Abstract：
　　This article discusses the land property rights system in Qing Taiwan and analyzes how lawsuits related to land property rights were adjudicated. First, this article traces the development of the ‘government/official’ land property rights system with reference to fish-scale registers, title registers, land tax certificates, stamped deeds, official licenses and land documents. In addition, the ‘non-government/unofficial’ land property rights system widely practiced among the general population is examined in the light of land documents concerning use, reclamation, sale and purchase, mortgage, allotment among family members and joint ownership. The operation of these two systems and their drawbacks are also discussed. Second, this article analyzes 40 lawsuits in the Dan-Xing Archives to illustrate how commoners maintained their property rights through the litigation system and how legal officials handled such cases. As pointed out earlier, both the government/official and non-government/unofficial land property rights systems had many inherent limitations. Therefore, land ownership disputes were not always adjudicated according to the principle that whoever owned the title deed owned the land. Instead, stability in local governance was the prior consideration. The court often manipulated deliberately the duality between narrative representation and practical consideration, and ruled such cases in favor of the one who managed and controlled the plot of land in practice rather than the one who in fact possessed the title deed.

Keywords：Land Property Rights, the Qing Code, Land Customs, Land Contracts, Land Litigation

Abstract：
　　This study aims to explore the background and the decision-making processes on the founding of Tainan Technical College during the Japanese colonial era. By analyzing the changes in the specialized education system, this study examines the establishment theory of technical college and the factors of influencing policy decisions to shed light on the founding history of specialized vocational schools in the colonial education system. This analysis revealed a close relationship between the establishment of technical college and the gradual transformation of Taiwan from an agricultural society to an industrial nation after World War I. In addition, technical colleges were founded in response to the growing need of human resources for industrial development. Following the proclamation of two times of Education Acts and their amendments, the Taiwan Governor-General Office conducted a comprehensive review of vocational education and advocated to combine the establishment of technical college with the overseas development. 　　Nevertheless, there was a controversy against the policy-making; in particular, the founding of Tainan Technical College to replace the Tainan Commercial College. Such policy had significantly impacted the intricate historical development of the specialized education system in Tainan for a decade. On the one hand, the high turnover of the Governor-General of Taiwan due to partisan politics in Japan led to inconsistency of the colonial education policy. On the other hand, the subtle interactions were taken place between the Japanese Central Government and the demonstrators of popular movement in Taiwan in consideration of the fiscal budget, the balance of regional development and the specialized education reforms introduced by the colonial government. To modify and adjust the infrastructure of the vocational colleges in the fields of medicine, agriculture & forestry, business, and engineering made the specialized education system be gradually established and adapt to the trend of the times change.

Keywords：Japanese Colonial Era, Specialized Vocational College, Establishment Theory of Technical College, Tainan Technical College, Tainan Commercial College

Abstract：
　　The “Taiwanese Retrocession Tribute Group” (臺灣光復致敬團) was founded in 1946 by Qiu Niantai (丘念台), Lin Hsientang (林獻堂) and eight other members. They set out for the Mainland on August 27th of that year and returned to Taiwan on October 5th. The principal goal of this trip was to promote mutual understanding between Taiwan and the Mainland. They also wished to restore their status as members of the Chinese nation by paying homage to the tombs of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) and the Yellow Emperor (黃帝). In addition, they expressed their compliance with the central Chinese rule by showing respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and other senior government officials. However, the preparations for this trip were hastily done and fund-raising did not go smoothly. On top of these, the Governor General of Taiwan, Chen Yi (陳儀), imposed many obstacles right when the group was about to set off. In view of the difficulties they faced, whether the delegation could accomplish their mission remained doubtful. 　　With reference to the daily journals of the group members, memoirs, as well as the newspapers and journals of that era, this paper probed into the experiences of the delegation and their subsequent influence. It is especially worth noting that the group had originally wished to make use of this opportunity to appeal to the Nationalist Government for improving the political situation in Taiwan. Nevertheless, the delegation achieved nothing more than paying tribute to the central authority in the Mainland.

Keywords：Taiwan Retrocession Tribute Group, Qiu Niantai, Lin Hsientang, Trial of Traitors

Abstract：
　　There were more than 40,000 Chinese in post-war Japan; and about half of them were from Taiwan. After World War II, Taiwan was no longer a Japanese colony; and many overseas Taiwanese in Japan joined the Chinese Society and they outnumbered those from other Chinese provinces. Such change in the composition of the Chinese Society not only had a profound impact but also became its key feature. With the end of 51-year Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, the overseas Taiwanese in Japan embraced their new identity as “Chinese”. Nevertheless, their national identification was inevitably affected by the political situation in their “Motherland”; in particular, the 228 Incident in Taiwan and the split of power in China after the civil war in 1949. Furthermore, the tension among Taiwan, China and Japan during the Cold War had much influence the overseas Taiwanese and their relationship with the Chinese Society in Japan. After experiencing a series of government handovers and identity transformations, some overseas Taiwanese chose to identify themselves with the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C) and started forging the relationship between China and Japan and promoting Chinese socialism. Conflicts arose, resulting in the split of the Chinese Society. 　　Kobe had a well-established Chinese Society. In fact, it had the second largest overseas Chinese population from the post-war period to the end of the 50s. Kobe and Tokyo were the major Chinatowns in Kanto and Kansai areas, respectively. During the colonial era, there were only a few Taiwanese in Kobe; but the Taiwanese population increased dramatically after World War II, so did their roles in the Chinese Society and their support to the P.R.C. This article focuses on the overseas Taiwanese in Kobe who supported the P.R.C. The research objectives are to study the changes in relationship between overseas Taiwanese and the Chinese Society in Kobe, and to examine the interactions in the Chinese Society in Tokyo in order to understand the policy of the P.R.C. government toward overseas Chinese in Japan.

Keywords：Kobe Chinese Societies in Japan, Taiwanese Immigrants in Japan, Overseas Chinese Democracy Promotion Association in Japan, Kobe Overseas Chinese Cultural and Economic Association, Overseas Chinese Association

Abstract：
　　Under the concerted efforts of researchers in Taiwan history, the third Symposium of Taiwan Historical Research was held with the objectives of establishing the tradition of scholastic critique, exploring directions for future research and forming communities for academic discussion and exchange. With reference to the “2009 Symposium of Taiwan Historical Research,” co-organized by the Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, National Taiwan Normal University; Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica; and Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, National Chengchi University, this article describes the research findings of 2009, which are classified into six main categories, namely general, political, economic, social, cultural and overseas research findings. This article also comments on these findings and proposes directions for future research. 　　On the whole, the research on Taiwan history in 2009 had made significant progress and gained in-depth understanding in modern history and history of social and culture. Issues worth further exploration and continuous efforts include the problems of research era and wide variations in quality of dissertations, how to maintain the balance of historical data and discipline theory, how to keep strict distinction between politics and academic research, and how to create dialogue between different historical viewpoints and establish consensus.

Keywords：Taiwan History, Oral History, Political History, Industrial History, Aboriginal History, Regional History, History of Education, Religion History, Art History, Music History, Medical History, History of Sports and Leisure