Taiwan's local political landscape was dominated by gentry and landlords who Influenced politics through their resources of wealth and power, i.e. the land, during the period of Japanese rule. After the KMT took over Taiwan's sovereignty from the Japanese in 1945, a group of Taiwanese-mainlander elites (pan san) cultivated by the KMT to help its governance of post-war Taiwan came to the island. The pa n san soon commanded most political and economic privileges. This situation irritated the local Taiwanese elites who grouped themselves to com pete again the pan san. With a broad realignment, the then-Taiwan's local elite society separated into three groups: the Pan-san pai. the Taichung pai. and the A-hi pai. As those native political groups were either almost totally unorganised or else they were very ephemeral organisations, there should b e viewed as factional cliques or tendencies.
The Pan-san pai referred to those who had original linkages with Taiwan
but had served In the KMT government on the mainland. As main political and cultural cleavages between the mainlander regime and Taiwanese society were evident as a result o f fifty-years of Japanese rule, the KMT selected and trained a group of Taiwan-born party cadres to form a bridge between the KMT and Taiwanese society before It took over this Island from Japan. These KMT Taiwanese-malnlander elites co-operated well with the KMT government and occupied the majority of local executives offices in post-war Taiwan. They
eventually developed their own power base led by several notables. As Taiwanese people used to call people from the mainland T'ang-san. Pan-san
refers to those who have political, economic, or social affiliations, separately or In combination, to the mainland but who were born in Taiwan. Thus, they were generally termed the Pan-san pai
The Taichung pai refers to the group developed by local Taiwanese
leaders. It was headed by Lin Hsien-tang. As its political, economic, and social bases were mainly In the area of Taichung, this group was named the Taichung pai. The overriding characteristic of this group was its engagement in anti- colonial movements at the time of Japanese rule. The group's leader, Lin Hsien- tang. established the Taiwanese Cultural Association In 1921, calling for a non violent liberalisation of Taiwan, i.e. by establishing a Taiwanese Assembly independent of the Japanese Taiwan governor office. After the KMT cam e to Taiwan in 1945, this group remained politically active.56
The third group constituted by local Taiwanese elites was the A-hi pai. This group comprised two sub-factions led by Chiang Wei-shul and Hsu Ping respectively. Similar to the Taichung pai, the Chiang Wei-shul faction was characterised by its engagement in anti-Japanese movements. By contrast, the Hsu Ping faction consisted of Taiwanese elites who were used by the Japanese government to rule over Taiwan. Based on the Taichung pai and especially given the Pan-san pai's taking of local political spoils, these two sub-factions co operated as a whole political force to pursue political goals.57
With the establishment of their government in Taiwan after World War Two, the KMT's mainlander factions moved to the island to com pete for the abundant resources left by Japanese. Taiwan Governor Chen VI himself was one of the leaders of the Political Study group. During Chen Yi's terms o f office
as Minister o f Military Affairs, Fukien Governor, and General-Secretary of the Executive Yuan, conflict between Chen Yi and leaders of the CC faction, the Blue Shirts, the Youth Corps, and the Kung-Sung faction was passionate.58 Chen Yi's occupation of the office of Taiwan Governor also caused great tension between him and other factional leaders.
Following Chen Yi's appointm ent as Taiwan Governor, factionalism between the Chen Yi faction and other mainlander factions emerged in post war Taiwan. Conflict first arose in relation to the com petition for strategic positions in the Taiwan provincial government. The Chen Yi faction seized most important positions in the government while the CC faction took over the party's Taiwan Provincial Branch. In the military and security domains, major positions were occupied by the Blue Shirts. The Kung-Sing group grasped most executive offices of government-owned organisations and companies. The Youth Corps concentrated on its organisational expansion in Taiwan.59
As a result of the intense competition for public offices am ong the KMT mainlander factions, no strategic post in the Taiwan provincial government was occupied by local Taiwanese elites. Although within local society there were 2,508 post-graduates, 55,000 graduates from Japanese universities and colleges, and more than 100 people receiving university education in Europe and America, the Taiwanese themselves took only one office, the deputy director o f the Education Department, in the then-KMT government.“
Moreover, malignant factionalism led to political corruption. All factions did their utmost to exploit public resources in order to expand their factional interests and Influence. Bureaucratic capitalism severely dam aged the KMT's ruling credit In post-war Taiwan. Furthermore, the struggle between the Chen Yi faction and other mainlander factions was intense. On the one hand, Chen Yi's
rival factions took every chance to boycott Chen YI's personnel arrangements and political programmes. On the other hand, Chen Yi took advantage of his office to attack his rival factions. Factionalism between KMT mainlander factions was greatly com plicated by political involvement o f the three Taiwanese elite groups.
In general, Chen Yi kept alliance ties with the Pan-san pai so as to manage local political affairs. He remained very hostile to the A-hi pai since he questioned their loyalty to the KMT government. The conflicting relationship between Chen Yi and the A-hi pai indirectly Impelled Chen Yi's rival factions, the CC and the Blue Shirts, to ally with the A-hi pai against the Chen Yi faction. Under such circumstances, the relationships between the Pan-san pai and A-hi pal. and between Chen Yi's rival factions and the Pan-san pai were full of tension. Meanwhile, the Taichung pai retained a wait-and-see attitude to KMT malnlander factions and the other two Taiwanese groups.4'
Political corruption and the chaos of the Chen Yi government's economic management and especially the excessive factionalism among the Chen YI faction, the KMT mainlander factions, and Taiwanese elite groups (i.e. the Pan- san and A-hi) finally led to the chaos of the KMT's rule in then-Taiwan. In order to restore governance and social order, the KMT resorted to armed suppression which resulted In the mass killings of 1947. This was known as the February 28 Incident, when more than 20,000 people disappeared or were killed, most of them Taiwanese.62
Since excessive factionalism was the major cause of the collapse of Chen Yi's government, local elite groups were subject to repression after the KMT retreated to Taiwan in 1949. While action to eliminate factionalism was taking against KMT mainlander factions, Taiwanese political groups also faced
repression. Major factional leaders of the Pan-san pai were either forced to resign from their offices or sent to jail. Leaders of the A-hi pai and Taichung pai
were also removed from their influence. They soon declined.63 What is more, the KMT's land reform deprived the Taiwanese gentry of their economic resources, thus accelerating the break down of the three Taiwanese elite groups.64
However, as an outsider regime, the KMT was unable to control all local elites despite the repression of leaders of the Pan-san pai, Tai-chung pai, and A-
hl pai. In order to rule Taiwan where the KMT lacked a popular base and
experience in governing, the KMT had to re-establish its relationships with local elites. So from 1950, local elections have been held regularly in Taiwan. Elections institutionalised the KMT's connections with local leaders through networks of patron-client relations. With the passage of time, the political and econom ic interests of the KMT and local elites became intertwined, bolstering the KMT's legitimacy. The KMT's election-derived linkages with local elites also enabled the KMT to penetrate and exert more effective social control over local society.65
The KMT's holding of local elections contributed to the rise of new factions in Taiwan's local units. On the one hand, local elites functioned as political brokers to channel electoral support from local society to back up KMT candidates, so that they were able to exchange privileges (both political and economic) with the regime. On the other hand, local elites also joined elections to com pete for public spoils In their own districts. As more and more social and economic resources were mobilised into the electoral process, elections became more com petitive and Intense, driving local elites to group themselves Into a number of political alliances based on local units, l.e. local factions.