As the Chinese Civil War turned decisively against the Kuomintang government, nationwide martial law was declared on December 10, 1948. Though initially spared due to its distance from the front, Taiwan Province was placed under full martial law on May 20, 1949.
In 1948, Leo Fender invented the Telecaster — the first solid-body electric guitar to be successfully commercialized and mass-produced. It laid the foundation for popular instruments over the following decades and reshaped both global music and the entire music industry.
On the evening of February 27, 1947, Taipei cigarette vendor Lin Jiang-mai was beaten by Monopoly Bureau agents who seized her goods and then fired into the watching crowd, killing a bystander. The next day, mass protests erupted and clashes with military police left many dead and injured — events known as the February 28 Incident.
On July 26, 1945, the United States, China, and Britain issued the Potsdam Declaration calling for Japan’s surrender. Japan did not respond. In early August, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan. On August 15, the Empire of Japan announced unconditional surrender, and the formal ceremony on September 2 marked the end of World War II.
In 1943, a research team led by Kurosawa Takatomo conducted a three-month island-wide survey of Taiwan, recording and photographing music across the island. It remains the most comprehensive survey of Taiwanese music undertaken during the Japanese colonial period.
The Pacific War, fought between the Axis powers led by the Empire of Japan and the Allied forces led by the United States, lasted from December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945. It began with Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and ended with the atomic bombings and Japan’s unconditional surrender.
In September 1936, the 17th Governor-General of Taiwan, Kobayashi Seizō, introduced the Kominka (Japanization) policy. After the Hōkōkai was established in 1941, the movement shifted from cultivating Japanese national identity toward active civic loyalty and service to the imperial cause.
Columbia Records was the pioneer of popular music in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. In 1929, Columbia merged with Nichi-Chiku Records, and its Taiwan subsidiary — Eagle Records — was renamed and released the island’s first pop song, ‘Cat March.’
Taiwan’s earliest radio broadcasting appeared in 1925 during the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Japanese rule, with a ten-day experimental transmission. After multiple trial broadcasts by the Communications Division of the Governor-General’s Office, the Taipei Broadcasting Station was officially established on December 22, 1928, marking the birth of broadcasting in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s New Literature Movement can be traced to the Han Chinese sociopolitical movements of the 1920s. A new generation, influenced by post-WWI currents of national self-determination, began questioning colonial political identity. In 1920, Taiwanese students in Japan founded the Xin Min Society in Tokyo; the following year, Chiang Wei-shui established the Taiwan Cultural Association.