Most studies on the police in Taiwan under Japanese rule have been consistent in their conclusions. This is likely because of the research materials and perspectives adopted in these studies regarding the topic. According to the author’s research experience while studying in a master’s program and the abundant publications related to the topic that are available, this PhD dissertation employed the perspective of public life and unofficial sources to examine the police in people’s daily lives in Taiwan from 1925 to 1945.
In Chapter 2, the police system in Taiwan was examined according to the existing research findings. Although the system was inherited from Mainland Japan, the priorities of police duties were adjusted according to the actual situations in Taiwan. This topic can be further investigated through an exploration of the security considerations of the Government–General of Taiwan and the documents preserved by some of the police officers in the early years of Taiwan under Japanese rule. This chapter discusses the facts and fictions regarding Taiwan as well as the attitude of these police officers according to their documents.
In Chapter 3, the Six Goals promoted by the Government–General in the 1925 Police Hygiene Exhibition, namely left-hand traffic, criminal arrest, outlawing outdated customs, pandemic prevention, emergency first aid, and “savage” (i.e., indigenous Taiwanese)” birth control, were meant to enforce the images of the Japanese police officers and services in the Taiwanese public. Accordingly, the impression of Japanese police officers and services in the Taiwanese public can be divided into three types, namely advocacy, service, and regulatory policing actions.
Chapter 4 describes the comprehensive adjustments in the police agencies in Taiwan in 1930 according to the changes in the local administrative systems in 1920. Specifically, the Government–General established the Police Administration Bureau to replace the Police Headquarters; the prefectural governments established police departments; the subprefectural governments established house police divisions; the city governments established police stations, marine police stations, and fire police stations; the district governments established district police divisions; local police stations were set up in villages; and police posts were set up in the “savage” areas. The Japanese police officers and services were closely examined from the perspective of the Taiwanese public in the cities, districts, and “savage” areas, thus concluding the arguments made by this study regarding the topic.
In Chapter 5, according to the results of this study, new topics and perspectives were explored for future police studies, concluding the study.