Constitutive Norms: Content

For my analysis of constitutive norms will I compare the development and creation of norms during the colonial era. The analysis will argue that the Japanese colonial era established rule of law in Taiwan, established norms and behavior of sanitation, and transformed the status of women.

Creating Rule of Law

One of the fundamental changes to society on Taiwan was the establishment of rule of law. Descriptions of Taiwan before 1895 describe a lawless society dominated by chaos, as exemplified by the American council James Davidson: “Though industrious, the emigrants have deservedly a reputation for insubordination and lawlessness”. (Mendel, 1970:15)

Wang recognizes inability to enforce laws and prohibitions combined with the incapable and corrupt officials as the key reasons for the disrespect of law during Qing rule. Given the disrespect of law society also lacked public order. Taiwan was plagued with problems

63

of banditry, sub ethnic conflicts as well as uprisings against the government. (Wang, 2000:21)

As the Japanese gained control of Taiwan their main priority was to pacify and turn the population into law-abiding citizens. The Japanese relied on two aspects of control in order to transform the behavior of the people. The number one factor

implementing change was through the use of force. Secondly they sough to transform the behavior through education.

The military campaigns were the first step of the pacification campaigns. The campaign was launched as a purge towards bandits and Taiwanese opposition. It is worth noting that the Japanese used the term bandit both for real bandits and for political rebels.

In the campaigns the Japanese established temporary courts issuing death penalties for banditry. From 1895 to 1902 The Japanese killed an estimated 32.000 Taiwanese

“bandits”. The military campaigns removed the majority of causes for disturbances and set up Japanese institutions over the entire island. (Wang, 2000:107)

As Deputy Goto came to power the Japanese established civil laws and created a modern day police force. The Japanese adopted the hoko system as means to gain control of society. The hoko system became a key instrument in enforcing control on the

population. The system established household registration and control of movements of the population. The system allowed for the Japanese control the population and isolate bandits from society. (Tsai, 1990)

Two levels of justice enforced the system. In addition to the Japanese police authorities, the system relied on local leaders to take control of their local hoko unit. The role of the local leader was to keep law and order in his jurisdiction. The leaders did not get salary for their job; instead they were given favors such as access to education, business opportunities and appointment to official positions. By giving opportunities the Japanese were able to secure the cooperation from the leaders of the units. (Tsai, 1990)

Two of the main purposes in the Hoko were household registration and control of population movement. According to the rules the head of each household had to report to their headman if any of the members of his household made a trip or stayed overnight

64

elsewhere. They had to report about the destination, purpose and duration of the stay.

Likewise they had to report the name, occupation and duration of stay for any visitors. In some cases local authorities could prohibit residents to travel or receive visitors without police permits. These restrictions were applied at times of diseases or social unrest.

Whoever failed to report to their hoko officials were subjects to fines. The fines were crucial in implementing the system and ranged from minor fines for small offences such as failing to hanging up a door sign, to more serious fines for offenses such as affiliating with against rebels, or failure to help out in times of emergency. The headman was responsible to make sure the people were following the rules. They also had the role of reporting to the police about suspicious people or behavior, report on population change, including births and deaths, report on diseases, assisting officers in search of criminals, instructing the members to be law abiding, and punish those who did not follow rules.

(Tsai, 1990:91)

The key to the system was the application of collective responsibility. If one person of the unit were convicted, the other members would be fined for not informing the government about the crime. In order to prevent the people from helping and

supporting insurgents and bandits, there were collective punishments for ignoring the unit rules. If a member of the unit violated the rules, all members were punished. In the initial years, the collective responsibility was not very effective. With lacking police control, the authorities were not able to follow up and punish crimes. However around 1901 the Japanese gained control of the island and had a working police force. The government appointed police officers to oversee each unit. Making sure that colonial policy penetrated every corner of society. As the police force grew more competent, the fear of collective punishment made the units cooperative with the government and reported and turned in suspicious behavior. Concluding about the effectiveness of the hoko system, Goto wrote:

“This institution has been powerful enough to keep the native insurgents in check and preserve the peace of community”(Chen, 1975:406). Song recognizes the threat of force as the key source in establishing rule of law on Taiwan: “The tight Japanese rule

regimented the Taiwanese populace into law abiding citizens” (Song, 2009:81) On the internalization of Law and order in society Wang notes: “Having little choice the Taiwanese people obeyed the Japanese leadership. After not too long the Taiwanese

65

learned the advantages of the modern institutions and shared in on them.” (Wang, 2000:

174)

The second step of creating an orderly society was through education. The goal of the new education was to train the student for life and work in the new world, in addition to making them unquestionable loyal to Japan. The education was to “transform a segment of the traditional China into an integral part of modern Japan” (Tsurumi, 1977:11).

In the spirit of Goto of taking advantage of existing structures and use them to their advantage, the Confucian values of benevolent rule, loyalty, hieratical status relations, and family morality were used to teach the importance of rules and obedience.

