Evening star., 1948-04-16
Recovery in Formosa
Called Bright Spot in
China's Dark Picture
sy the Associoted Press

sy the Assoeioted Press
TAIPEI, Formosa.-There Is peace
In this island province of China
and 1t isn't the armed peace Of .
year ago after Marking put down
riots with a blood bath"
The reason Is that Gov. Wei Tao
ming found the answer to unrest
in Formosa was to speed up its eco
nomic recovery.
Formosa has become relatively
bright spot in China's dark picture
of civil strife. imitation and dis
content.
The riots broke in February of
1947. Some estimate that 5000
Formosans were killed before order
was restored.
Then Marking recalled Gen. Chen
vi former warlord, last April and
sent in Gov. Wei, who once was
China's ambassador to Washington.
One Of Gov. Wei's first acts was to
lift martial law Since then, the
output of industry and agriculture
has increased-in some cases sensa-
tional]y.
Chen Blamed for Riots.
Gov. Wei, in an interview, lodged
discussion of the uprisings. But
impressions gained from other
sources indicated that Gen. Chen
vi tried a quick exploitation job on
the island. This, coupled with post
war dislocation of industry, pro-
voked the riots.
The Taipei garrison is trifiing in
numbers. There aren't enough uni
formed police to break up meeting
of the Tuesday night chowder club.
You hear the place swarms with
secret police, but informants grow
vague when you ask them to be
specific.
In Pingtung, South Formosa, the
countryside was reported full of
bandits. Yet the Pingtung travel
ing bank tours the countryside in
six unarmed buses stated mostly
by girls and hasn't had a koldup.
It carries about 1000, 900 yen ($i65,-
000) to pay off sugar growers.
1t is true the Formosans haven't
forgotten the blood BATH" which
hasn't made Gov. Weis job any
easier.
But Gov. Wei proceeded on the
proposition that if he could break
the reconstruction 'log-jam ne
would be getting at the core Of
the trouble. He appears to be sue
ceeding.
Rice Production Mounts.
Rice production has increased
100000 tons over last year to 1,000,-
600 tons year, even with short
age of fertilizer. Gov. Wei thinks
he can have rice production at
100000 tons annually by autumn.
Here are some other figures:
Sugar production is 100000 tons
annually, six times last years, and
Gov. Wei hopes to see 1t reach 500,-
900 tons this year-half the pre-
war level. Gov. Wei wants Formosa
to grow more rice, not sugar, toI
help feed China.
Coal production is 100000 tons
year, about the prewar rate, and
Gov. Wei believes it will reach
Z,UUO,UUU IOllS q yCdl Wy Ao10. Z VI W
thousand tons are being exported
to China monthly.
Aluminum-about 5000 tons o.
year Paper, 1000 tons a month.
Gov. Weis government has been
criticized for letting the railroads
run down. He says he can't get
equipment.
Bomb Damage Heavy.
when the Japanese turned the
railroads over to us" he said.
they said they would run three
months without replacements. We
have managed to run them more
than two years without major re-
placements"
Bomb damage has been q tre-
mendous handicap to reconstruc-
ton. Almost everything on this
island was an allied bomb target
in 1914 and 1945.
Gov. Wei says farmers are doing
well. Land which the government
seized from the Japanese Is leased
to farmers at Is per cent of the
value of their crop. A rent ceiling
Of IS per cent of the crop has been
placed on land owned by big hold
ers and rented to farmers. Taxes
of farmers who own their own land
averages about Is per cent, Gov. Wei
says.