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During the martial law period, there is no integral policy of regulating music in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the laws and the enforcement units of music regulation during martial law period in Taiwan (1945-1991). Relevant archives of the Taiwan Provincial Government, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, and the Educational Broadcasting Station were reviewed.
The results indicated that the government used the "Publishing Law" as the legal basis for music regulation in the early postwar period, and relied on the garrison headquarters and police agencies as main enforcement units of music regulation. In addition to these units, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of the Interior also played roles in music regulation after 1950s. However, the garrison headquarters still played a major role in banning, monitoring and censoring music. The original regulation of "post-examination" was gradually shifted to "pre-examination". Beginning in the 1960s, the government tried to simplify the management of cultural affairs and adjust enforcement units of music regulation. Finally, in 1973, the Government Information Office officially took over the business of music regulation.
In summary, music regulation in Taiwan has been under a "unusual system" for a long time. There is a high redundant of jurisdiction between central government and the local governments. In additions, democratic constitutional system had been hindered by the martial law, which enabled the government and military to abuse power. The government administrative system and the military system usually operate simultaneously, which makes the government being often in a disorder, ambiguous, lack of standards, and overlapping jurisdiction situation.
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