The criteria for a provincial seat was either a population of half a million or a population of only 200,000 and a reputation as a cultural, economic or administrative center. By that time Chang Hua was neither and T'ai Chung officially took the leader's role in central Taiwan.
民國卅九年，台灣實行地方自治，重新調整行政區域，規定人口在五十萬以上；或政治、文化、經濟地位重要且人口在廿萬以上的城市，為省轄市。