the host, 鄭弘儀 (Zheng Hong Yi), discussed how the Kuomintang's civil servant examination system and procedures discriminated against the Taiwanese. During the Kuomintang rule in Taiwan, qualified applicants for civil servant positions were calculated according to a quota system. This quota system was based on ratios of persons from each of the 35 + 1 provinces of China (which are detailed here on Wikipedia)- with Taiwan being the + 1 province. The 36 provinces of China, or more precisely the Republic of China, are shown in this map from Wikipedia:


If one compares the number of Chinese (that came over to Taiwan with the KMT forces) to the Taiwanese already living on Taiwan, it isn't difficult to see how this quota system favored the Chinese over the Taiwanese. The Taiwanese were highly discriminated against in the selection process for civil servant positions. Most certainly the KMT's quota system guaranteed civil servant positions to the Chinese who came over with the KMT forces.

Statistics documenting the number of Taiwanese vs. Chinese that were considered for civil servant positions (during Kuomintang rule) were quoted directly from Su Beng's Taiwan's 400 Years of History. The statistics and data tell us that the systematic discrimination against the Taiwanese that began when the Chinese Nationalists arrived, continued until 1991.

鄭弘儀 (Zheng Hong Yi) also quoted (from Taiwan's 400 Years of History) the skyrocketing inflation index figures from 1945- after the KMT had arrived and administered Taiwan. The high inflation rate has been said to be one of the factors that contributed to the 228 Incident* which happened on February 28, 1947.

Certainly, this shows that Taiwan's 400 Years of History is truly one of the most veritable and complete encyclopedias of data on Taiwan's colonial era.

What's more interesting to me are the stories behind how Su Beng obtained this classified information while Taiwan was still under the KMT's martial law.

*To learn more about the 228 Incident, please click on these two links: 1) 60th commemoration of 228, 2) more complete details about the 228 Incident.