:::A history of household registration
History
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- Household Registration Certificates continued to be handwritten after the restoration of Taiwan to the Republic of China (ROC) in 1945. After overall computerization in 1996, these certificates were revised to be printed horizontally.
- The Household Registration Law was amended on June 29, 1992, deleting the “Place of Origin” item, which did not necessarily refer to birthplace, but the traditional place of origin for one’s family branch. In the meantime, a “Birthplace” item was added to Household Registrations.
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In December, 1945, the government passed legislation titled “Regulations for the resumption of Chinese names for people of Taiwan Province”. Taiwanese who had been forced by the Japanese colonial government to change their Chinese names into Japanese ones as part of the so-called Japanization Movement could contact their village office and apply to resume using their Chinese names. |
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- After Taiwan’s restoration to the ROC, in order to remove vestiges of the Japanese colonial era, the government passed legislation titled “Regulations for changing Japanese road names back to Chinese road names”. According to these laws, Japanese roadway and address designations such as “tng” and “fan di” were changed back to Chinese ones, such as “Street”, “Road”, “Alley” and “Number“.
- The Japanese terms used in Household Registrations were likewise completely revised. For example, the term “shih dai jh” was changed to “Head of Household”. The term “ming ling zh” (meaning an adopted son) used during the Japanese Occupation Era was revised to “adopted son”.
- The term of “jie” used in Japanese Occupation Era stands for “certificate”. Therefore, “chu sheng jie” means “birth certificate”.
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The government carried out a household survey in 1946 and created a “Personal Data Card” and an application form for Household Registration. One of these cards was issued to each individual and households were bundled together, with any household movement having to be registered in detail. Personal Data Cards were replaced by household registration transcripts in 1948. As these cards went out of use, they were kept in the district offices. |
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On October 1, 1946, the government held the household registration for the first time. People registered their initial household registration at that time and they needed to submit their “ID card”, “Household Registration Transcript” or “Citizen Household Certificate” as documents of proof. |