The Japanese sought to use and manipulate their common heritage to secure cooperation from the people. The importance of the classic traditions that urged loyalty and obedience to one's superior were strengthened. Areas connecting Taiwan with the mainland were to be played down or forbidden. In the classroom the students learned the importance of respecting authorities and follow the rules. Through their education ethics classes were mandatory for the students. (Tsurumi, 1977)

Norms of sanitation

Before the Japanese colonial era Taipei was described in the following fashion

“Dirty water was rushing around the houses, and some people lived together with dogs and pigs. Though there were toilets in Taihoko (Taipei) excrements are found

everywhere… The inhabitants seem to possess no knowledge of sanitation”(Mendell, 1970:17)The Japanese health survey of 1898 concluded that Taiwan was considered unsuitable for Japanese citizens to live in due to the lack of sanitation combined with the tropical climate. The majority of Taiwanese did not have lavatories or bathrooms and the island was infested disease such as malaria. (Lo, 2003)

The Japanese methods for implementing hygiene and sanitation in society were similar to their policies implementing rule of law. The norms were changed through a combination of force and education. In addition the colonial regime facilitated for sanitation by building water works and regional hospitals, with rigid adherence

concerning sewage disposal, water supplies, and drug controls. As the Japanese imposed

66

sanitation on the Taiwanese, one of the first measures was a series of laws concerning personal hygiene. Taiwanese people were taught not wipe their nose or to rub their eyes with their hands, unhygienic customs such as spitting in the streets were severely punished. (Lo, 2002:36) In addition the Japanese considered Taiwanese buildings to be poorly built and bad for the heath. They were not only small and dirty, but also humid and poorly ventilated. Thus the Japanese required every household to double the number of windows and enlarge the window frames. A number of houses did not have bathroom or lavatory. Accordingly people took baths infrequently and used chamber pots inside. The Japanese promoted the use of bathrooms and build public baths and bathrooms so that people who could not afford bathrooms also could take baths. The use of chamber pots inside was considered not only unhygienic and uncivilized, but it was also a real problem because it attracted disease bearers such flies and mosquitos. As a result the use of chamber pots inside were forbidden. (Wong and Yau, 2013:349)

In addition to general rules, the Japanese also utilized the hoko system in order to implement sanitation on the island. First, the hoko leaders were thought to guide the members of the hoko and extinct their bad habits. More important the hoko created a system for disease detection and quarantine. The hoko leaders were responsible to detect and report diseases in their hoko. When diseases were detected, the police would organize system of quarantines in order to prevent the diseases from spreading. Leaders failing to report diseases would be penalized. In addition the hoko imposed measures preventing diseases. The system would be utilized in order to make sure the entire population got vaccinated. In the hoko would organize house cleaning and rat extinction campaign. The campaign is an example of how the policies were carried out in practice. Each household was required to turn in a fixed quota of dead rats every month. The campaign was carried out through the hoko leaders in cooperation with the police. Those who exceeded their monthly quota would be rewarded. As the same time, those who failed to turn in their quoted number of rats had to pay a fine per missing rat. An example of a fine would be

¥0,5 per missing rat. The campaign was effective in removing the number of rats. In August 1912 alone, the number of caught rodents amounted to 41.923.641. (Tsai, 1990:113)

67

The Japanese also utilized the education in order to establish norms of hygiene.

Taiwanese people were taught not wipe their nose or to rub their eyes with their hands.

The lessons and changing attitudes learned from the commons schools were aimed at transforming sanitation on the island. From early age, one of the key lessons in the Japanese education system was to learn about the importance of cleanliness. The students were forced to wash themselves and told stories about the importance of keeping a clean environment. The classes also told the student to improve the cleanliness of their parents and the rest of the their families. Summarizing the effect of the Japanese colonial

education on the Taiwanese population Tsurumi notes: “The common school probably convinced more Taiwanese to boil their water and wash their hands after using the toilet than of the majesty of the Japanese emperor.” (Tsurumi, 1977:215)

Changing Status of Women

In addition to the implementation of law and order and hygiene, I argue that the changing status of women also were essential in transforming Taiwanese society. Before Japanese rule Taiwan held a traditional gender role in the society. Nothing in the

traditional Chinese culture supported the education of woman. In both high and folk culture, women were expected to stay at home and take care of their husbands.

The Japanese education included education for girls. Before 1895 the literacy levels in Taiwan was low in general, but only a handful of women were able to read. In 1899 the Japanese researched showed that out of 29,941 students in Chinese private schools only 65 were female. From the early stages of colonial rule, the Japanese government urged for the women to join the education. As seen by Governor General Gotos six goals for education: “Winning support for the new regime, developing a stratum of Taiwanese sufficiently well educated to service the administrative and clerical apparatus of the colonial government, educating Japanese nationals living in Taiwan, popularizing formal education for girls, producing Taiwanese teachers and medical personnel, and making the school system as economically self sufficient and possible.”

popularize education for girls was included as one of the key goals in education (Tsurumi, 1977:18)

68

In order to attract the girls the government tried to persuade important families to send their daughters to schools in the hope that others would follow their example. The schools also added specials classes teaching popular and practical skills such as sewing in order to attract the girls. In 1906 girl’s secondary education was opened. By 1935, 25 percent of the female elementary school aged education was in school. By the end of the war in 1945 this number has raised to 60 percent. Further the Japanese education used the same curriculum for both sexes. The girls would study the same classes as their brothers.

The school textbooks portrayed similar gender roles for both girls and boys. For example one could see the illustrations of both girls and boys doing domestic tasks like sweeping or taking care of the elderly. The girls also participated in sports activities and

competitions at their schools. The high demand for girls’ high schools by the end of the Japanese era shows the acceptance of female education in Taiwan at the time. (Tsurumi, 1977:220)

The education was related to other developments changing the status of woman.

The ancient practice of foot binding in Chinese culture was diminished. Societies against foot binding were strongly supported by the Japanese government as early as in the initial phases of Japanese rule. By 1914 foot binding was prohibited by and public feeling was against it. The unbound feet made it possible for the female population to join the workforce. By 1940 the female workforce accounted for about 40 percent of the factory workforce. Education was important for the woman joining the workforce. By 1943, 93 percent of the women who worked in shops or offices had received education. Almost all of these were graduates from the higher girls schools. The Taiwanese women also

involved in politics and were involved in the different anti colonial movement. (Tsai, 1990), (Tsurumi, 1977)