Taiwan Lecture Series: The Development of Taiwan's Railways After the Mudan Incident (牡丹社事件)

The Mudan Incident (1874) was a key catalyst for the development of modern railways in Taiwan. The Qing court, realizing the importance of coastal defense and transportation in Taiwan, prompted the first Governor Liu Ming-chuan (劉銘傳) to petition for railway construction in 1887, officially beginning Taiwan's railway history. Thereafter, large-scale expansion during the Japanese colonial period and post-war island-wide connections laid the foundation for Taiwan's transportation network.