The development of business and industries of the R.O.C. during the century is a unique case with historical meaning. To both Taiwan and China, the developmental history of business and industries is separated from and connected to each other at the same time. From the “long term” perspective of Fernand Braudel, the leader of the Annales School, the business organization and industrial development of the R.O.C. during the hundred years can be deemed as a new field. In the past, researches on industrial development in Taiwan are done in the frame of political times and spaces. For instance, the discussion on enterprises and industries often starts from the time point of 1949, and as a result, the research focuses on the space, Taiwan, instead of mainland China before 1949. Thus, this article perceives the development of business and industries of the R.O.C. in the one-hundred-year history, which can be seen as a breakthrough in terms of perspective. How to perceive a century as a whole and analyze it with historical insight is the major task of this paper.

     When it comes to the one-hundred-year history of the R.O.C, 1949 is certainly an important watershed. The society of the R.O.C. was divided into Taiwan and mainland China at this point of time. In the aspect of industrial development, the fracture and continuity of Taiwan and mainland China’s different development stages are the major points in this article. In other words, what we want to discuss is the differences of the R.O.C’s business organization and industries before and after 1949. During the process of division in the history, was there a relationship of reception between the two parts? From mainland China to Taiwan, are there any differences in the development of industries and business organization?

     From 1911, when the R.O.C. was established, to 1949, the industries of the country was in the situation of what we called “loss of autonomy.” Since the early years after the R.O.C. was established, the non-stopping civil war in the country, Japan’s invasion and the European powers and the U.S’s plunder of resources in China, hindered the R.O.C. government from implementing industrial policies. Consequently, industries were unable to form as a completed system and structure and could only develop individually in response of changes in environment. These enterprises and the mode of industrial development without autonomy are the R.O.C’s industrial development characteristic before 1949. The “autonomy” refers to the freedom of a country, as a subject of action, to develop, under the global hegemony’s control. Specifically, from 19^th century to the beginning of 20^th century, the controlling power caused by the U.S. and the European powers’ military invasions is the meaning of “loss of autonomy” referred here. After transferring to Taiwan, the nationalist government was able to implement its industrial policies and proceed to the goal of the whole social’s economic development, without the interferences of wars and invasions of foreign powers. Since then, the industries of the R.O.C. entered the stage of “autonomy.” From the government’s policy-making strategies of industrial development after 1949, the trace of transformation from losing autonomy to gaining autonomy can be clearly seen. With the past experiences, the government has learned to make appropriate plans of industrial development and to realize them, and thus, the historical experience of losing autonomy shows its value in the process. Therefore, a more specific definition of “autonomy” is that whether a government is able to formulate and implement effective industrial policies, either at war times or not at war times, which is the issue about “nation capability.” Nation capability is performed in different ways when a nation faces different situations, and it explains why it requires the perspective of one-hundred-year scale. We are able to have deeper understanding about the industrial development of the R.O.C through research into various sides of the R.O.C’s nation capability in different periods of the one-hundred-year history. The industrial development mode of the R.O.C. is shown in the formations of dynamic relations between industries, country, and the globe. The sequence of this article is arranged with the history of industrial development of the R.O.C.