Monopoly Bureau
The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation is the modern-day descendant of a government agency originally established during Japanese rule in 1901 which was responsible for all liquor and tobacco products in Taiwan as well as opium, salt, and camphor. In 1922, the agency began selling Takasago Beer through the Takasago Malted Beer Company, which was subsequently renamed as Taiwan Beer in 1946. After the end of World War II in 1945, the incoming Kuomintang preserved the monopoly system for alcohol and tobacco, and assigned the production of beer to the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau, which was renamed as Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau the following year. The Bureau exercised a monopoly on all alcohol and tobacco products sold in Taiwan until liberalisation of the Taiwanese alcohol market between 1987 and 2002, after which it was succeeded by the state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation which competes with many overseas brands today.