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The origin of Taiwan's monopoly business dates back to the Japanese colonial era. In 1898, the Governor-General of Taiwan, in addition to maintaining the existing opium monopoly, expanded the monopoly items and implemented salt and camphor monopolies in succession. In 1901, the Taiwan Pharmaceutical Factory, Taiwan Salt Administration, and Taiwan Camphor Bureau were merged to establish the "Monopoly Bureau of the Governor-General of Taiwan." The Governor-General of Taiwan further included cigarettes and liquor in the monopoly scope in 1905 and 1922, respectively. In 1942, matches and weights and measures were brought under the monopoly, and in 1943, petroleum was also regulated as a monopoly item. Therefore, before Taiwan's retrocession, there were eight monopoly products, including cigarettes, liquor, opium, salt, camphor, matches, petroleum, and weights and measures. The Tobacco and Liquor Bureau was an institution that controlled the production, transportation, and sales of tobacco and liquor. It was responsible for producing and marketing tobacco and liquor to meet the needs of the general public and enforce tobacco and liquor monopoly regulations. The subordinate institutions, tobacco and liquor distribution units, and licensed retailers were spread across Taiwan, with an extremely sound marketing network. The profits from the tobacco and liquor monopoly were handed over to the national treasury, which had both economic and fiscal tasks. Over the years, the bureau had performed well, and the profits from the monopoly consistently accounted for a pivotal position in the national tax revenue. According to the "Taiwan Province Government Functions and Organizational Adjustments Temporary Regulations," the Taiwan Provincial Tobacco and Liquor Bureau was under the jurisdiction of the central competent authority, the Ministry of Finance, from July 1, 1999, to continue executing tobacco and liquor administration and production and sales business. In recent years, to adapt to internationalization and liberalization, the government has discussed the abolition of the tobacco and liquor monopoly and opened up tobacco and liquor production. The "Tobacco and Liquor Management Act" and the "Tobacco and Liquor Tax Act" were published, and the monopoly system was terminated on January 1, 2002. The "Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation Act" was passed by the Legislative Yuan on April 25, 2002, and promulgated by the President on May 15, 2002. The Tobacco and Liquor Bureau was transformed into the "Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation" on July 1, 2002. Source: Official website of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation.