History of law in Taiwan

[2] Another important aspect was the concept that traditional customs, no matter what the content, were accepted as normal.

The VOC was a trading company established in 1602 with the authority of the States-General of the Netherlands to carry out colonial activities in Asia.

The Governor during this time was the head of government and was empowered to legislate, collect taxes, wage war and declare peace on behalf of the VOC and, by extension, the Dutch state.

Because the VOC was given diplomatic, administrative, judicial, and other functions of sovereignty, the Dutch legally exercised control over Taiwan.

They established laws concerning aspects of life such as the levying of import and export tariffs, the sale of lands, the construction of houses, the organization of markets, the production of alcohol and sugar, gambling, and the granting of permission to enter and live in aboriginal settlements.

The Dutch claimed they governed the whole island and created an administration and infrastructure that facilitated mostly commerce.

[2] The Kingdom of Tungning 東寧 was argued to be the first Han Chinese government to rule Taiwan.

It was ruled by Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功), a child of Chinese and Japanese parents, between 1661 and 1683 after the defeat of the Dutch.

Traditionally, power was in the hands of the father or grandfather with regards to disciplinary matters, marriage and property.

There was also a strict division between government officials and citizens, between elders and the young, between husbands and wives, and between masters and servants, etc.

The Chinese administration was largely ineffective in settling disputes and corrupt officials usually found in favour of whoever bribed them most successfully.

[3] Qing China was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) and Japan took over control of Taiwan and the Penghu islands.

This ordinance gave the Governor-General of Taiwan the rank similar to a Premier or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Tokyo.

The “Statute for Agriculture, Mining, Industry and Commerce During the Extraordinary Period” (1938) and the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of General National Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion" (1942) gave authorities the power to control resources, as well as establish political control over freedom of news, speech, press, communication, assembly and association during wartime.

The government terminated Martial Law in 1987 and the Period of National Mobilization officially came to an end on 1 May 1991.