重訪「祖國」：祖國事件與日刊《臺灣新民報》的市場經營（1932-1937）

Revisiting the“Ancestral Homeland”: The Zuguo Incident and Market Strategies of Taiwan Shin Minpao (1932-1937)

本文透過「六然居典藏史料」、日刊《臺灣新民報》等報刊資料、日記文本與時人回憶等各類史料，試圖重建因1936年的《灌園先生日記》佚失而無法窺其全貌的「祖國事件」之具體過程。過往大多認為臺灣軍司令部指使右翼浪人攻擊林獻堂，是祖國事件的主因。但本文認為，臺灣新民報社為了擴張日刊市場並形成明顯的市場區隔，乃將「華南考察團」作為經營策略的一環，組團探訪中國以吸引讀者目光。此一策略對《臺灣日日新報》帶來極大競爭壓力，遂促使其與臺灣軍司令部合作製造祖國事件以打擊《臺灣新民報》。
具體而言，本文將透過以下三個面向來討論祖國事件之脈絡、過程與意義：其一，說明作為新民報社報刊市場經營一環的「對岸視察計畫」所籌組的華南考察團，其出訪的動機、目的與論據，及參訪過程之見聞與經歷。其二，追索祖國事件的攻擊行動、媒體報導及輿論效應，和右翼團體與報刊媒體相互為用的攻擊過程。其三，詮釋《臺灣日日新報》化身為攻擊主體之原因，亦即其與臺灣軍司令部分進合擊的背後，所牽涉1930年代中期殖民地報刊市場的競爭問題。

This article draws on a wide array of historical sources—including the Liu Ran Ju Archival Collection, issues of the daily Taiwan Shin Minpao, personal diaries, and contemporary memoirs—to reconstruct the full trajectory of the“Zuguo Incident,”an episode that has remained obscure due to the loss of The Diary of Lin Hsien-tang, 1936. While previous research has largely attributed the incident to attacks on Lin Hsien-tang orchestrated by right-wing rōnin under the direction of the Taiwan Army Headquarters, this article offers a new interpretation. It argues that the Taiwan Shin Minpao, in an effort to boost its daily circulation and establish clear market differentiation, strategically organized the“South China Investigation Mission”as a promotional initiative. This maneuver placed significant competitive pressure on the Taiwan Daily News, which, in response, collaborated with the Taiwan Army Headquarters to orchestrate the Zuguo Incident as a means of undermining its rival.
This article analyzes the context, development, and implications of the Zuguo Incident through three interrelated dimensions. First, it examines the motivations, objectives, and strategic rationale behind the South China Investigation Mission—part of the Taiwan Shin Minpao’s broader“China Investigation Plan”—and details the delegation’s observations and experiences throughout their visit. Second, it traces the course of the attack, the media coverage it generated, and the resulting shifts in public opinion, while also revealing how right-wing groups and newspapers coordinated to stage the assault. Third, it explores the central role of Taiwan Daily News in the incident, arguing that its collaboration with the Taiwan Army Headquarters was driven by the fierce competitive dynamics of colonial Taiwan’s newspaper market in the mid-1930s.