Taiwan more Japanized than OTL?

OTL Integration of Taiwan into becoming part of the Japanese Empire was progressing smoothly until the end of WW2 interrupted it quite rudely.
So, is there any way for Japan to have kept Taiwan postwar with a POD as it says on the tin?





OOC: Now, in OTL my Grandfather (more than 80 years old now) was a young man during WW2, and during the latter stages of the war, boarded a transport to Japan to Study. His transport was nearly sunk by an American Submarine, and later he stayed in Kure (Thankfully no instant sunshine for him). It was a miracle he survived. He had to return after the War.

That story got me thinking.
 
Hmmm...

It´s intriguing. Me thinks China would make lots of noise about it.

Could more colonists go to Taiwan/Taiwan be conquered earlier. Wonder what the demographics were...
 
OTL Integration of Taiwan into becoming part of the Japanese Empire was progressing smoothly until the end of WW2 interrupted it quite rudely.
So, is there any way for Japan to have kept Taiwan postwar with a POD as it says on the tin?
Ah, this brings back memories. "Modern day Japanese Taiwan" was my first ever thread on this site. Sadly, that thread degenerated into an argument over Taiwanese independence (I strongly back the pan-green position). I hope this one fairs better.

I think it is possible for Taiwan to turn into normal Japanese prefectures. The easiest way is simply to avoid the Pacific War altogether. In WWII, the Allies were going to accept nothing less than total and unconditional surrender of Japan and Germany, so that makes it impossible for Japan to keep Taiwan.

After 1947, I think most Taiwanese would have been more than happy to go back under Japanese rule, especially if independence or US administration was out of the question. Witness the common graffiti at that time: "The dogs (Japanese) have left, the pigs (Chinese) have arrived", and "at least the dogs kept order/respected property". Unfortunately, Taiwan was much more developed at that stage than almost any area in China. The KMT stripped down everything of value and sent it to China to feed the war effort. The US did not stop them, because the KMT winning the Chinese Civil War was more important than what Taiwanese people wanted.

OOC: Now, in OTL my Grandfather (more than 80 years old now) was a young man during WW2, and during the latter stages of the war, boarded a transport to Japan to Study. His transport was nearly sunk by an American Submarine, and later he stayed in Kure (Thankfully no instant sunshine for him). It was a miracle he survived. He had to return after the War.

That story got me thinking.

That's a very interesting story. Thank you for sharing it. I have thought before that, if I had a lot of money, the first thing I would do is to pay researchers to cover all of Taiwan and record oral history interviews with the elderly. The 1937-1945 period is so interesting, and a vital piece of Taiwanese history. I worry that soon, it will be lost forever.:(

Hmmm...

It´s intriguing. Me thinks China would make lots of noise about it.

Could more colonists go to Taiwan/Taiwan be conquered earlier. Wonder what the demographics were...
Wikipedia gives a Taiwanese population of 6,940,000 (approx.) in 1945. Of that, 93.3% were NOT Japanese. That category includes ethnic Taiwanese (the vast majority, obviously), but also aboriginal peoples, and small numbers of Koreans.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Depends on who won the war.

I am assuming you mean after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor.

You would need any negotiate peace to end the war. It is hard to the USA taking less than a full surrender, but if something like Japan worked through back channels with the KMT to find an peace deal, maybe FDR could decide focusing on the Nazi only was the right thing to do.

To me the Japanese accepting it would be near ASB, but a deal where Japan evacuates China south of the wall, but gets to keep Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan would benefit all sides. The USA gets the Philippines back and gains the small Pacific Islands. The KMT get to "win" the war against Japan and now can go after the communist. The USA can focus on Hitler.
 
Let me clarify this first, I view Taiwan as an independent nation since the Taiwanese have exercised full sovereignty and self-rule by popularly electing Lee Teng-hui in 1996.

IMHO, Taiwan is already pretty Japanized. Thanks ironically to the KMT, the White Terror makes the older generation, first welcoming the handover to Nationalist China, to miss Japanese rule. To make Taiwan more Japanized, you need a Japanese POD like preventing Ito or Hara's assassination, so that Japan could possibly keep Taiwan:D
 
Let me clarify this first, I view Taiwan as an independent nation since the Taiwanese have exercised full sovereignty and self-rule by popularly electing Lee Teng-hui in 1996.

IMHO, Taiwan is already pretty Japanized. Thanks ironically to the KMT, the White Terror makes the older generation, first welcoming the handover to Nationalist China, to miss Japanese rule. To make Taiwan more Japanized, you need a Japanese POD like preventing Ito or Hara's assassination, so that Japan could possibly keep Taiwan:D
I agree with you whole-heartedly.
You mentioned Lee--as you probably know, he is a perfect example of the Japanization of Taiwan. He has stated in interviews that he "was a Japanese until 1945" (I am paraphrasing, but the meaning is the same). He's also, as far as I know, the only former national leader anywhere in the world to engage in cosplay.:eek:

There is a story I have heard about Taiwan when the KMT came to occupy it. I don't know if it is apocrphal or not, but it sounds plausible enough to me. Anyway, the story goes that one day a Chinese general arrived on short notice. He announced that he would have a victory parade through the streets of Taipei. The city fathers began trying to gather people to watch the parade. One teacher of an elementary school gathered all of his (ethnic Taiwanese) students and brought them to the parade route. He told them that the parade was for an important general, and when they saw him, they should cheer and make a big fuss. The students all nod. Finally, the students see this military hero come down the street and they cheer for him: they yelled "Banzai! Banzai!":p

That is how they had always been taught to cheer for military heroes. Needless to say, the general was not amused.
 
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