When Taiwan declared independence to avoid becoming a Japanese colony in 1895
Following the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. In a desperate bid to remain under Chinese suzerainty, local leaders proclaimed the Republic of Formosa. The experiment lasted mere months, triggering a brutal five-month invasion that fundamentally reshaped the island's history and ended centuries of Qing dynasty rule.
In April 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki concluded the First Sino-Japanese War, forcing China to cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan. Fearing this transfer, prominent figures in Taiwan established the Republic of Formosa on 23 May 1895. They appointed Tang Jingsong as president and Liu Yongfu as commander, hoping that a nominally independent republic—still acknowledging Chinese suzerainty—would provide a legal loophole to evade Japanese occupation. However, the Qing court, desperate to avoid offending Japan during delicate diplomatic negotiations regarding the Liaodong Peninsula, disavowed the movement and ordered its officials to abandon the island.
The Japanese invasion began on 29 May 1895 with a landing near Keelung. While the Japanese Imperial Guards Division faced little resistance from demoralized Qing regular units, they soon encountered fierce opposition from local Hakka militias. The conflict, known as the Yiwei War, saw the Japanese capture Taipei by 7 June after the Republican leadership fled to the mainland. The Republic’s attempt at statehood was largely symbolic, characterized by the creation of stamps, paper money, and a flag featuring a yellow tiger, yet it lacked genuine popular support or international recognition.
The war intensified as the Japanese pushed south. The Battle of Baguashan on 27 August 1895 remains the largest engagement ever fought on Taiwanese soil, effectively breaking the back of organized resistance. Guerrilla warfare by local villagers, who often abused the white flag of surrender to ambush Japanese supply lines, led to brutal reprisals, including village burnings. By 21 October 1895, the fall of Tainan signaled the end of the Republic. This five-month campaign inaugurated fifty years of Japanese rule, marking a definitive shift in the island's political trajectory.
Source: 1895 Japanese invasion of Taiwan
