Most Japanese citizens who immigrated to Taiwan were attracted by the prospect of government jobs in the new colony. Subsequent government campaigns to attract Japanese fisherman, farmers, and workers for sugar cane industry were almost exclusively reserved for Japanese citizens.

     In addition to promoting Japanese emigration to Taiwan, the Japanese government discouraged Chinese from emigration from the mainland, thus effectively reducing contact between Taiwan and the outside world. The majority of the Taiwanese population resided in the countryside, where people adhered to their traditional mode of agricultural-centered life. Discriminatory practices in the educational 9thus, economic and social) development of general population in Taiwan served to widen the gap between the Chinese and Japanese residents of the island.

     Relations between the Japanese officials and the Taiwanese were formal at best. The Japanese realized the importance of gaining support from the most prominent - 9 - leaders of Taiwanese society. In an attempt to establish good relations with Taiwanese gentry, the Governor-General sponsored the founding of a Cultural Fostering Society (Yobunkai) in March, 1900. Members of the Taiwanese gentry were invited to spend a week at the capital as guests of honor at the Society's inauguration ceremonies. During this week, the Governor-General expressed his respect for Chinese classical learning, and proceeded to urge the Taiwanese to dispel their qualms about learning from civilization other than their own, to welcome the Japanese education system. Some of the Taiwanese gentry did cooperate with the Japanese, becoming involved in various business ventures; those who cooperated were well rewarded for their efforts. Others retreated, adopting an attitude of wariness towards the new government.

     Efforts to bridge the gap between the Chinese and Japanese residents of Taiwan remained a controversial issue throughout the duration of the occupation. Various Governors-General, officials, and Japanese residents of Taiwan differed widely in the degree of support for assimilation of colonial subjects. Proponents of an assimilation policy expressed a mixture of humanitarian sentiments along with strong belief in progress, in the spirit of the Meiji period. If the Taiwanese were assimilated, they would eventually serve as loyal, law            Abiding subjects of Imperial Japan. Moreover, the Taiwanese shared a similar racial background and culture to the Japanese -- -- this seemed a logical foundation for moved into line accent assimilation. The establishment of the "Meiji" style educational system provoked discussion of and assimilation policy early in the colonial development, the segregation and discrimination against colonial subjects remain standard practice.

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