In the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, China and Japan signed the Treaty of Maguan, ceding the islands of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan.
The scene of the Treaty of Maguan in Japan
In April 1895, the fierce consumption of cutting off Taiwan spread to Taiwan, and Taipei immediately sounded a gong and went on strike. The people of Taiwan solemnly stated that they would coexist and die with Taiwan and would never accept The rule of the Japanese; they also warned Taiwan officials that they were not allowed to flee Taiwan and that they were not allowed to transport out of Taiwan the treasury and weapons and ammunition needed for the War of Resistance. The people of Taiwan issued an anti-Japanese document denouncing Li Hongzhang for being "unscrupulous and shameless and traitorous to the country and holding a firm position," expressing the Taiwan people's determination to oppose the cession of Taiwan.
Taiwanese soldiers
Under the severe national crisis, some Qing government officials were stagnant and even abandoned Taiwan and fled. On May 20, 1895, under pressure from the great powers. The Qing government ordered Tang Jingsong, the governor of Taiwan, to lead officials at all levels to "neidu". He also appointed Li Jingfang, the son of Li Hongzhang, as the "Minister of Cutting Taiwan".
Tang Jingsong and others superficially perfunctory Taiwan's military and people made a promise to stay in Taiwan. Behind the scenes were the enemies of Taiwan's military and civilians, suppressing and sabotaging the War of Resistance. He transferred all the generals who were in charge of the battle to Tainan, while he himself remained in Taipei. Not well fortified, and allowing some of the Qing army to flee, on May 29, the Japanese attacked Keelung from Okinawa (Ryukyu), and the defenders bravely resisted. In the end, the Japanese captured Keelung at a heavy price. Tang Jingsong fled to the mainland on a foreign merchant ship. By early June, the entire Taipei area had fallen.
Japanese troops landed
After the fall of Taipei, only a few Qing troops were left in Taiwan, such as the Black Flag Army's Liu YongfuBu, who insisted on resisting, but the strength was weak. At the time of life and death, the people of Taiwan spontaneously organized rebels to resist Japan, the largest of which were Xu Jun and Wu Tangxing. The impassioned defense war for Taiwan thus began.
Liu Yongfu Ministry
The heroic Taiwanese soldiers and civilians resisted the Japanese army's three modernized divisions and a naval fleet with inferior devices, and severely damaged the invaders. During the five-month fierce struggle, the Japanese invaders suffered 32,000 casualties. Taiwan's main Guards Division was wiped out by nearly half of the Taiwanese military and civilians.
After 50 years of Japanese rule over Taiwan, the people of Taiwan rebelled against Japan for half a century. The glorious deeds of the Taiwan people in defending the motherland's territory have added glory to the 5,000-year history of the Chinese nation, and the author will be excited and tearful whenever he reads this history.
The people of the two sides of the strait will certainly be reunified at an early date.