戰前臺灣人英屬北婆羅洲移民史

Migration History of Taiwanese to North Borneo before World War II

本文探討1917年與1938年日本人兩次將臺灣人移送英屬北婆羅洲（今馬來西亞沙巴）的歷史事件。研究發現招募臺灣人的動機，最主要是為了因應華工招募不足的困境，以提供日本農園急需的人力而採取的臨時性措施。換言之，臺灣人被視為華工的替代品。不過，1917年的人力輸出，基本上是單純的勞力供給；而臺灣拓殖株式會社在1938年提出的移民計畫中，臺灣人已經不只是單純的勞動力，背後還有臺灣總督府為使其定居的經費補助。這或許便是臺拓計畫中所提及臺灣人日本化的成果：可賦予臺灣人更大的任務，去面對人口占居多數的斗湖華人。從臺灣總督府南進的歷程來看，臺灣人可說是伴隨著總督府南進，且在這股南進風潮與政策中，也扮演了一定的角色。

This paper examines the historical issues related to the dispatch of Taiwanese by the Japanese colonial rulers to British North Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia today) in 1917 and 1938. Research findings reveal that the recruitment of Taiwanese in 1917 to British North Borneo was mainly motivated by the shortage of Chinese laborers working on Japanese farms there. In other words, the Taiwanese sent served as substitutes for the Chinese workforce. On the contrary, the migration of Taiwanese in 1938 under a cheme launched by the Taiwan Development Corporation was more than exportation of human resources. 3Funding was provided by the Taiwan Government-General for settling the migrants in their new homeland. This migration scheme was considered one of the accomplishments of Japanization in Taiwan as mentioned in the Plan of Taiwan Development. Taiwanese migrants to Tawau had the mission to communicate or to confront with the Chinese residents there, who had become the majority. During the Southward Expansion of the Japanese imperial empire, Taiwanese also headed south, playing a role in the same policy implemented by the Taiwan Government-General.