Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8.2 The natural vegetation of Taiwan. The vegetation patterns correspond roughly
to topography and land use. The forest lands are largely mountainous and unsuitable for
farming. The cities are on the western plains.
into hydroelectric power production, with the building of the Sun Moon Lake
project in the mountains during the 1930s, to support aluminium, chemicals, and
steel alloy industries. Taiwan's role for Japan was, however, to produce sugar
and rice, and 95 per cent of its sugar and 52 per cent of its rice went to Japan
(Ranis 1995). Rice production became highly efficient under the Japanese, who
doubled the output using irrigation, fertilizers, and improved weed and pest
controls. Dependency did not mean no social progress, however; 60 per cent of
the population was literate by the early 1950s. On the other hand, landownership
in the island remained highly skewed, with a few landowners dominating the
whole structure and many landless labourers.
After the exit of the Japanese, millions of migrants came to the island from
mainland China, including many merchants and entrepreneurs displaced by the
Communist takeover. The Kuomintang government saw the need for tight control
over the economy, aware that part of their mainland defeat had been due to
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