An Analysis of the Announcement of China-fir as an Anti-Termite Material by the Taiwanese Governor General′s Office in 1916

Abstract

China-fir was a key building material used in Taiwan before 1894 and reached Taiwan by import from Fuzhou, China. However, at the start of the period of Japanese governance (beginning in 1895), the China-fir market in Taiwan appeared to gradually reduce as a result of an attempt by the Taiwanese Governor General′s Office (TGGO) to develop the market for Japanese timbers in Taiwan.
After an investigation of the Japanese consular office in Fuzhou, the anti-termite property of China-fir was announced in October 1916. Some former studies concluded that the report was one of the reasons for China-fir′s renewed dominance in the building material market in Taiwan from 1917 to 1925.
However, in contrast to the period before 1916, when the TGGO boycotted China-fir by every means, why did the TGGO announce news about China-fir as an anti-termite material, and allow it to overwhelm the market of Japanese cedar again? By reviewing the TGGO′s South China Policy and other historical materials, this paper shows that the 1916 report can be seen as encouragement for Japanese and Taiwanese merchants to invest in the China-fir market in Fuzhou, which would be of benefit to the colonial government by allowing it to develop economic and political power in South China.