Law in Taiwan - Qing Dynasty (1683-1895)

Qing Dynasty (1683-1895)

From 1683 to 1895, Taiwan was loosely ruled by the Qing administration. Initially, Taiwan was a prefecture of the Fukien province, and after 1886 Taiwan became a province of China. The Great Qing Legal Code or Qing Code (大清律例), local customs and unofficial sources of law in imperial China were the source of law in Taiwan during this time. In 1875, because of the Qing Empire’s desire to fortify aboriginal areas (including eastern Taiwan), the Qing government repealed the restrictive policies towards Taiwan. The first governor of Taiwan (1884–91) Mr. Liu Ming Chuan, considered a national hero by many Taiwanese, made important reforms and improvements to the infrastructure of Taiwan. He set forth important tax and fiscal reforms and provided competent rule. In 1891 he was recalled by Beijing and retired. It has been debated by scholars just how much effective control the Qing Chinese had and wanted to have. Furthermore, it has been debated whether Beijing considered Taiwan under its jurisdiction. In 1867, Taiwanese aboriginals killed a crew of shipwrecked Americans. Beijing responded by saying that aboriginal lands were not under the jurisdiction of China. In addition, popular uprisings were common. Some scholars estimate there were as many as eighty-five uprisings during the Qing rule. Dispute resolution in Taiwan at this time was similar to the Chinese legal tradition with unofficial resolution preferable to official court adjudication. The Chinese administration was largely ineffective in settling disputes and corrupt officials usually found in favour of whoever bribed them most successfully.> Conciliation was presided over by relatives or local notables, and only after conciliation failed would a magistrate hear the dispute, so locals were largely governing their own affairs.