At the early days of Japanese occupation on Taiwan, the nautical route between Tangsui and Xiamen where frequent passengers and cargo transports were across the Taiwan Strait, was monopolized by Douglas Lapraik & Co. For a new colonialist power, Japan, it was a bad thing undoubtedly. So Governor Kodama issued a secret order to Osaka Shosen Kaisha to start the South China shipping route at March, 1899, in order to drive out Douglas Co. from Taiwan. Owing to the subsidy from the Government–General of Taiwan, Osaka merchant shipping company could cut down tickets fee to extreme low to snatch the customers of Douglas Co. and purchase her stocks secretly. This strategy made Douglas Co. suffer very badly. People would have thought that Douglas Co. will sink all the way, but from the tea–manufacturing period of 1901, she drew up a new approach of Armageddon to snatch tea workers from the Mainland to Taiwan. Although this strategy seems very successful, but Douglas quit Taiwan shipping circles since 1904. Why Douglas Co. quit? According to the author’s research, the real cause is not long–term losses, but the implement of the system of Chinese workers manager from Oct 1904. It seems that the post of Chinese workers manager was set up to deal with the new approach of Douglas co. Because the post appeared,Douglas co. lost the last glimmer of hope and could not but quit.

Douglas Lapraik & Co；workers from Mainland China；Osaka Shosen Kaisha；superintendent of Qing labors.