This thesis mainly investigates the changes, reactions and weakened process faced by the landlord class in Taiwan during the land reform of postwar period. The land reform in East Asia began in Japan, and that dominated by the General Headquarters of Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers headed by the United States has completely changed the rural situation in Japan for hundreds of years. Taiwan also launched a bureaucratic system headed by Chen Cheng to promote land reform because of rural pressure and the threat of the Communist Party. For the landlords, the most influential is The 37.5% Arable Rent Reduction Act and The Land-to-the-Tiller Program.
The government claims that the land reform will allow the agricultural capital of the landlord could be transferred to industrial capital. The government will distribute the stocks of the public business four companies (privatization of the Four Companies) which equal to 30% of the levy land price to the landlords. Previous research believed that the stocks of the Four Companies were presented at a low price in the beginning distribute, which caused some landlords have no confidence in the stocks and sold one after another. This gives the big landlord and the capitalist a juncture to acquire stocks at a low price and master the Four Companies. But in fact, many capitalists do not buy stocks really, but buy a cheaper equity power of attorney. This kind of nearly bribery is the real harm to small and medium landlords. Small and medium-sized landlords have no Company's management rights and can only hope for dividends on stocks. However, after the privatization of the Four Companies, the operating was not good. Only Taiwan Cement Company was able to distribute minor dividends , and the other three companies did not have the ability to distribute dividends at all. The other three companies after privatization have operate very poorly. Taiwan Paper Company and Taiwan Agriculture and Forestry Company had to face the situations to reorganize within two to three years. The Taiwan Industrial and Mining Company did not reorganize yet. The operating is not good also. The stock value of the three companies is much lower than the denomination. The 30% of the agricultural capital of the vast majority of the landlord is weakened in this process, and even hard to keep their live. The tens of thousands of landlords are the biggest victims driven by land reform.
However, there were also some beneficiaries. A very small number of politicians and capitalists got the developing opportunity which in the process of privatization. They showed the power of the Interpersonal network, and bought low-priced stocks by gather the power of everyone and became the managers of the factory. And let the business landscape to expand. The origin of Taiwan's industrialization was not launched behind the land reform, it has started since the Japanese era already. However, causing the lucrative of land business, the big landlords and capitalists are often parallel to the development of agriculture and industry. Continuation to the postwar, the land reform made the land renting business unprofitable. The big landlords and capitalists could only turn the funds placed in agriculture completely into the industry and business. In other words, the Positive meaning of the land reform is the acceleration Taiwan's industrial development.