ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the postwar Taiwan experience from yet another viewpoint: Taiwan's agriculture in historical perspective. The "Taiwan miracle" was possible largely because of this infrastructure built up by the Japanese colonial rulers. The essential feature of the postwar Taiwan experience has been the rise and fall of traditional agrarian culture. Agrarian culture and society in Taiwan underwent dramatic structural change and decline after World War II. The Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (JCRR) was the government's last-ditch attempt to stem the tide, to halt the demise of agriculture and promote an agrarian culture. The JCRR recruited agricultural experts for membership through testing and personal interviews. In fact, the JCRR was mainly an advisory organization and just provided financial and information resources to assist people in agriculture; it refrained from involvement in disputes over power or profit. The JCRR was the government's last-ditch attempt to stem the tide, to halt the demise of agriculture and promote an agrarian culture.
