台灣華僑投資福州復興汽車公司始末（一九三一至一九三六）

INVESTING IN THE HOMELAND - Overseas Chinese in Taiwan and the Fu-hsing Motor Company in Foochow, 1931-1936

近一、二十年來華僑史的研究，很受到學界的重視。斯波義信教授在其新著「華僑」（1995年，岩波書店）一書中，提及華僑史的研究對研究者而言，是十分有魅力的挑戰，但一則苦於史料的零碎與不足，且即使有史料，也都是以elite為中心所寫的，以自身關懷的問題為出發點，較無法由一般移民的中下層庶民史的角度來撰寫。二者尚未有多學門、多角度的研究配合，以致未能有較深入的研究成果出現。

This paper represents one of a series of studies on the experiences of overseas Chinese living in Taiwan (T'ai-wan hua-ch'iao台灣華僑). Such individuals were citizens of the Ch'ing dynasty and the a Republic of China who settled in Taiwan after May 8, 1897 - according to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the date by which all residents of Taiwan had to choose between retaining Chinese citizenship or becoming citizens of Japan (living in its colony of Taiwan). In this paper, I will examine the experiences of these overseas Chinese in Taiwan through a case study of how these men invested in a business located in Chins, the Fu-hsing Motor Company of Foochow (northern Fukien), during the years 1931-1936. Although I have gathered a large amount of data, including contemporary newspaper articles and personal accounts of some of these overseas Chinese, I have as yet been unable to obtain Fu-hsing Motor Company's own records. I intend to make up for this gap in further research. In vestment in companies located in China on the part of overseas Chinese in Taiwan was stimulated by the ROC government's promulgation in 1929 of series of regulations designed to encourage overseas Chinese investment in construction, transportation, manufacturing, manufacturing, and mining projects. As a result, Kao Ming-hung高銘鴻, based on his own experience of running a motor company in Taipei, decided to take advantage of the Fu-hsing Motor Company's reorganization and stock offering by pooling his resources with those of other overseas Chisese in Taiwan to invest in that company. The scale of their investments enabled Kao to serve as the company's general manager and chairman of the board. However, these events provoked a strongly negative reaction on the part of Chinese investors who already held stock in the company, who viewed Kao and his compatriots as little better than Japanese loyalists and frowned on their participation in company affairs. These 'old' stockholders frequently attempted to tie Kao's hands, while the autoworkers staged strikes. This, combined with a decline in the quality of the company's personnel, led to a management crisis. To make matters worse, the 'old' stockholders had Kao framed and jailed. He could only obtain his release after signing a statement relinquishing his chairmanship and agreeing to sell his stake in the company to the 'old 'stockholders at a 60 percent discount. Following his release, Kao and his compatriots attempted to sue the 'old' stockholders, but the subsequent outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan in 1937 brought an abrupt end to their efforts. This setback served to discourage overseas Chinese in Taiwan from making any future investments in their ancestral homeland.