When the Ching dynasty first acquired Taiwan, it showed little interest in the island. There was even talk of giving Taiwan up. Later on, despite the establishment of formal governmental offices, the Ching court's attitude toward Taiwan was merely "to insure that the island remained quiet and posed no threat," but they had little enthusiasm for positively developing the island.
原本清朝初領台時，對台灣興趣不太大，甚至有棄台之議，後雖設治，但基本上是以設防為主，這可從領台之後仍有海禁之令，嚴禁內陸國民渡海來台的政策看出。