In a memorial to the Ching court entitled "On the Proposed Construction of a Railway," submitted in 1887, Taiwan's first governor, Liu Ming-chuan, set forth three main reasons for constructing a railroad: 1.
一八八七年，首任台灣巡撫劉銘傳向清廷上了「擬興修鐵路摺」奏章，陳述興建鐵路的目的﹘ ﹘一、便於海防。