Constitutive Norms: Contestation

The pushing factor in initiating rule of law was the colonial government. For the establishment of rule of law the two forces implementing change were threat of

punishment and education. The basis of the system was the threat of force. With the exception of the aboriginal highlands the hoko system penetrated the entire Taiwanese population and the majority of the changes were implemented through this system. Based

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on the police coverage and control the members of society had no choice but to obey the Japanese rulers. Based on police penetration of social life, I will conclude that members of society were forced to adopt a certain standard of rule by law.

The second force in implementing change was education. Some parts of the Taiwanese population were more exposed to change and Japanese influence than others.

As Wakabayashi noted the Japanese launched a top town colonization process. As a result the elites were far more exposed to a Japanese environment than the masses. For the first decade of Japanese rule the education was only for the elites. As Mochiji Rokusaburo the chief of education affairs at the governor-general wrote: “The aim of the ordinary

education is to educate the children of the middle and upper classes. Thus we see in Taiwan ordinary education although called ordinary education, should be referred to as elite education”(Tsurumi, 1977:25) The elites started receiving Japanese schooling earlier than the masses, thus were exposed to Japanese ideas over a longer time period. In the educational system, all middle school and medical student were required to live in

Japanese style dormitories, speak Japanese all the time, and live according to the customs of the Japanese culture. It was not until the 1920s that the education was opened for a larger populace, and in the 1930s that the education was adopted by the masses.

Throughout colonial rule, the Japanese enjoyed less influence in the countryside than in the urban areas. In the urban areas the common schools were scarce and only a handful of well off children attended the schools. The children of the lower classes such as poor farmers, tenants, fishermen and day laborers were far less likely to join the schools. The intensified assimilation policies of the 1930s were aimed at bringing the Japanese language and culture to the lower classes. (Tsurumi, 1977:64), (Wakabayashi, 2006)

Similar to the distinction between the elites and masses, there was a distinction in colonial experience between the urban and rural population. The majority of the Japanese in Taiwan lived in the cities and urban areas. As a result the students studying in the city were more likely to get a Japanese teacher. All secondary or higher education on the colony was in the cities. The Taiwanese student would come from all over the islands.

The Japanese became a lingua franca for the student speaking different dialects. As quoted by a former student “Japanese became our language of play and friendship as well as school.” Acceptance and embracement for Japanese education was much higher in the

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city than in the countryside. The Japanese enjoyed less influence in the countryside than in the urban areas. In the urban areas the common schools were scarce and only a handful of well off children attended the schools. The children of the lower classes such as poor farmers, tenants, fishermen and day laborers were far less likely to join the schools. As a result, the elites and urban population were influenced and educated by the Japanese for a longer time, thus implemented the norms further than the rural masses. (Tsurumi

1977:156)

Similar to the process of implementing rule of law the, the process of establishing sanitation also derived from force and education. Like the process of rule of law, the colonial government also initiated the new sanitation process. However the government implemented rule of law on their own, the role of the Taiwanese elites are important in understanding the achievements of the Japanese in the medical field.

The Japanese brought principles of western medicine and created a medical school in Taipei. Unlike other education in the colony, the medical school was also open to the Taiwanese. Doctor the one field where Taiwanese could raise to a high position and earn salaries equivalent of the Japanese. Thus, doctors became the most prestigious position in Taiwan. The doctors were part of the elite and gained enormous respect from the entire population. Taiwanese medical schools graduates fully supported the policies of

sanitation. The doctors did a tremendous job in spreading knowledge and improving the general health on the island. Through their status and trust in society the graduate managed to convince the majority of the population to vaccinate and follow the new sanitation practices. (Lo, 2002)

The norms implemented through the force, through education and through the work of the Taiwanese doctors the practices of sanitation and hygiene were internalized by the Taiwanese. As quoted by a schoolteacher looking back at the colonial era, the cleanliness became expected behavior for the Taiwanese. “The colonialism was very bad, it kept the Taiwanese people down … But one good thing did it do, It made great

difference in people's health because the Japanese people pay a great deal of attention to cleanliness … Why in the early day there were people here who wouldn’t dream of taking a bath every day. Now, not to bathe would be unthinkable.” (Tsurumi, 1977:25)

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The education of women followed the same pattern of Japanese influence as society in general. The daughters from rich families were more likely to join the schools than the poor. In the initial days the education was only available for the elites. The Japanese also applied pressure trying to persuade the elites into sending their girls to school. Compared it was only until 1942 that the Japanese made education mandatory for everyone. By 1945, 60 percent of the female school aged population was enrolled in school. The demand for girl’s high schools shows the acceptance of the girls education.

The Japanese enjoyed less influence in the countryside than in the urban areas. In the urban areas the common schools were scarce and only a handful of well off children attended the schools. The children of the lower classes such as poor farmers, tenants, fishermen and day laborers were far less likely to join the schools. The intensified assimilation policies of the 1930s were aimed at bringing the Japanese language and culture to the lower classes.